TRUK United line up with Dulwich Hamlet Women before their friendly in March. Alamy
The Alternative Football League and clubs such as Manchester Laces show demand is there but players still face huge hurdles to wider participation
Search: ' USL'
Stories
Rod McDonald goes down with cramp as Crewe Alexandra look to protect a 2-1 lead against Northampton Town. Getty Images
Battles of attrition and tedious timewasting in the lower leagues are increasingly a turn-off for supporters, whose entertainment is sacrificed for points
Illustration by Matt Littler
Returning to non-League after 2020’s enforced absence heightened the senses of matchday, as told in this extract from the new book The Silence of the Stands
Pitch Publishing, £18.99
Reviewed by Huw Richards
From WSC 426, November/December 2022
Buy the book