Titled "Inspiring Positive Change" the strategy outlines eight objectives to be achieved by 2024.

As a whole, the strategy is ambitious but exciting, and address some of the biggest obstacles preventing female participation in English football. It pledges to give every primary school-aged girl equal access to football in school and in clubs, and equal access to participate for fun, for competition and for excellence.

It will see football embedded for girls in schools, both as part of the curriculum and in after-school sessions. Away from school, the strategy pledges to provide every girl with a Wildcats programme within easy travelling distance of their home. Wildcats Girls' Football Centres offer girls aged five to 11 a chance to try the sport for the first time and provide regular opportunities to play.

The FA will also collaborate with clubs to develop an effective high-performance, inclusive, player-centred pathway, while focusing on creating the best professional women’s sports league and competitions in the world. Increased development opportunities for female referees and coaches are also included in the strategy.

So far so good, and the strategy follows on from other impressive moves such as equal pay for the women's and men’s national teams. The FA revealed in September that it had been paying the two international sides "exactly the same" in match fees and bonuses since January.

Imagine the disappointment, then, when England entered into a second lockdown this week and it was revealed that Women’s Super League (WSL) academies and regional talent clubs would have to put their activities on hold. This would be understandable if there was a blanket rule, if it was deemed unsafe for all of youth football to continue. But boys’ academies and regional talent clubs are able to carry on.

Government guidelines have allowed elite sport to continue in England, and elite athletes are deemed to include anyone "aged 16 or above and on an elite development pathway." The FA’s decision seems to contradict this advice, then, and makes the suspension of girls’ football even more bewildering.

In a story by the Telegraph, the FA claimed the WSL academies and regional talent clubs "do not meet the necessary 'elite' protocols". Indeed, girls are not allowed to be legally contracted by a WSL club until they are 18 and are considered grassroots players until then. Nonetheless, it is suggested that even the Government is confused about the FA’s decision to stop girls’ academies and regional talent clubs.

Criticism of the move has been widespread and includes prominent voices such as Manchester United Women manager Casey Stoney, and former Arsenal Women’s player and BBC broadcaster Alex Scott. Stoney has even moved two of her academy players to her squad’s first team to ensure they can play this month.

This is because the suspension of WSL academies and regional talent is essentially stunting women’s football. Girls will miss out on at least a month of coaching and training, and potentially even more depending on when the lockdown in England is lifted. Their progress as players will subsequently be hampered.

Again, if this was a necessary evil to protect the health and well-being of the wider population then that is not a problem, but it must be a hard pill to swallow for female players and coaches alike that their male counterparts are allowed to continue.

Aside from the negative impact on the women’s game, the FA’s decision directly contradicts its own strategy released just three weeks ago. Of course, this sets out the plan for the next four years, but it has undeniably got off to a bad start.

The phrase "equal access" is used multiple times in the strategy, but there is nothing equal about stopping girls’ academies and regional talent clubs while the boys carry on. In addition, how does the FA expect to create the best women’s football league in the world, or see the Lionesses lift a trophy in the next four years, if young talent is not given a fair chance to develop? 

The situation has proved to be a reminder that, despite significant improvements in recent years, there is still much to be done to ensure men's and women’s football are on an equal footing. It is particularly important that there is parity at all levels of football, including at grassroots and for elite pathways.

There have been times during the COVID-19 pandemic when it has become obvious that there is still extreme disparity between men's and women’s sport. This has been one of those occasions. What is significant is that the FA has pledged to improve equal access in football, but then immediately contradicted this. The FA must do better if it is to live up to its own promises.