Reading withdrawal an 'awful situation' - Estcourt

Former Reading FC Women vice-captain Charlie Estcourt says there should be regulation in the women’s Championship to avoid other clubs facing huge financial issues.

Reading will play in the fifth-tier next season after the club withdrew from the Championship.

The club have encountered financial difficulties over the past 12 months and the owners have made cuts across the board, leading to fears that the women's team would be scrapped altogether.

Owner Dai Yongge has put Reading up for sale, but without a "cash injection" the club say they cannot meet the criteria to compete in the second tier of the women's game.

Wales international Estcourt has since signed for USL Super League side DC Power, based in Washington DC.

She says she and her former Reading teammates were not informed by the club what was happening and found out via a journalist on social media that the club were withdrawing from their division.

“It’s a sad situation, especially for a lot of us who have been at Reading for several years and have really grown up at the club,” she told BBC Sport Wales.

“The club is close to our hearts, and I think that makes the situation even more upsetting and difficult.

“Obviously a lot has come out about the situation now, but it doesn’t make it any easier for us as players.

“It’s been really difficult; we haven’t heard a lot from the club. We were told about two days before our contracts ended what was actually going on with the club.

“By then it had already been announced on Twitter, so the communication from the club has been one of the things most of us have been disappointed with. We found out a lot of the information the same time as the public, which shouldn’t happen.”

Estcourt said there had been whispers about the future of the club “all season,” and with Sheffield United and Blackburn also facing financial uncertainty, Estcourt believes there should be intervention and regulation from the Football Association.

I think it’s something the Championship needs to look at,” she said.

“Obviously, the WSL is a full-time league and a full-time model, but I still think there’s enough clubs around that have the support and infrastructure, even within the National League.

“Maybe the league needs to put in some minimum guidelines because it’s not fair on the players.

“Every year there’s this uncertainty about whether you’re going to be able to play full-time football next year at the same club. With these minimum guidelines all of that worry goes away, if you can’t meet those requirements, you can’t be in the league and another club will take the place, it’ll give more opportunities for everyone.”

Estcourt says she feels the lack of communication from Reading means some of her teammates are now struggling to find a new club.

“In an awful situation like this, the only thing you can do is communicate well and the best you can,” she added.

“A lot of the times we were told that there was nothing to tell, but that’s not good enough. If there was more communication some of the girls might not be in this situation.”

Estcourt feels the women’s side of the club being sacrificed shows that the women’s game remains a lesser priority at some clubs.

“It’s very frustrating, especially at a club like Reading which has amazing history in the women’s game,” she said.

“The club has always been known for having a great women’s set up and academy, so it’s really frustrating because they do have all the infrastructure there, it’s just the people at the top don’t want to fund it.

“The whole club is in trouble, so they have to look at prioritising the men’s team which always happens.”