For Portsmouth goalkeeper Hannah Haughton, this summer has been nothing short of transformative as she became the club’s first female professional player following their promotion to the Women’s Championship.
The 32-year-old has spent years balancing her football career with her full-time job as a PE teacher. But for Haughton, the switch from the classroom to the training ground has been more than a job change: it’s the culmination of a lifelong dream.
“12 months ago, we went from grassroots to semi-professional,” said the goalkeeper, speaking at a pre-season media event. “Fast forward another 12 months and we are about to start our campaign in the Women’s Championship.
“In a long-term plan, the club is trying to invest and bring the team up, but it wasn’t meant for this season. When we got promoted, we weren’t sure if we would (go full-time) or not because of the finances, and the men’s team was also just getting promoted. At the beginning of the summer we heard the news that we would be going there full time, which was a dream come true.
“If someone asked me what my job is, I can say I’m a footballer. Obviously you think about it (going full-time), but the reality of the finances and how much it costs, it’s not as simple as that, but we’re very lucky that the CEO and owners are really invested in the women’s team, and we’re lucky to have them at this club.”
Last season, the promotion and relegation structure between the second and third tiers in the women’s game underwent a major overhaul. Previously, the winners of the FA Women’s National League North and South had to contest a play-off final in order to secure the one and only promotion place, meaning a team could win their league respectively and still not get the benefits of moving up the pyramid.
The changes mean that the two winners can now take the step forward, while two Championship teams are relegated. Last season, Pompeu achieved title glory in the southern division with 61 points from 22 games, dropping points on just two occasions. Elsewhere, an ambitious Newcastle United got the win in the northern section of the league.
The women’s success was part of a fantastic campaign for the Portsmouth side as the men’s side also secured promotion to the second tier as League One champions, ending 12 years of ‘exile of the first two divisions. However, the club’s ownership has not only taken steps to ensure that the men continue to be successful, they have begun to lay the groundwork to allow women to compete at a professional level.
LET’S GO UP!
Promotion at @BarclaysWC: CONFIRMED
#Pompey
– Portsmouth Women (@PompeyWomen) April 27, 2024
Haughton, who has been at Pompeo for six seasons, became the club’s first woman professional player as he signed a two-year deal earlier this summer.
“It’s an honor, it really is,” continued the goalkeeper.
“The manager, Jay (Sadler), told me he wanted me to be the first one he signed. I’m very grateful for all the opportunities this club has given me. To be able to say I was the first person there La club’s history in the women’s side to be fully professional is absolutely incredible.”
Before the team’s promotion, Haughton would divide his daily routine between teaching and football. He would go to school all day, before driving straight to training from work three times a week, often returning home as late as 10pm.
“It’s completely different with the amount of time I have in the evenings and the time I have to myself,” she reflected. “I have time to be able to do things.
“We just trained late in the afternoon and I get home in the evening thinking ‘what do I do now?’ It’s completely different, but it’s so much better because you have time to do things and see people.”
Despite the positive mood at the club since their promotion, it’s fair to say they are under no illusions about how challenging life in the second tier will be. The Women’s Championship is growing in competitiveness year after year, and this season will be no different.
Pompey’s fellow promotion winners Newcastle are among the favorites to challenge for the title after a summer of investment in their playing squad, having operated a full-time model in the National League . Lionesses of the City of London They have also injected significant investment both on and off the pitch in recent months, and that’s not even taking into account Birmingham City, Sunderland, Southampton and Charlton Athletic, who were all in the hunt for promotion last season.
“I’ll be totally honest, if we stay up, brilliant,” admitted Haughton, when asked about his ambitions for next season. “It’s a whole different level and we’ve never been before.
“Do I think our team is good enough to do well in the league? Yes. I have full faith in the players, the process and how our coach wants us to play. I think we can do well in this league.
“But ultimately you want to stay up. Now that we’ve gotten here, we want to stay up and find our feet this year. Then maybe push through. I think realistically the goals would be mid-table. I think it’s a good achievable goal for this season.”
For Haughton, this moment is not just a personal triumph, but a sign of Portsmouth’s growing ambitions as they look to climb the pyramid. Where Pompeo are now couldn’t be further from where they were just over ten years ago, on the brink of liquidation and saved by fan ownership. Both the men’s and women’s teams have entered a new era of success.
“It means a lot,” concluded the goalkeeper. “Portsmouth are a community and family club. If you go back to when they went into administration, it was the fans who kept them going and paid the money to keep them (floating).
“It’s very much about the fans, the fans and the area. You can see when you go to the men’s games, the women’s games, you can hear the fans and the support. They are positive about the team and want them to do well .
“They feel part of the teams too. It’s hard to describe. When you’ve been there for a while, you can feel it. If I walk around Portsmouth now, people recognize me as Pompey’s goalkeeper and captain. It’s amazing. .”
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