Fulham Women have started the next chapter of their football journey, after they were promoted to the FAWNL. Steve Jaye’s side won the title in the 2024/25 season, which earned their promotion to the 4th tier of the women’s football pyramid.
They have also made a strong start to their FAWNL campaign, winning both of their games so far in Division One South East. As they continue to make their impact in the fourth tier, here is a closer look at their journey so far, both on and off the pitch.
In an interview with Fulham club media at the end of the season, Jaye discussed how promotion was Fulham’s objective at the beginning of the season, and they knew that this required a lot of consistency:
“In terms of how we feel about it (promotion), we are immensely proud of the group, the staff and the players because to be able to demonstrate that consistency for 10 months of the year is a phenomenal, phenomenal achievement.”
Not only did Fulham achieve their goal of promotion, but they won the league as an invincible team. Jaye also spoke about the mentality that this required:
“The group don’t want to settle for where we are now. They always push and they always want to do better.”
Fulham’s day of victory was made even better by the fact that they lifted the trophy at Craven Cottage, which Jaye described as “a bit of a dream come true.”
Whilst Jaye described the determination of the players as a key factor in their success in the 2024/25 season, Fulham’s support for players who were in rehab was equally as important. This enabled injured players to be able to contribute to the team, despite not being able to play, and this was crucial. Jaye said:
“That is something that we work tirelessly for here, experiences that the players receive off the pitch as well as on the pitch. I think again, credit to the staff and the club to be able to pull those experiences together to give everybody the best chance to do well off the pitch as well as on.”
“The players that we have had in rehab at the club contribute massively to the success of the whole squad. I think sometimes it’s forgotten when players are in rehab, how much of a contribution they do have. They’re in the group every night that we’re in training, they’re in and around the girls making jokes or pushing people to do better. They’ve been a phenomenal part of our success this season, so it definitely should be celebrated.”
Fulham’s success demonstrates the importance of investment in rehab for players, and support off the pitch too. This investment that they have already made will be significant in bridging the gap for them between the 5th and 4th tier too, as they were already well on their way to meeting the minimum standards required in the FA WNL.
Jaye also spoke about the team’s ambitions for the fourth tier:
“There’s going to be so much learning. We’ve already done so much over the last couple of weeks, working with the league that we’re going into to make sure we hit minimum standards and all of these other things that we wouldn’t have had to think about before. But we think this year will be a fantastic year of learning.
“We know we’ll be competitive and we’re looking forward to seeing how high up the league table we can go. We’ve had some great success against Tier 4 teams in the past in cup competitions. Notably we played Actonian who were 3rd last season in a cup competition and got through that cup tie really, really well. So we’re looking forward to seeing how we can now match those sorts of teams on a week to week basis.”
Jaye highlights that there are many different elements to the gap between the 5th and 4th tier of the game that Fulham are currently navigating. They now have minimum standards that they have to meet, as well as ensuring that they are able to be competitive within the league each week. For the first time this season, Fulham also had a preseason training camp to prepare them for the season. They also made four key signings over the summer: Izzy Milne, Katie Dungate, Molly Holder and Taomë Oliver. Fulham’s developments and signings show their commitment and ambition within the FAWNL.
Fulham will play their next game of the FAWNL season on Sunday 31st August, against Norwich City at Craven Cottage, as they look to continue their impressive start to the season.
https://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2025/july/02/jaye-see-the-ambition
