Wolves Women embrace fully professional new era as WSL2 campaign begins
Wolverhampton Wanderers Women have stepped into a new era as a fully professional club, embarking on their first season in Women's Super League Two after years of graft in the amateur game.
From the boot of a Ford Focus to a professional setup
Head coach Dan McNamara, who has now spent eight and a half years with the team, can scarcely believe the transformation. Promoted to WSL2 in May, the squad visited Wolverhampton's Guru Nanak Satsang Sikh Gurdwara – the city's first, established in 1966 – as part of a city tour that also took in the historic The Halls music venue, before their opening home match against Sheffield United.
Reflecting on how far the club has come, McNamara recalled his earliest days:
"Initially, I think my 'office' was me sitting in the driver's seat of an old Ford Focus. I first walked on to an Astroturf with about seven bibs, three footballs and 58 players and probably thought: 'What the hell have I done?' Now I'm in my own office. We've got a fantastic setup here, we've got our own spaces for the women, changing facilities, which have been added over the summer. It's night and day."
For McNamara, a former Everton youth-team contemporary of Wayne Rooney, the chance to work full-time in the game is the fulfilment of a lifelong ambition.
"Everybody grows up and dreams of being a professional footballer. I was no different. My claim to fame was I was in the same youth team as Wayne Rooney for a few years at Everton – our tactics were: 'Pass the ball to Wayne and he will score.' And [when I left Everton] I probably fell out of love with the game for a little bit. To be here now working professionally in football is a dream come true."
A long road to the second tier
Promotion was a long time coming. Wolves won tier three's northern division in 2022 but, with only one team going up, lost the playoff decider against southern champions Southampton. McNamara missed that match while serving overseas with the Royal Air Force, watching from the Falkland Islands. Since 2024 he has coached Wolves full-time under the RAF's elite athlete scheme, and his side lost just two league games across the following two seasons.
In 2025 they finished second but were heartbroken to discover the club had not applied for a promotion licence. A year later, under new executive chair Nathan Shi, the approach changed. The women's team now have private cabins at the Sir Jack Hayward training ground in Compton, a meeting and analysis room, and relaxation spaces, with further new pitches to follow.
Building a squad to survive
This summer the club appointed Russ Fraser as head of women's and girls football, a former WSL figure at Reading, West Ham, Leicester and Liverpool before a spell with Al-Qadsiah in Saudi Arabia. Many of last season's squad left day jobs to turn professional, while a recruitment drive brought in former WSL players including Mel Lawley, Jasmine Matthews, Yana Daniëls and Mel Filis.
Goalkeeper Emily Orman, an England youth international on loan from London City Lionesses, relished the squad's unusual team-building – a wrestling lesson during the gurdwara visit.
"I've never wrestled before. That was really tough. I got a real bead on doing that!"
Midfielder Tammi George, who first joined Wolves aged 13 before a spell at Sunday's opponents Sheffield United, highlighted the value of a bouldering trip in the Lake District.
"That brought the group together so much because people were put through difficult situations and needed an arm around them at times. Everybody really saw the benefit."
McNamara said the work began immediately after the playoff win over Plymouth.
"We don't want to just be a team that goes up and then straight back down, so the work was almost immediately after the playoff. It's been non-stop since. We were quite careful at what we went after. We wanted to bring in the right technical players, but also players that represent this great club and the city. And that's hard work, ethics, having the right morals on the pitch, being quite energetic."
A historic first for the club
Jenny Wilkes, chair of Wolves Women since 1999, remembers the volunteer-driven early days and the support of figures such as Rachael Heyhoe Flint.
"I remember Rachael Heyhoe Flint, who had been such an amazing support for us in the days when it literally was one woman and a dog watching the game and she was one woman who brought her dog and walked her dog around the pitch. We're come a long way since then. It's incredible, being fully professional, which we never thought we'd manage to do."
Captain Anna Morphet handed in her notice as a physiotherapist a week after promotion, capturing what the moment means to the squad.
"We used to collect the kit out the back of Macca's car boot. Those 90 minutes [against Plymouth] were the opportunity to change our lives. The work that's gone on over the summer and in pre-season has been immense and I think now it's about believing that we are ready for this level."
Wolves opened the campaign with a respectable 2-0 defeat at promotion favourites Newcastle. Fraser is determined to prove doubters wrong.
"Wherever we finish in the league, I want other teams to go: 'Wow, Wolves were so much better than I thought they were,' because I think a lot of teams will probably think: 'Oh, Wolves have just come up, they'll go straight back down.' I think we're better than that. I think we've got a good group here."