Marieanne Spacy-Cale relishing FA Cup challenge to measure Southampton Women's progress on ladder to the top

Arsenal legend Marieanne Spacey-Cale has six FA Cup winner’s medals at home, but will be on the side of the underdog on Sunday when Southampton FC Women take on Coventry United in the fourth round of the competition.

Not that the odds are of much concern to them. The amateur, fourth-tier side have beaten opposition a league above them in both of the past two rounds and, though Coventry will be a bigger challenge as a Championship, part-time outfit, it is exactly the level the Saints want to measure themselves against. After all, the Championship was where they had hoped to be two seasons ago.

Back in 2018, when the FA did a complete restructure of the women’s football pyramid, they invited clubs to apply for the top two divisions.

Southampton were one side to do so, aiming to debut in the new Championship following reforming in 2015, 10 years after they were disbanded when their men’s side were relegated from the Premier League.

Unlike Manchester United, though, who flourished in the Championship and are now sitting pretty in fourth in the WSL, Southampton were given a helping of humble pie, their application rejected. But that did not deter former England player Spacey-Cale from getting involved.

“I came in while the club were appealing the licence decision,” Spacey-Cale said. “But the club didn’t say, ‘If we don’t get a licence this isn’t happening’. It was, ‘If we don’t get a licence what can we make happen?’ ”

The answer has been two seasons in which Spacey-Cale has helped the team blitz through opposition as not only manager but also the head of the entire women’s football programme.

Southampton are yet to lose in the league under her, and remain on course for their third promotion in as many seasons. Their 27-game unbeaten league run has invigorated the club in their commitment to keep pumping money into the programme, to the tune of £1 million a year.

Saints’ managing director, Toby Steele, last year said their investment aimed to “mirror everything we do both from the academy perspective and the men’s team. We don’t want to do it half-hearted,” he said. “We want to put the investment in now so we hopefully have a smoother ride into the Women’s Super League in time.”

The aim is clear, and the club are trying to do it while keeping things local. They are in close contact with the regional talent centre, ensuring the senior team is full of young women from the area. Their squad’s average age is just 20, but Spacey-Cale says they are committed to making it all the way to the Championship – even if they have had to take the long route.

“We’ve got quite a young, homegrown squad, so the experiences they’re gaining now and the challenges they’re facing are great,” Spacey-Cale said. “It’s all part of their development for where they aspire to be in the future, playing our way into the higher leagues, while learning and growing as a group and continuing the integration with the club.”

That integration goes beyond just finances. Despite still being unpaid amateurs, the women’s team train at the same facilities as the men, at the club’s Staplewood base – a perk many WSL sides cannot boast. Their 3,000-seat Testwood Park ground is also home to the men’s under-23 side, and they have been averaging 308 attendance this season – again, something the likes of Everton, in the top tier, have been struggling to do.

On Sunday, though, they will get a taste of the big leagues, making their debut at St Mary’s Stadium to play their first fourth-round FA Cup match.

The club confirmed 2,000 tickets had been applied for, and despite being far and away from the tens of thousands seen at other higher-tier women’s fixtures at larger stadiums, it is a number which would eclipse their record attendance of 832.

“We had a training session at St Mary’s [last] Sunday, to familiarise them with the environment, the whole wow factor,” Spacey-Cale says.

“This group of players is so hungry to be at the next level. The beauty is we’ve [won] against Yeovil and Cardiff in the last rounds, two teams in the tier we’re trying for promotion [to], to see what we’re capable of.

“The team want to challenge themselves again, now we’ve got the opportunity to see what the Championship feels like.”

The team’s main shirt sponsor, Virgin Media, will be providing a free pie for those who attend the match as part of its Super Saints campaign.