Manchester United are set to take the historic step of forming a professional women's team and have applied for an FA licence, Sportsmail can reveal.
United have been heavily criticised for a lack of involvement in the women's game but club bosses have taken huge strides to rectify that over the past few months.
The decision comes as the FA are completely restructuring the pyramid, including a full-time Super League division for the first time ever.
United are set to enter the second division, WSL2, should the FA accept their application as expected.