Chelsea Ladies' Emma Hayes and Eni Aluko in favour of FA WSL calendar shift

Chelsea Ladies boss Emma Hayes and forward Eni Aluko are broadly in favour of the changes to the FA WSL calendar from next year.

From 2017, the FA WSL season will be brought in line with other major European leagues and will run from September to May, shutting down for a month over the festive period.

"I think it's the right decision," Hayes told Sky Sports News HQ.

"There will be a transition period but in the long term I think it's the right decision as long as we get other areas of the game right because the year has been absolutely horrendous in terms of fixture scheduling.

"As long as we are forward thinking and we've got the right planning it will serve clubs and the national team well."

Aluko thinks bringing the women's football calendar more in line with the men's game will give rise to a host of opportunities that clubs can capitalise upon.

"After four of five years of having a summer league the FA WSL now has its own fanbase," the Chelsea and England forward said.

"Now it's about creating a consistency for fans week-in, week-out to come to games. I think this year the scheduling has been poor and fans haven't been able to follow [the women's game as much as they would have liked].

"With a winter league that mirrors the men's league there are also marketing opportunities but in terms of consistency for the fans I support the change."

England women's manager Mark Sampson added: "It's incredible really [the growth in popularity of the women's game] from where we were a couple of years ago and we just need to keep it going now.

"What we don't want to do is lose the current fans. The supporters who have been so loyal to their clubs over the summer seasons will now be excited about moving to the winter and will follow their men's and women's clubs.

"Hopefully we'll also get some games on the same day."