Postponement of WSL opening weekend threatens momentum women's football worked hard to build

On Friday The Football Association announced that following the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, all fixtures across English football due to take place between September 9 and 11 would be postponed.

In keeping with action taken by the Premier League and the Football League, as a mark of respect, The FA decided to postpone fixtures in all its competitions, including the Barclays Women's Super League.

Her Majesty passed peacefully late on Thursday afternoon at Balmoral Castle, Scotland. While attitudes and feelings towards the Royal Family and the concept of monarchy vary greatly across the United Kingdom and the rest of the world, the mass outpouring of grief following her death has made it abundantly clear how much the Queen meant to many millions of people.

READ MORE: Women's Super League postpones opening weekend fixtures following the death of Queen Elizabeth II

However, in pausing the launch of the new Women's Super League season, The FA are directly damaging and undermining a cause the Queen herself was a supporter of.

Before looking at the impact the postponement of this weekend's fixtures will have on Women's football, it is important to question why The FA decided to take the action it has.

The FA's decision came hours after the UK Government issued guidance that while recommending the cancellation of sporting events in the days following the Queen's passing, made clear that the final decision would be left to organizing bodies. The official statement said: "There is no obligation to cancel of postpone events and sporting fixtures." The guidance even offered ways that events could be held in a respectful manner, such as holding a minute's silence before events or participants wearing black armbands.