Celtic and Rangers hold initial talks over possibly joining Women’s Super League

Celtic and Rangers have held initial talks over the possibility of joining the Women’s Super League, the PA news agency understands.

As first reported by The Times, inviting the Scottish giants to become part of the English top flight is understood to be one idea being explored by Women’s Professional Leagues Limited (WPLL), the company which oversees the WSL and the Championship.

WPLL is also looking at the possibility of the WSL becoming a closed league, like its American counterpart.

Celtic and Rangers are now the dominant forces in the Scottish women’s domestic game but struggle to achieve the commercial success of WSL teams.

Four teams in the Championship – Birmingham, Bristol City, Newcastle and Southampton – are also taking part in a pilot allowing spectators to drink in sight of the pitch.

Such a pilot was suggested as part of the 2021 fan-led review chaired by former Sports Minister Tracey Crouch. The UK’s football policing lead, Chief Constable Mark Roberts, has expressed strong misgivings around a pilot in the men’s game but the trial has been given the go ahead in the women’s second tier.

WPLL declined to comment when contacted by the PA news agency.