This weekend, the English Women's Championship kicks off for the 2024-25 season, and with a new contender ready to shake things up. Fresh off back-to-back promotions, Newcastle United are stepping up to the second tier for the first time and they're not just here to participate: they're here to conquer.

Newcastle's rise has been nothing short of meteoric, fuelled by strategic investment and bold decisions. Recognising that climbing the football ladder requires significant resources, under Amanda Staveley and Dan Ashworth [Staveley severed her ties in the summer; while Ashworth moved on to become Manchester United's sporting director] the club made a daring move to turn fully professional in 2023 while still in the third tier FA Women's National League (FAWNL), where most teams are amateur. This early gamble set them apart and helped fast-track their ascent, bringing them to the brink of the Women's Super League (WSL).

"We're unapologetically ambitious about where we want to get to and it's no secret we want to get to the top of the women's game," manager Becky Langley told ESPN. "We're also mindful there's lots of steps that have got to be met in the process, but at the same time we are working really hard behind the scenes to keep investing time and finances into the squad to keep improving the quality that we have on and off the pitch."

But the road ahead is fraught with challenges. The leap from the FAWNL to the Championship is vast, but it pales in comparison to the chasm between the Championship and the WSL. The Championship is a battleground of semi-professional and professional teams, where former giants like Sunderland and Birmingham City have found themselves stuck, unable to claw their way back up.

Following Crystal Palace's promotion, the 2024-25 season sees all 12 WSL clubs with affiliated men's teams in the Premier League, which makes the WSL a more level playing field than in previous seasons. But that does not make Newcastle's road any easier. The North-East club are keenly aware of the odds but are determined to defy them, starting with a high-stakes clash against London City Lionesses on Sept. 8.

Newcastle's £300 million takeover by the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) and the Reuben Brothers in 2021 saw the club quickly become the richest in world football. While the men's team quickly spent £400m over four transfer windows, the women's side only started to make big changes once they had secured their place in the Championship at the end of 2023-24.

Indeed, with promotion clinched well before the season's end, the club made some big signings that signalled their intent, including: former Sunderland goalkeeper, and last season's Golden Glove winner, Claudia Moan; experienced midfielder Rachel Furness; and perhaps most impressively, former Manchester City and England defender Demi Stokes.

The signing of the 32-year-old Stokes, who has been capped by England 69 times and won Euro 2022, sent shockwaves through the Newcastle fanbase -- and not just because she began her career at Sunderland. The signing was a clear message: Newcastle are here to compete at the highest level.

"I made the decision because when I had my meeting with them, I came out and felt so excited," Stokes said of her signing. "The journey they have been on, credit to the girls to get the club into the position they're in. I just wanted to be a part of it."

Langley also praised the club's progressive thinking and support shown to get the team to where it is, noting that Staveley in particular had been a "massive advocate" for the women's team.

"They're hugely ambitious wanting the women's team to progress quickly," she said. "At the same time, they understand the context. Two years ago we were playing tier four football, so we've moved absolute mountains in the last two seasons to ensure the players are now full time. Everything in terms of that wraparound support has had to really quickly change and improve to make sure we're giving the best environment for players to progress as quickly as possible."

Newcastle are not alone in their aspiration to gain promotion to WSL, with London City Lionesses on a similar trajectory. Their fortunes turned when Michele Kang, owner of Washington Spirit and Lyon, acquired the club. This investment brought a wave of changes, including a move from Princes Park in Dartford to Bromley FC's Hayes Lane [increasing capacity by 25%], the acquisition of their training ground, and the high-profile signing of former Paris Saint-Germain manager Jocelyn Prêcheur. But the most eye-catching addition was Sweden captain, and 2022 Golden Foot winner, Kosovare Asllani from AC Milan.

Like Stokes, Asllani has an impressive resume -- having played for PSG, Manchester City, and Real Madrid -- but her move was driven by a desire to help Kang's vision of elevating the Lionesses to the top tier.

The 35-year-old midfielder was unequivocal about her motivation: she had been waiting for someone to invest in the women's game the way Kang has. Kang, who recently donated $4m to USA Rugby as part of a $50m investment into the "first multi-team global organization dedicated to women's football," told The Athletic: "We approached a lot of top coaches, a lot of top players. A lot of them told us: 'Call me when you are promoted.' A lot of people were very nervous about joining a Championship team, but Asllani took that risk."

While Kang says a direct financial return on her investment is not expected for at least five years, her experience will be key in driving the development of London City Lionesses. But it's clear for both them and Newcastle that significant investment is not just essential for competing at a high level, but also for ensuring sustainability in a landscape where relegation could strip a club of its professional status.

These clubs aren't just aiming to survive -- they're positioning themselves to thrive in the increasingly competitive world of women's football.

The disparity between the WSL and the lower tiers of women's football in England is stark, with severe underfunding plaguing the Championship. While the WSL's top teams bask in luxury preseason tours and splash out on world-record signings like Chelsea's £450,000 acquisition of Mayra Ramírez, the second tier tells a very different story.

In the Championship, some clubs are forced to pay their players as little as £12,000 a year, sources told ESPN. Meanwhile, top WSL clubs can afford upwards of £500,000 for a single player's annual wages -- a staggering disparity that underscores the financial strain on teams outside the top flight.

Reading Women once stood as a beacon in the WSL, finishing fifth in the 2019-20 season. But as other teams surged ahead with increased investment, they were left behind. Their financial struggles culminated in relegation three seasons later, at the end of the 2022-23 campaign, and almost immediately the club announced a return to a part-time professional model.

However, the landscape of the Championship is evolving. With growing pressure and heightened competition, clubs are increasingly moving towards a full-time model in their quest for promotion. Reading, caught in this shifting tide, struggled to adapt. A 10th-place finish in their first season after relegation, just one spot above the drop zone, led to the club's announcement that they would be withdrawing from the league for the 2024-25 season due to financial difficulties. They have since returned to an amateur status and are playing the 2024-25 season in the fifth tier.

In a statement, the club admitted that they require "further ownership cash injection to build a squad capable of competing" and that "given the current economic realities of the Club, the outlay required to reach these levels is just not possible without significant owner funding."

Having been with Newcastle since they were part time, running training sessions from 8 p.m.-10 p.m. on Fridays with the players balancing full-time jobs, Langley admitted that, with the help of that early investment, the growth of the club has been monumental. "I'm really energized by their commitment so far to the women's team, she said. "I think there's a real genuine interest to help."

The harsh reality of the WSL is that newly promoted teams face an almost inevitable battle with relegation. Bristol City's story from last season is a familiar one: after winning promotion to the WSL in 2022-23 with a game to spare, they were relegated again just a year later after winning just one of their 22 games and conceding 70 goals.

The Championship may boast a handful of players with international experience, but it's no match for the star-studded lineups of the WSL's top clubs. Newly promoted teams like Bristol often find themselves outgunned financially, unable to compete with the spending power of giants like Chelsea and Arsenal.

This season, however, offers hope. After a fierce five-team race for promotion, Crystal Palace emerged victorious to ensure that all 12 WSL clubs are now backed by men's teams competing in the Premier League. This certainly helps, but financial gulf remains vast and there's no comparing the resources available to Palace's women with those at a five-time consecutive WSL winner like Chelsea.

FIFA's mid-year transfer report revealed that the WSL spent $2.2m on incomings during the early stages of this summer's window and the lion's share of this expenditure came from the top-tier clubs; primarily the top six. This certainly highlights the financial imbalance that newly promoted teams face in their quest for WSL survival and means they have to reassess their ambitions.

"I think we'd be naive if we were to be shouting from the rooftops we want to win promotion this season," Langley said of Newcastle United's hopes for the season. "I think we've got to be mindful of the context. It's our first season in the Championship for a lot of players and for myself. So we've got to do a lot of learning and take it step by step."

Even if Newcastle succeed, the battle will have only just begun. The WSL is fiercely competitive, with clubs backed by deep pockets and internationally stacked lineups. Staying up will be a monumental challenge, but they'd love the chance to try.