Broadly, these are Cumbria, Lancashire, Greater Manchester, Merseyside, Cheshire, Shropshire and Staffordshire.

[2] While progress was made at the national and international levels, grassroots development was hindered by a lack of funding and, by 1993, there were only 80 girls' teams nationwide, including some in Lancashire, Liverpool and Manchester.

[3] Among the FA's priorities were, as in men's football, to develop a pyramid system of leagues throughout the country and to establish regional governance by county associations.

Growth was boosted by affiliation of women's teams to professional clubs – for example, when the NWWRFL began in 2003–04, the Premier Division included teams affiliated to Bury, Bolton Wanderers and Preston North End, all members of the Football League.

The league's inaugural season was 2003–04 when the Premier Division champions were Preston North End WFC, who were unbeaten in their 17 matches.

During the 2000s, there was a further reorganisation of women's football at the county level and, in addition to the tier seven Lancashire League, others were established in Cheshire, Greater Manchester, and Merseyside.