Its primary role is the development of players in preparation for the senior England women's national football team.

As long as they were eligible, players can play for England at any level, making it possible to play for the U23s, senior side, and again for the U23s, as Natasha Dowie, Rachel Williams and Danielle Buet have in the 2008–2018 era, as well as Katie Robinson, Jess Park, Maya Le Tissier and Ebony Salmon in the current era.

Eight of England's squad at the 1995 FIFA Women's World Cup had come through Deighan's U-21 team, including Pauline Cope, Karen Burke and Louise Waller.

This adjustment, coupled with a newly introduced U-23 age limit to the Nordic Cup, prompted the FA to rethink and eventually change the youth development team.

[6] In a bid to better aid the transition between the youth pathway and senior football, the FA announced in September 2018 that they were scrapping the U23s and U20s levels in order to form an Under-21s age group, which would become the top tier of the nation's professional development phase.

The move would align England's structure to that used in other European countries to allow for more age-appropriate games and better manage individual player development post-U20 World Cup for those who have genuine senior team potential.

The league features nine European teams; England, Belgium, France, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain and Sweden.

[1] In the summer of 2023, further coaches were added to the squad; Remi Allen, Anita Asante, and former Aston Villa manager Gemma Davies.