England's Helsinki Heroics Put Super League Back on Track for 2011

England's achievement in reaching the European Championship final is to be rewarded, with the Football Association set to announce that the deferred summer Super League will definitely have its inaugural season next year.

The original start date of 2010 was put back to the dismay of many including the England coach, Hope Powell – a firm supporter of the Super League concept – in the wake of the demise of the FA's broadcast partner Setanta.

The governing body is still talking with other broadcasting companies in an attempt to replace the loss of revenue. But the FA chief executive, Ian Watmore, who along with the chairman, Lord Triesman, watched England's 6-2 defeat by Germany in the final in Helsinki's Olympic Stadium, is confident that approval for 2011 will be given at next Friday's board meeting.

"There's a lot of support from the chairman and I to make sure that the Super League goes ahead," Watmore said. "It was on the agenda when I came into the job and, while it may have been deferred, 2011 remains the starting point as far as I'm concerned. We need to do it and we're going to do it."

Watmore, who on joining the FA in June quickly seconded himself to the women's committee, added: "Reaching the final was a tremendous achievement by Hope and her team and now we need to use it as the catalyst to take the game forward.

"If we can build on this success then I reckon there's a tipping point where women's football could really take off. If we can get more football fans to see women's football at the highest level, I think they would get behind it and it could become as big as any women's sport in the world."

Three of England's US-based players are set to sign for their previous club Arsenal on loan during the American close season. The Boston Breakers striker Kelly Smith and one of her club colleagues, the right-back Alex Scott, plus the Chicago Red Stars winger Karen Carney, will train with the Gunners squad and play in selected matches before returning to the US in February.

All three will have a break first, but Smith confirmed: "I think the idea is we play in some of the big games, against the likes of Chelsea and in the Champions League. But it means it's a year-long season, so we'll have to pace ourselves."