While many have concerns about the Football Association’s restructure of women’s football and this blog has highlighted many of them, others, such as Derby County Ladies, who have had long-held WSL ambitions, have thrown their support behind the plans.

The amateur club Ewe Rams, who currently play in the third tier, have made clear their intention to bid for a place in the new semi-professional second tier of the Women’s Super League when applications are opened to non-WSL clubs in March.

As an aspect of the applications for the revamped WSL2, clubs must meet a set of strict criteria detailed by the FA. One of those is that a club must provide evidence of having “a written agreement in place with its Club Community Organisation in its catchment area whichrecords how the Club and Club Community Organisation will work in partnership to develop and promote the women’s game (at both junior and senior level) in its local community.” It must also have “an agreement in place with at least one further education and at least one higher education establishment.”

On Tuesday Derby County, in partnership with the University of Derby, announced the opening of applications for three full scholarships on the university’s football journalism course for women football players. While this latest scheme has been in the pipeline since last year, the partnership with the university will strengthen Derby’s bid and, they hope, will attract WSL level players to their team.

The University of Derby’s journalism department is no stranger to being experimental: two years ago it launched the