Capital Football crushes Monaro Panthers' NPLW hopes

That was the message Capital Football delivered the Monaro Panthers-Brindabella Blues partnership when they met on Tuesday night.

Now the club will decide over the next few days whether legal action is the best step for their 80-plus women and girls who have been left without an NPLW home.

Not even the backing of three levels of government could change Capital Football's mind, having decided the Panthers were the one club to be cut to create an eight team NPLW for 2021.

Eden-Monaro member Kristy McBain, NSW Deputy Premier John Barilaro and Queanbeyan-Palerang mayor Tim Overall all voiced their opposition to the decision.

Capital Football decided to keep their own team, Canberra United Academy, in the NPLW at the expense of the Panthers.

They didn't respond to The Canberra Times on Wednesday.

Monaro co-president Geoff Young wanted to make sure whatever their next step was it was in the best interests of their players.

Young said both parties walked away from an open and honest discussion - that was heated at times - agreeing to disagree on what was best for women's football in the region.

The Panthers put forward the proposition to work towards a two-tiered NPLW - similar to the men's set up - rather than to reduce the opportunities for women to play in the ACT's top tier.

Young was told that would be taken to the board, with Capital Football chairperson Fran Sankey also agreeing to meet with the parents and players of the cut club to explain the decision.

Four Monaro committee members and one from Brindabella pleaded their case to remain in the NPLW to Sankey, Capital Football chief executive Phil Brown and two other Capital Football board members.

But to no avail. Their minds were made up with the governing body's board unanimously deciding to cull the club last month.

It leaves upwards of 80 players - spread across first-grade, reserves, under-17s, under-15s and under-13s - left with the tough decision whether to stay with their club and play at the lower state-league level, or find a new home.

Monaro's rivals have already started circling their players and coaches.

"The outcome was to agree to disagree on the decision. More detail will be provided in due course, once the committee has the opportunity to discuss the way forward," Young said.

"There's a number of options available to us. We can sit back and take the beating, we can fight it.

"But our biggest issue is we need to make sure we look after the girls and we do the right thing by the girls."

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Young said Capital Football had undertaken to complete a review of women's football in the region now that a similar Football Federation Australia review was no longer on the cards.

It opened the door slightly for a return to the NPLW for the Panthers in the 2022 season.

Although that would depend on the review deciding to reverse this year's decision.

It would also depend on the Panthers still being in a position to field the required teams at the NPLW level.

"Now that the FFA are not doing a review of women's football, Capital Football have undertaken to do a complete review of women's football in the region," Young said.

"Whatever the outcome happens to be, they are taking on the responsibility to do something the FFA is not doing - which is a positive - which may end up changing the structure of the competition in 2022.

"We would've liked to see the decision held, do the review and then make the decision."