Long-term strategy for international growth

As women’s football continues to professionalise at pace, recruitment has become one of the defining competitive advantages for clubs aiming to progress sustainably. For Bristol City Women - who are in the second tier of the Women’s Super League, WSL 2, in England - that evolution is closely tied to structure, clarity and long-term planning.

That is in the words of Michelle Yeowell, Bristol City Women’s Head of Recruitment, who leads the club’s recruitment strategy and long-term squad building, ensuring alignment between our game model, positional requirements, and wider sporting objectives.

The club is entering a new phase following significant ownership change.

“This season represents a significant step forward for the club following the arrival of Mercury 13 as majority owners, who are driving a transformation towards WSL 1 standards across all areas of the organisation,” Yeowell says.

With ambition comes complexity. Like many women’s clubs, Bristol City Women are operating in a market where scouting bandwidth is limited, budgets must be maximised, and recruitment teams are often small.

“Our immediate objective is promotion, followed by consolidation and sustained competitiveness in the Women’s Super League,” Yeowell explains. “Recruitment has been central to that strategy, with a high-volume summer window complemented by targeted January additions.”

To support this approach, the club joined TransferRoom’s new Women’s Marketplace.

“The Women’s Marketplace on TransferRoom is a digital recruitment platform that centralises player data, availability, and market intelligence across multiple leagues,” says Yeowell. “It enables clubs to identify talent efficiently and communicate directly with the appropriate decision-makers.”

The introduction of the new Women’s Marketplace builds on how TransferRoom has revolutionised the Men’s transfer market with a dedicated platform to connect directly with the key people at clubs and agencies all over the world, to access real-time player and market data insights and intelligence, and sign, loan or sell players based on club needs.

That global and transparent communication now comes to women’s football, in a unique marketplace capturing the challenges and needs of women’s game.

As Bristol City Women expand their reach beyond domestic borders, visibility and communication have become critical.

“As Bristol City Women continue to expand its recruitment footprint internationally, TransferRoom supports both our data-led recruitment process and our need for direct, efficient communication with other clubs and representatives,” she says.

“One of the key challenges in the women’s game is the lack of consistent access to accurate, up-to-date player information and clear points of contact. TransferRoom addresses this by improving market visibility.”

Beyond individual transfers, the platform is helping raise standards across the ecosystem.

“By streamlining recruitment, improving access to player data, and facilitating direct communication between clubs and representatives, the Women’s Marketplace supports the continued professionalisation and globalisation of the women’s game,” she adds.

For clubs balancing ambition with limited resources, TransferRoom is becoming a key part of building smarter, more sustainable recruitment strategies and ensuring every decision counts.

Join the Women's Marketplace now

Clubs from leagues across the globe have already signed up, including a host of big sides in the WSL, Scandinavia, the NWSL, France’s Première Ligue and Germany’s Frauen-Bundesliga, and the global network is growing fast.

Find out everything you need to know, and see how to register for the new Women’s Marketplace on TransferRoom now, here.

Meet in person at the Women’s Football Forum

It’s not just on TransferRoom’s online marketplace that Women’s clubs can connect. Over 100 top executives from clubs and agencies will be meeting in person at the first-ever TransferRoom Leaders: Women’s Football Forum on 27th February 2026.

Hosted at Stamford Bridge in London, England, transfer market decision-makers from clubs and agencies across the global game will meet for a day of networking and negotiations.

Building on the successful format of TransferRoom Live events with the Men’s Marketplace, there will be: 

• 12 rounds of 15-minute one-to-one meetings, where every participant can book in a meeting with another club or agency executive to fast-track transfer negotiations and build relationships.
• 2 on-stage panel discussions, with leading figures in the women’s game sharing exclusive insights to our audience
• Exclusive networking opportunities over registration, morning coffee, lunch, and evening drinks

Tickets are going fast, so register here now to make sure you don’t miss out.