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Club slashed team budget despite near-promotionHead coach quit after decision players called ‘cold’Plymouth Argyle have said they “did not take lightly” their decision to significantly reduce their women’s team’s budget and tell the squad via email that their contracts were not being renewed.The Guardian reported on Sunday evening that the vast majority of the squad had received a letter, via email, which began abruptly with: “Hi all. Following our end-of-season review and planning for 2026-27, we wanted to let you know that we won’t be renewing contracts for the players included in this message.”Plymouth, who compete in the third tier of the English women’s pyramid and narrowly missed out on promotion to Women’s Super League 2 in May, said in a statement on Monday evening that they “recognise concerns regarding the way this news was communicated, internally and externally, and will review this”, after the players issued a joint statement condemning the email as “cold, impersonal and lacking empathy”.Commenting publicly on the matter for the first time, Plymouth said: “The football club has had to make some very tough decisions regarding the Argyle Women’s team.“We remain committed to women’s football, and we will work on and share our visions for next season, and beyond. After a lengthy, thorough review, we made the decision that, from next season, we would need to change our approach as regards the women’s team setup. Last season, to get to a cup final and to a playoff game, was a superb achievement, but it came at a cost; a higher financial cost than we had previously thought.“Had we achieved promotion to the WSL2, with a great deal of central funding to assist us, we would have been able to continue our backing at similar levels.“However, in tier three, taking into account some of the proposed administrative changes to the governance of women’s football in this country, and in light of the financial state of the football club overall, we made the difficult decision to not renew any of the players’ contracts for next season. This was not taken lightly. It was done with a view to sustainability, and with the club’s long-term interests in mind.”As well as confirming they would remain in the Women’s National League South, the club’s statement also confirmed that the reason the former Chelsea and Manchester City goalkeeper Marie Hourihan resigned as head coach on 28 May was she had learned of this planned decrease in the budget: “We informed head coach Marie Hourihan of our decision, at which point she made the decision to step down.”Plymouth reached 4 May’s playoff decider for a place in WSL2 but lost 1-0 to Wolves, who were promoted.

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Plymouth chief executive calls move ‘difficult decision’Players included in email will not have contract renewedPlymouth Argyle have told the vast majority of their women’s first-team players their contracts will not be renewed this summer, the Guardian has learned, just weeks after they narrowly missed out on promotion to Women’s Super League 2.In an email sent to almost all of the senior squad, Plymouth’s chief executive, Paul Berne, explained that the “difficult decision” to let the players go reflected “the direction of the squad for next season” and went on to thank them and offer them job references.According to multiple sources, the club’s decision to let so many players go is primarily a financial one, coming amid plans to significantly reduce the women’s team’s playing budget in the summer. Plymouth were contacted for a comment in response on Sunday morning.The news follows the resignation of the team’s head coach, Marie Hourihan, on 28 May, and it is believed that the club’s budget cuts were a contributing factor towards her decision to resign. The coach was understood to be popular with the players and the supporters.Berne’s email said: “Hi all. Following our end-of-season review and planning for 2026-27, we wanted to let you know that we won’t be renewing contracts for the players included in this message.”The email went on to say the decision was “not a lack of appreciation for the effort, commitment and professionalism you’ve shown” and expressed the club’s “gratitude for the time you’ve given Argyle”, before offering support to find new opportunities and wishing the players “all the very best moving forward”.In a joint statement released on Sunday evening, Plymouth’s players said: “Following the decision from the board to significantly reduce the team’s budget, and the understandable resignation of our manager, nearly all players have been informed via an email from the club that they will be released at the end of our contracts next month.“The decision was communicated through a cold, impersonal email, providing us with no opportunity for open, honest or meaningful dialogue and preventing us from gaining clarity on the situation. We feel the staff and players who have given everything for the badge this season should have been treated with greater care, respect and empathy.”In a statement on 28 May, the former Brighton, Chelsea and Manchester City goalkeeper Hourihan said “thank you to the senior leadership of Plymouth Argyle for this opportunity” to coach the team throughout the 2025-26 season but also added: “Now is the right time for me to consolidate and consider what is next for me. This has not been a decision I have taken lightly.”Plymouth finished second in the Southern section of the FA Women’s National League this term, missing out on automatic promotion by just one point, behind the champions Watford, who were promoted. Hourihan oversaw an impressive 16 wins in 22 league fixtures, to finish above clubs including Bournemouth and the former WSL2 sides Oxford United and Lewes in the table.Finishing second saw Plymouth contest 4 May’s playoff decider against the Northern division runners-up, Wolverhampton Wanderers, who went on to secure a slender 1-0 win over Argyle in Burton, in a game in which Plymouth created several fine chances before hitting the woodwork late on.The vast majority of the squad were understood to be on one-year contracts – as is commonplace across the lower leagues in the women’s game – but it was a shock for the players to learn that they were being let go this summer. Another source close to the squad described the news as “heartbreaking” and said there was now relatively little time to find a new team.