Girls' academies can reopen during England's lockdown but it is unlikely many will have the resources to do so, the Football Association says.

Boys' academies are able to train during lockdown, but girls cannot, even if they are at the same club.

Kelly Simmons, the FA's director of the women's professional game, said many academies would struggle to meet the government's elite protocol.

"It's really about the human and financial resources," she said.

Under the coronavirus protocols, sport has been split into two categories - elite and grassroots.

The Women's Super League returned under elite protocols, which includes regular testing, but it would be difficult for grassroots organisations to achieve this.

Return-to-play options were discussed by the FA at a meeting on Monday but Simmons believes only "one to two clubs" would be in a position to meet the criteria.

"In the WSL environment, you have medical supervision of daily temperature checks, questionnaires and managing if there are any positive tests," Simmons told BBC Sport.

"It is a big gear change to move from grassroots to elite protocol, especially overnight.

"If the clubs could do that, then they could they could operate, but it's a big challenge for the women's game."

Girls' academies are expected to reopen, depending on local tiered systems, when lockdown ends on 2 December.

The Women's FA Cup first round was set to begin on 15 November but it has also been put on hold.

Simmons said it was the "right decision for the women's game" to postpone the competition while it is in the earlier stages.

"If we scheduled those games, it would give those clubs an absolute headache and once we scheduled them, they would have to either play them or forfeit them," Simmons said.

"We still have time to play those rounds. Hopefully, the lockdown is lifted, we can get those rounds here and we've got plenty of time before the Super League and the Championship come in at the end of January.

"It will give those clubs a fair chance to compete on the pitch."

The girls' game in England is controlled by the FA, whereas the boys' game is overseen 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 ton 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.

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

"It is heartbreaking to think that's the situation for girls, but our duty as the FA is to make sure those girls are safe," Simmons added.

"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."
Analysis

Katie Gornall, BBC Sport Correspondent

The FA has come in for fierce criticism over the closure of girls' academies, but the stark reality is that they were left with few options.

Boys' academies, run by the Premier League, have big budgets and extensive resources, in terms of staff and infrastructure to call on. Girls' academies are nowhere near as well resourced and for many, fulfilling the elite protocols would have been unsustainable.

While the women's game has made huge strides in recent years and continues to develop, this pandemic has highlighted just how far it has to go.

Ultimately it all comes down to money - a fact that will be of no comfort to the girls currently locked out of their clubs, forced to watch the boys play on.