Maria Farrugia’s Sunderland Ladies have season void for second straight year

For the second straight year, Malta women player Maria Farrugia will not have the opportunity to play a full season at Sunderland Ladies after the FA declared their season null and void.

On Monday, the FA announced that the tiers 3 to 6 of the Women’s Football pyramid won’t be completed and will be declared null and void.

This means that there will also be no promotion and relegation between these tiers for the 2020/21 season, including no promotion from tier 3 into tier 2 and no relegation from tier 6 into tier 7.

Meanwhile, Farrugia and her Sunderland Ladies team are still set to resume their FA Cup commitments as announced by the English football governing body earlier this month.

Sunderland will host fellow FA Women’s National League – third tier – side Sheffield FC, on April 4.

Should the Lasses advance into the next round, they would face the winner of Burnley vs Flyde in an away tie, on April 11. At stake will be a high-profile clash against giants Manchester United on home soil, a week later.

Deja vu

Last year, Sunderland Ladies were leading the Women’s National League (third-tier) with 40 points in 14 games and with a game in hand when their season was declared null and void with immediate effect.

Farrugia’s side were preparing for the FA Women’s National League Cup final as well.