26/27 Preview: Time to See What The 11s Can Do

A new season brings a new challenge for Manchester Vixens as we head into 2026/27 in Division 3 of the Greater Manchester Women’s Football League.

Last year was, in many ways, a season of finding our feet again. We didn’t have a regular team playing together week in, week out, which made it difficult to build consistency, develop partnerships and find our rhythm. The first half of the season proved to be a real learning curve for us but something started to change as the season went on.

The more games we played together, the more the team began to gel. Performances improved, players grew in confidence and we started to see the football we knew this group was capable of. By the end of the season, there was a real sense that we were building something.

Now comes the exciting part: seeing what we can do with a full season together.

Division 3 is always likely to provide plenty of challenges. There will be teams we know well from last season, as well as new faces and potentially some sides looking to make their mark in the division. The league has consistently shown that there are very few easy games, and we know we'll have to work for every result.

For the Vixens, though, the biggest test may be turning those late season improvements into consistency.

We want to start the season much stronger than we finished the last one. We want to build relationships from the first whistle rather than spending half a season finding them. We want to be organised, competitive and difficult to play against – while still being the team that enjoys getting together every Sunday.

And there is plenty of reason to be optimistic.

The squad has continued to grow, with over 50 women registered and attending training, our fab flexi team continue to welcome newer players and act as feeder to the 11s team for those who want it. These huge numbers give us a fantastic pool of players and, importantly, creates more opportunities for everyone to develop and enjoy their football.

So what are we expecting from 2026/27?

We’re not going to put pressure on ourselves with grand predictions. Instead, the aim is simple: keep improving, keep competing and see where that takes us.

If last season was about finding our team, this season is about finding out what that team can achieve.

There will be big tests. There will be difficult Sundays. There will probably be a few sore legs, questionable finishing and plenty of touchline shouting.

But there will also be goals, laughs, post match pints and hopefully plenty of reasons to celebrate.

The Vixens are ready.