Chatham Town long for their FA Cup moment

There was a time when the Women’s FA Cup final was the only domestic women’s football match shown on television. For lots of girls growing up, it was their first exposure to senior women’s football – a stand-out day in the calendar.

Times have changed in the two decades since Keith Boanas was managing a Charlton side who made four Women’s FA Cup finals, winning once. Now it is seen as strange when matches are not shown on television, as will be the case for Chelsea and Manchester City among others this weekend. A new FA Cup rights deal with TNT Sports and Channel 4 means that no other fixture can be shown at the same time as their selected TV matches. This is unusual in the women’s game where matches not picked up for TV are often shown on YouTube or via club channels.

“Back then, the FA Cup was better than winning the league,” says Boanas, speaking to The Observer as he prepares his Chatham Town side for their fourth-round fixture against York City. Because it was the only game on TV, it was the only game that had that kind of aura about it. It gave players exposure, and the chance to be noticed.”

Boanas was at Charlton from 2000 until 2007, when the women’s team were disbanded following the men’s side’s relegation from the Premier League. He joined Chatham Town in 2023, following a spell managing the Estonia women’s national team. With Chatham’s opponents also playing in the Women’s National League Division One South East, the tie with York City guarantees a fourth-tier side will be in the fifth round.

Chatham entered the competition in third round qualifying, and they have beaten Beaconsfield, Wimbledon, Exeter City and Sutton United to make it to this stage. Both Exeter and Wimbledon are a division above Chatham, demonstrating the variability of the levels within the women’s pyramid.

“There are a lot of good teams in tier four that probably should be playing in tier three and teams in tier three who should be playing in tier four,” says Boanas. “It’s kind of a mishmash and the gaps aren’t massive. There’s teams with a hell of a lot more resources either coming up or being relegated who have strong backing. Fulham are flying in our league, Norwich as well. Both have full-time staff and hybrid professional players, whereas we’re totally amateur.

“We’re training twice a week in the evenings, half eight until 10, the late shift. We’ve got mothers, girls that are doing other jobs, or students that can’t commit to full-time programmes. It obviously puts you a little bit on the back foot. Technically, I’ve got players who are as good as players in the WSL2, without a shadow of a doubt, but they’re just missing that edge and continuity that you get with more contact time.”

For a team like Chatham Town, the prize money they would receive if they were able to beat York City would exceed the budget for their women’s side for the year. Winners in the fourth round will get £54,000 and the losers £13,000. That is less than half of what winners in the men’s competition receive at the equivalent stage. Boanas’s memories from his early adventures in the FA Cup inform his opinion on the prize money debate now.

“When I won it with Charlton, we got £5,000. Now you’re getting 10 times that in round four. That’s an incredible jump, as much as it’s not parity. Do we generate the income to say we should get parity? Or are we just demanding a chunk of change from the men’s game? No one’s fought harder for better things in the women’s game than me. But you’ve also got to stay realistic.

“This is a non-League club trying to survive. The money from this competition will help this team sustain and grow for the next two seasons. If we win this round, probably three seasons. That’s the way that it’s got to be looked at.”

For lower league clubs in the men’s game, the television fee for a live game can be significant. The 16 men’s teams shown live on the BBC or TNT in the fourth round next month will get £100,000 each, on top of FA prize money. This season is the first of a new stand-alone deal for the women’s FA Cup, with TNT showing 19 games and Channel 4 one per round. Chatham’s tie will not be shown.

“I think that could have been looked at,” Boanas says. “We are the lowest two teams in the Cup. Give us our moment. That’s probably one small disappointment.”

Boanas first reached the FA Cup final in 2003, when his Charlton side lost to Fulham, a professional team, and then again the year after when they lost to Arsenal. They made the final for a third consecutive time in 2005, facing Everton at Upton Park. “It was a weird one because your psychology kicks in a bit. We hadn’t lost to Everton all season and we were totally confident we could beat them. The biggest weapon was Copey [Pauline Cope – Charlton’s then goalkeeper, who is married to Boanas]. Getting past her at Upton Park was always going to be a tall order. She’s a West Ham season-ticket holder, and she wasn’t going to lose at Upton Park.

“Eni [Aluko, the former England international] said that it was third time lucky. Three is the magic number and obviously she scored the goal that made sure that that was the fact.”

For now, the focus is back on Chatham. The match against York City will be their first at home in the FA Cup this season, and they are hoping to get about 500 fans. “It’s a credit to our chairman,” says Boanas. “He’s the main reason I’ve stayed here for the last two seasons. At some clubs, having a women’s team is still a tick-box exercise, because it’s fashionable. They’re not committed to it. Our chairman is always aware of what’s going on, he shows an interest, and I can knock on his door, certainly after winning a few quid, and say ‘Can I have some more stuff for the girls?’”

In the second round, on a long trip to Exeter, with an overnight stay ahead of the game, the minibus they took did not have toilets. There is no further motivation needed. “If we do get through this round and get a big away game, I guarantee we’ll get a luxury coach with some toilets this time,” he says with a laugh.

Photograph by Tom Dulat – The FA/The FA via Getty Images