For a time, Everton were one of the top women’s teams in the country.
They won a league title in 1998, two domestic cups in the late 2000s, and reached the quarter-finals of the Women’s Champions League in 2011, and attracted players such as Jill Scott, Fara Williams, Toni Duggan and Rachel Brown-Finnis.
Under Moshiri’s ownership, the team’s on-field results went into decline, unable to compete with the sustained success of Arsenal and emerging powerhouses Chelsea, Manchester City, and Manchester United. Since his takeover in 2016, they’ve finished no higher than fifth in the WSL.
But there is optimism around the club that change is coming.
The Friedkin Group are no strangers to success in the women’s game, winning six trophies since 2020 as the majority owners of Roma, and brought in nine players during the transfer window, including Ornella Vignola, who scored a hat-trick against Liverpool at Anfield on her debut.
Forshaw can feel a change around the club, although she did caution against expecting Everton to “win the league in season one”.
“Our ambition is to be competitive, continue to attract those star players that will continue to move us up the league, hopefully get a really good cup run. We’ve got the talent to do it. The squad have got the belief,” she said.
“I get the sense there’s been a real step change in how people are viewing the women’s game at Everton and that’s radiating through the team.”
Sorensen credits the stadium move with helping to attract players to the club and sell his vision: “Goodison is a magic place and it was something I told agents and players [about]. A lot of female players are looking for that stability and support from the ownership because they buy into the project.”
As for Weir, it’s the history embedded within Goodison Park which will spur the women’s team on in their “new chapter”. Everton’s men won 24 trophies, including eight First Division titles, during their time at the stadium.
“If you look at women’s football in England in the last 20 years or so, Everton have always been one of the best. We’ve always had very good players who’ve gone on to do great things,” Weir said.
“It’s exciting for us to see this new chapter and hopefully push on this season and the next few seasons.
“The history is still there, and the memories are still there. It’s our job to take on that task and give them more history.”