‘A disgrace’: Remembering Doncaster Rovers Belles’ WSL demotion 10 years on

The club’s former boss remembers pleading with English football’s governing body, the Football Association (FA), to preserve their top-flight status.

But it was a losing battle.

They had decided one of the country’s most successful teams would be replaced by Manchester City, who had never played in the top flight before.

"How they got rid of us was a disgrace,” said Buckley, who managed Belles from 2003 to 2013.

"I never didn’t want the big teams in. What I was saying is ‘how can you demote us when we have managed to stay up all these years without money?’

"It just wasn’t fair.”

Belles are one of English football’s most successful women’s sides having twice been crowned national champions and won the FA Cup six times.

They have also finished as runners-up on a further seven occasions but these days play their football in the fourth tier as a fully amateur outfit.

Doncaster were relegated following an independent assessment of each club's financial sustainability.

An FA spokesperson said: "The decision by the selection panel not to offer the club an FA WSL1 licence was due primarily to them being unable to satisfactorily meet minimum facility requirements, alongside further concerns on their commercial and marketing strategies."

Buckley, now a youth coach at Doncaster Rovers, said: “I still stand my ground, to do it the way they did was wrong.

"They should have extended the league and had more relegation places. We probably would have dropped out, but at least that was a fair process.”

While the women’s game has since gone from strength to strength and continues to grow every year, Doncaster have fallen down the leagues.

There was never much money at the club, Buckley said, but without significant investment they will likely never repeat their past successes.

Buckley, who gave a senior debut to Bethany England, reportedly the WSL's most expensive player, at Belles, said: "I suppose the FA’s argument stands because they will say ‘we have got it (the women’s game) to where it is’.

"I still think it would be there.

“When I look at how we survived with what we had, I don’t know how we did it.

"That’s probably credit to the players.”