Indeed, Rugby Borough began in the first round with a 7-0 win over Lincoln City before beating Peterborough (7-1), Mancunian Unity (3-0) and London Bees (6-0); Liverpool, meanwhile, joined in the fourth round and beat West Ham (5-0).
The prize money for winning in the women’s FA Cup fifth round stands at £80,000 which, though only a fraction of the £225,000 sum awarded to teams who triumph in the same round of the men’s competition, would go a long way to helping bolster Rugby Borough’s infrastructure.
“Everyone knows about the financial aspect, and it is growing, though it still needs to get bigger,” Burch says. “For us, it is about pushing the brand, getting the club out there a bit more.
“This [game vs. Liverpool] is really important to put our club on the map and help people understand who we are. We’ve got a lot of good players, some players who’ve played against WSL opponents before and some who haven’t. Ultimately, it’s about putting us on the map and that’s what this run has done.”
The prospect of Rugby Borough making it out of the third tier is made more difficult because several of their league opponents are backed by Premier League outfits. In summer 2023, Newcastle United — off the back of the club’s takeover by the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia — became the first women’s third-division side in more than two decades to turn fully professional. They won promotion to the Championship that season.
In the northern division this term, Wolves, Nottingham Forest, Burnley and Stoke City are among Rugby Borough’s opponents.
“It’s a tough division,” Moncaster says. “It’s been particularly tough the last couple of years because more men’s clubs are putting money into their women’s teams. That’s why the FA Cup is so important to an independent club like ours.
“We want to do it for the club, we want to do it for each other, so the FA Cup campaign has been really important for us. It’s difficult in the third division but we’re up for the challenge and our time will come soon.”
Should Rugby Borough’s time come this weekend, it will be a game that instantly becomes part of women’s football folklore. Whatever the result, though, it looks set to be a memorable afternoon for a club who consistently look to punch above their weight.
“It’s a sellout this weekend so hopefully the people who come to see us, maybe for the first time, want to return,” Burch says. “We want our crowds to continue growing and we want to put on a good show for the new faces that are coming. It’s not just about them coming to see Liverpool, it’s about coming to support a local club and that will hopefully continue to drive us forward.
“The players deserve to enjoy themselves on Sunday. People talk about the magic of the club but there’s not too many shocks in the women’s game in the FA Cup, it’s probably more so in the men’s, so someone is due to do it soon.”
