Brighton & Hove Albion say they are "confident" of being able to reopen their women's academy during England's lockdown.

Under government rules, boys' academies can remain open but girls' cannot as they are not classed as 'elite'.

The Football Association says if an academy meets the government's elite protocols then it can reopen.

Brighton have requested to reopen after confirming to the FA their protocols meet the required standards.

"Our Dual Career Academy here at Brighton & Hove Albion has been operating under the same protocols as the boys' academy, since returning from the initial lockdown," said Polly Bancroft, Brighton's women's and girls' general manager.

"We have taken additional steps to put measures in place, which match the Premier League protocols for the boys' academy, and these have already been deemed as 'elite' by the government.

"With this in mind we are hopeful the FA will give us permission for the players to resume training and continue with their development."

On Tuesday, Kelly Simmons, the FA's director of the women's professional game, told BBC Sport girls' academies can reopen but believes only "one to two clubs" will have the resources to do so.

"Unfortunately the women's game doesn't have the same resource level as the men's game and therefore we can't risk putting those players in an environment without everything there needs to be," she said.

Manchester United manager Casey Stoney previously said the labelling of girls' academies as "non-elite" had to change.

The hashtag #IsItBecauseImAGirl has been used on Twitter to highlight the issue.
What's the background?

During the current lockdown in England, which is due to end on 2 December, sport has been split into two categories - elite and grassroots.

The Women's Super League can continue under elite protocols, which includes regular testing, proper medical supervision, and daily temperature checks, but FA WSL Academies and FA Girls Regional Talent Clubs were suspended.

The FA said this was because "their resources - including finances and personnel - do not meet the necessary 'elite' protocols required".

Girls' academies in England are controlled by the FA, whereas boys' academies are run by the Premier League and English Football League clubs.

Girls begin at a Regional Talent Club, of which there are 32, with the best players moving on to a top-tier academy in the WSL.

When the WSL relaunched in 2018-19 as a full-time league, all top-tier clubs were required to run an academy for 16 to 21-year-olds.
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