Season Approaches For Women's Teams

Constitutions and opening day fixtures for the upcoming season across the East Midlands Women’s Regional Football League have been announced, and the new campaign kicks off in earnest on 6 September with their Premier Division.

Three, local sides, will be competing in the EMWRFL Premier, with Andi Bell’s Mansfield Town, and Lee Scott’s SJR Worksop, being joined in the regional leagues’ top division by Nottingham Trent University, who won Division One Central last time around.

Ahead of the new season, the Nottingham Sport caught up with rival Premier Division managers, Andi Bell and Lee Scott, to look back on a successful(ish) run last time out, and what their hopes are for the upcoming 2026/27 campaign.

Mansfield boss, Bell, is heading into her ‘seventh’ season at the helm, having been announced as manager back in the summer of 2020, when the world was in the throes of the covid pandemic.

Relative success has followed, but promotion has, thus far, eluded them, with the past couple of seasons seeing Mansfield finishing third (2024), fifth (2025), and third (2026), winning back-to-back Nottinghamshire FA County Cups (2025 and 2026), as well as succeeding in last seasons’ League Cup competition.

Looking ahead to the new campaign, and what is needed at Mansfield, Bell said; “It’s an advantage being at home in the opening game, but I’d be happy either way.

“I think it’ll be a tough, close season and, with Doncaster (Belles) and Lincoln, coming in, they have reputations and you don’t know what they’ll be like.

“Grimsby (Town Academy) will be tough also, so it just comes down to who’ll be the most consistent throughout.”

Following her last three league finishes, and successes in the cups, the one thing alluding Bell, who took over management in June 2020, is that all-important promotion.

Alongside a number of new players coming into the club ahead of the new campaign, Bell, although loving cup success, is aware of the promotion objective.

“Cup success hasn’t been a distraction for us, and we’ve improved season on season,” she admitted.

“And beating Loughborough (Foxes Vixens, 1-0 in the League Cup final) was a highlight for me, it gave us a great psychological edge.”

Meanwhile, her opposite number at SJR Worksop, Lee Scott, has overseen an upward trajectory in the club’s women’s set-up following promotion in 2024.

That season saw them win the Division One North title, and, despite staving off relegation on their two seasons in the top division, finishing sixth and seventh in 2025 and 2026 respectively, there has been plenty enjoyment elsewhere.

FA Cup runs have put a spotlight on the club, and they’ve also been successful in the league’s Plate competition, being back-to-back winners themselves in the last two seasons (2025 and 2026), the former being a 3-2 success over Mansfield.

Speaking of his sides’ recent success, SJR boss, Scott, heading into his fifth full season, added; “The step-ups we’ve had to make, adding more, and keeping the standards high, it’s been a massive achievement for us still be pushing it with some of the teams we’ve played against.

“It’s never easy, especially at the start of a new season, but we relish it, and we know we’ve to hit the ground running because anyone really can take points off anyone else, and we’re expecting the same this time around as well.”

Having won promotion a couple of years back, the past two seasons have seen SJR at the bottom end of the Premier Division, whilst enjoying historical runs in the Adobe Women’s FA Cup, whilst also adding back-to-back League Plate successes.

Those Plate victories, and cup runs however, have perhaps proved detrimental to their league form, Scott adding; “The lure of the FA Cup does take the eye off the league, so yes, cup success detracts.

“Cup runs have taken priority and we’ve found ourselves sleepwalking into a relegation battle; we don’t want to do that this time around, but we love a cup run.”

The EMWRFL Premier Division constitution for the new season (Notts clubs in CAPITALS) will be ass follows – Doncaster Rovers Belles, Gainsborough Trinity, Grimsby Town, Lincoln, Loughborough Foxes Vixens, MANSFIELD TOWN, Newport Pagnell Town, NOTTINGHAM TRENT UNIVERSITY, SJR WORKSOP, Stamford

With three Notts-based clubs in the Premier Division this coming season, Mansfield Town, SJR Worksop, and returning Nottingham Trent University, divisional stalwarts, Bell (Mansfield) and Scott (SJR) spoke of what they expect to come during 2026/27.

“NTU, you never know what you’ll get,” continued Bell.

“It’s swings and roundabouts with them, like it is with Loughborough, they both being uni sides, so their pool of players is slightly different.

“SJR will be tough once again, and it all depends who comes in there as to how things go.

“We just need to turn leads into wins; those small margins, alongside other, different factors, came have a big impact.

“The aim for us has to be promotion though, but let’s hope for an exciting season ahead.”

Meanwhile, Scott added; “Mansfield are a traditionally strong, hard unit, well-drilled, with big, strong girls that get the job done.

“NTU meanwhile are more of an anomaly with they being a university side, you never know what you’ll get.

“Any side will be difficult though, and things can change quickly; as I’ve said, we’re all capable of beating each other, on our day.”

The opening day, scheduled for Sunday 6 September, will see Scott take SJR Worksop to Doncaster Rovers Belles, whilst Bell and her Mansfield Town side welcome Nottingham Trent University in the EMWRFL Premier Division.

(COMING UP – We’ll preview Division One North, and Division One Central, with interviews with Matt Button, Arnold Eagles, and Matt Wheatcroft, Basford United).