Scottish Women's Premier League managing director Fiona McIntyre has defended the growing number of players leaving Scotland for English clubs, arguing the trend can ultimately strengthen rather than weaken the domestic game.
The issue has come into sharp focus this summer after a wave of departures from SWPL clubs to sides south of the border. Second-tier English club Ipswich Town have been the most active, signing six players from the Scottish top flight. Among them are Celtic's Emma Lawton, Hearts trio Georgia Hunter, Bayley Hutchinson and Georgia Timms, and Hibernian duo Rosie Livingston and Eilidh Adams.
Hibernian have also lost prolific forward Kathleen McGovern, who has moved to Newcastle United, while Rangers have seen defender Mia McAulay depart for Women's Super League club Aston Villa.
Speaking at the launch of the new SWPL season, McIntyre acknowledged the scale of the movement but insisted it should be viewed through a positive lens given Scotland's proximity to one of the world's richest and most competitive women's football markets.
"We don't want to lose talent, but when you're on the border of one of the best resourced leagues in the world, the fact they're coming to Scotland is a real positive in the sense it reflects well on the standard we have," McIntyre said.
She stressed that while the SWPL would prefer to retain its top talent, the financial gulf between the two countries makes such transfers unavoidable. "In an ideal world we want the best players to stay in Scotland, of course we do," she said. "Our priority is that the SWPL has a really high standard but we're not naive and if there's opportunities for players to go down south and play in a league that is so well resourced then we absolutely accept that."
McIntyre's main concern going forward is ensuring Scottish clubs are properly compensated when they sell players to wealthier English sides. She noted that most of this summer's moves came under freedom of contract, meaning no transfer fees were paid to the players' former clubs. "As long as the clubs get a financial reward for that then that's something that can become part of the economic model of women's football," she said, adding that such compensation "will grow" over time. "We're not yet, from a club perspective, really creating a lot through player trading. That will come in time and will be a new revenue source."
Beyond the financial implications, McIntyre pointed to the opportunities created for younger players stepping into the void left by departing stars. She highlighted Hearts' recent Champions League qualifying campaign, where several emerging players impressed despite the club's losses in the transfer market.
"Look at Hearts in the Champions League qualifiers with some really young players and doing fantastically well," she said. "Those opportunities, to some degree, come about because other players have left. So I think you have to see the positive and how we can use it to make Scotland a real hotbed of talent."
She added that the exodus could even benefit the Scotland national team in the long run, as players gain experience in a higher-profile league while domestic opportunities open up for the next generation. "Some of it may leave and that may benefit the national team, and when players leave it creates opportunity for young Scottish players to really get a chance," McIntyre said.
The new SWPL season is set to begin on Sunday, 16 August.
Based on reporting from BBC Sport.