Arsenal head coach Jonas Eidevall says that the current FA Women’s Continental Tyres League Cup format is very unfair on the other teams in the competition.
As clubs playing in the UEFA Women’s Champions League group stage, Arsenal and Chelsea join the FA Women’s Continental Tyres League Cup at the quarter-final stage, potentially just three games away from lifting the trophy. The other participants from the Barclays Women’s Super League and Barclays Women’s Championship must negotiate their way through either six or seven games to win the competition. The format has been in place for the past couple of seasons but offers a clear advantage to the clubs participating in the latter stages of European competition.
When speaking to FAWSL Full-Time in an Arsenal press conference, The Gunners boss Eidevall agreed that the competition format is unfair on the other teams looking to lift the trophy.
“I think it’s very unfair against other teams to be honest,” Eidevall said. “It’s two separate competitions, Champions League and Conti Cup so of course, I can see it from that perspective, we haven’t qualified for these games the same way that the other teams have done.
“I don’t think it is a great format for the competition if I’m honest. When we look at it, there are probably better solutions.”
Arsenal begin their participation in this season’s FA Women’s Continental Tyres League Cup with a home fixture against Aston Villa this evening. Eidevall is pleased to see The Villans raise the bar with the quality of their recruitment and on-field performances in recent times.
He said “They’ve really developed during Carla Ward’s time there as a manager. They are making some really smart additions and they are finding players that fit into the way that they want to play really well. They have a good combination of young players and players that have a lot of experience both in the league and at international level. The results and the way that they have played so far this season has shown that.
“For the league, it is what we need; more teams that are competitive, more managers that are developing squads that become better and better and challenge teams more and more. That’s great and of course, it poses a greater challenge for us. If you want to be at the top level, you have to be prepared to play top teams.”
Arsenal’s FA Women’s Continental Tyres League Cup fixture against Aston Villa kicks-off at 7.45pm this evening. The game is subject to a 12pm pitch inspection at the LV Bet Stadium.
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