Club bosses are delighted to announce that Stourbridge Ladies' application for upward movement in the Women's Football Pyramid has been approved by the FA.

The Glassgirls will join the West Midlands Women's League Premier Division at tier five next season, the highest level the team will have played at.

The decision is reward for two outstanding - but truncated - seasons in Division 1 South, in which Andy Fisher's team has maintained a 100% League record, as well as enjoying a record-breaking Women's FA Cup run.

With two consecutive seasons unfinished, the FA announced a method of enabling clubs to apply for 'upward movement' based on both the playing record on the pitch and facilities and infrastructure off it, with one club in each division to be elevated. Applications closed just under a month ago and it has been an anxious wait since then for the verdict.

Stourbridge will take their place alongside a number of familiar clubs, having already beaten several tier five sides in the last two years, including Crusaders and Worcester City in last season's FA Cup run.

With one current Premier Division club expected to move up to the FA Women's National League in tier four, and a club also expected to be promoted into the Premier Division from the parallel Division 1 North, the final composition of the League is unconfirmed at the time of writing, but is expected to include 11 or 12 clubs, including near neighbours Lye Town and Redditch United. Fisher was unable to hide his delight at the news. He said:

"I can't tell you how thrilled I am, most of all for the players and all my staff. They have been superb over the last two seasons, barely put a foot wrong. We couldn't have asked for more of them, especially after the disappointment of being so close twelve months ago before the League was halted, and I'm just so proud of every one of them.

"It will be a new challenge, and we've seen in some of the FA Cup games and also our mini-league in the last few weeks when we've played a few teams from higher up that we'll have our work cut out. It's going to be competitive and that's exactly what we want and need.

"But we're not going to be in it just to make the numbers up, I want us to be battling with the top teams. That's the ambition the Club has.

"I know our girls will be chomping at the bit to get going now. We'll have them back in training towards the end of this month, and everything will be geared up towards hitting the ground running.

"We couldn't have asked for more from the Chairman and Vice Chairman. The moment the FA announced all this, they were on the case straight away. We had our application in as soon as we could. They have backed us every inch of the way over the last few years, and it's a reward for them too."

Chairman Andy Pountney added his congratulations to everyone involved in the Ladies success. He said:

"I'm just over the moon for everyone. This hasn't happened overnight, it's been a few years in the making, and it's exactly what we wanted to achieve. We're all excited now about embracing the challenge of the next level.

"This team are such great role models for all the girls coming through our juniors. They set a brilliant example, they've really bought into the Stourbridge DNA and they're a huge part of our family.

"We've got the new Girls' Academy set-up now with Dudley College, and the work we've put in establishing that is paying off. Andy, Mike, Callum and all the others involved can really take us forward with the foundations we've put in place."

Meanwhile, Fisher also had a few words for the supporters:

"This is a journey for us. We're proud to represent this Club, and I think we've done that with some style over the last couple of seasons. Hopefully, we can get a few more games down at the War Memorial Ground next season, and I would urge people to come and watch us, whether it's there or at Hingleys.

"We've had brilliant support against Wolves in the County Cup, and in the FA Cup run. Let's make it like that every week. The girls deserve the backing for what they've achieved and I know they're capable of taking that on into next season."