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Rugby Borough are the lowest-ranked side still left in the women's FA Cup. Paul Harding - The FA/The FA via Getty Images
RUGBY, England -- Rugby Borough are preparing for the biggest game in their history.
Currently in the Women's National League North -- the third tier of the women's game in England -- the semi-professional team are the lowest-ranked side still left in the FA Cup, with 21 spots separating them from Sunday's Women's Super League (WSL) opponents, Liverpool.
But in June 2023, after Coventry's relegation from the Women's Championship, the club relocated from Coventry and began playing under the Rugby Borough banner.
Though they are a semi-professional club, there is a determination from those within to ensure that they operate with the utmost professionalism.
"When you get to this point in the competition, you want to get a WSL side," head coach Lee Burch tells ESPN.
"We're the lowest-ranked side still in the competition, alongside Wolves [who are three places above Rugby Borough in the league] so we knew whoever we got would be really tough.
At the end of the 2022-23 season, for example, Nottingham Forest -- who had lost only two league games en route to topping the northern division -- were denied promotion after narrowly losing their one-legged playoff with southern division winners Watford.
Though the two regional champions both earn promotion, playing in the Women's National League still has its challenges, particularly for independent clubs like Rugby Borough.
"The majority of us either have jobs or are at university so we're doing other things alongside football," says Roberts, who juggles her playing career with studying part-time for a degree in sports science and health.
"Ten years ago, there were only a handful of WSL sides that were professional and now we've got a handful of National League sides that are professional, so you can see the direction the game is going in.
"We have a great owner here, we have a great club that is trying to push things forward, a good facility.