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44-619: While the 2017–18 season planned to feature 21 clubs, the Spring Series contained 20. Notts County Ladies F.C. folded two days before they were due to play their first Spring Series game, leaving 19 teams in total. Teams played each other once, with no promotion or relegation before the full 2017–18 season. WSL 2 began in February, while WSL 1 started in April. Ten teams were due to compete in this season. Notts County Ladies announced it

88-552: A lower-tier men's side . Arsenal , Chelsea , Liverpool , Manchester City , Manchester United , and Tottenham Hotspur combined had spent a total of £123.6 million on their women's sides from the league's founding in 2011 to the 2022–23 season. A report in The Telegraph compared this spending to the £186 million those clubs' spent on agents' fees for men's player transactions from 1 February 2022 to 31 January 2023. Those clubs spent £33 million on their women's sides over

132-413: A Club Development Fund should limit any financial "imbalance" between clubs. However, the introduction of a genuine salary cap remained under consideration for 2013 and beyond. Doncaster manager John Buckley revealed that his club lost Rachel Williams and other players to Birmingham City because he was working to a budget eight times smaller than that enjoyed by Birmingham. When the 2012 WPS season

176-565: A brand". Barclays renewed the sponsorship with an additional three-year deal on 15 December 2021, doubled its rights fee, and extended its sponsorship to the FA Women's Championship . The league's lead sponsor from 2012 to 2019 was Continental Tyres. Continental sponsored the FA's new commercial programme from 2014 to 2018 including the England women's national football team , FA Women's Cup and

220-424: A new record-breaking three-year domestic television rights deal with Sky Sports and BBC, beginning with the 2021–22 season. Sky would broadcast 44 matches per season with a further 22 matches shown on BBC platforms including a minimum of 18 on BBC One or Two. All other fixtures would remain available to stream for free on The FA Player, the governing body's own over OTT service. Believed to be worth around £8 million

264-568: A period known as Lincoln City Ladies while affiliated to Lincoln City . Sincil Bank and other smaller venues staged the club's matches during their time in Lincoln. The club was named OOH Lincoln Ladies from 2008 until 2010, due to sponsorship from Ray Trew 's OOH Media PLC. The club withdrew from the FA WSL 1 , the top tier in the English women's football league system , two days before

308-463: A restructuring of the league and its licensing criteria would follow from the 2017–18 season with a goal of a fully professional top division of between 8 and 14 teams and a second division of up to 12 semi-professional teams. For the 2018–19 season, the league became fully professional. The following twelve clubs are competing in the 2024–25 season : In the first season of the WSL clubs were subject to

352-479: A season, it was the biggest broadcast deal of any professional women's football league in the world and marked the first time that the WSL's rights had been sold separately from the men's game. In July 2024, YouTube was listed as a new streaming service for non-broadcast WSL matches and select Women's Championship fixtures, as part of a transition from the FA Player. Sky Sports and BBC remained rights holders for

396-520: A squad cap of 20 players. This proved unpopular with both managers and players. Ahead of the 2012 season, the rule was reviewed and the cap increased to 23 players. Players from outside the European Union , like their male counterparts, are subject to Home Office work permit regulations. The FA said in April 2012 that the salary rule of allowing only four players per team to earn over £20,000 and that all clubs are paid £70,000 per season from

440-869: The 2023–24 season, as well as their fifth consecutive title in a row. The FA WSL was due to start in 2010 to replace the FA Women's Premier League National Division as the top level of women's football in England but was deferred for a year due to the global economic downturn . Sixteen clubs applied for 8 places in the inaugural season of the league: Arsenal , Barnet , Birmingham City , Bristol Academy , Chelsea , Colchester United , Doncaster Rovers Belles , Everton , Leeds Carnegie , Leicester City , Lincoln Ladies , Liverpool , Millwall Lionesses , Newcastle United , Nottingham Forest , and Sunderland . Leeds Carnegie later withdrew their application. Women's Premier League clubs Blackburn Rovers and Watford declined to apply. FA Chief Executive Ian Watmore described

484-536: The Championship . In May 2020, the league was curtailed by the COVID-19 pandemic . Chelsea were declared champions of the season based on a points-per-game average. At the conclusion of the 2020–21 season , four first-team managers resigned from their positions at WSL clubs Birmingham, Manchester United, Arsenal, and Aston Villa. Birmingham's outgoing manager Carla Ward questioned the commitment of some of

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528-524: The FA WSL Continental Cup in addition to the WSL. During the 2011 season, Yorkshire Building Society was also a sponsorship partner along with Continental. Most shirt sponsorships for women's sides affiliated with men's clubs are bundled and not sold or valued separately. In the 2022–23 season, 11 of the WSL's 12 teams were affiliates of men's Premier League clubs, with the only exception being Reading , who were affiliated with

572-612: The Keepmoat Stadium , Doncaster . In 2013, BBC Two broadcast four WSL programmes during the 2013–14 season. Each programme featured goal round-ups, highlights and features. During the 2017–18 season, many WSL games were broadcast on television by BT Sport , online and red-button by the BBC (UK only), and via the league's Facebook page. BBC Sport continued to air one game a weekend digitally via their iPlayer service and website, while subscription channel Sky Sports also holds

616-614: The Women's FA Cup . Teams in bold and in italics indicate trebles with the Women's FA Cup and FA Women's League Cup . In September 2021, the Women's Super League announced the first inductees into the Barclays FA WSL Hall of Fame , recognising significant individuals who have contributed to the growth of the women's game in England and the WSL. As of 30 November 2022 , the WSL's total annual sponsorship revenue

660-454: The 2024–25 season, with Sky and Now TV broadcasting 44 matches, and the BBC broadcasting 22 matches on iPlayer, with 18 intended for BBC One or BBC Two. In October 2024, a five-year deal with Sky Sports and the BBC worth £65 million was agreed upon by the WSL, an increase from the estimated £7-8 million per season, and the first long-term agreement with broadcasters. As the main investor, Sky Sports are to broadcast 118 live matches per season,

704-591: The United States. FA women's competitions were initially broadcast on ESPN from 2009 to 2013 as part of a four-year broadcast rights deal. Six live matches were broadcast in 2011 in addition to weekly highlights, with ten games shown in 2012. ESPN broadcast the opening game of the WSL between Chelsea and Arsenal at Imperial Fields on 13 April 2011, a game Arsenal won 1–0 with a first half goal by Gilly Flaherty . The second televised game took place on 12 May 2011 as Doncaster Belles lost 1–0 to Everton Ladies at

748-452: The WSL 2 having ten teams. The new WSL 1 licence was awarded to Manchester City . Doncaster Rovers Belles were relegated to the WSL 2. They appealed against their demotion but were unsuccessful. In December 2014, the FA WSL announced a two-year plan to expand the WSL 1 from an eight to a ten-team league. Two teams were promoted from the WSL 2 at the end of the 2015 season, while one team

792-463: The WSL would be semi-professional , with only a "handful" of top players full-time. Clubs' annual wage bills were expected to be approximately one-tenth of those in the now-defunct American Women's Professional Soccer . The 2011 season included a mid-season break from 12 May 2011, to allow for the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup . The season then resumed in early July, finishing in August 2011. After

836-513: The WSL. Ahead of the 2018–19 season, the second division was renamed the FA Women's Championship . The WSL champions, runners-up and third-placed team qualify for the UEFA Women's Champions League the following season. Since its inception, four clubs have won the title: Chelsea (7), Arsenal (3), Liverpool (2) and Manchester City (1). The current Women's Super League champions are Chelsea, who won their record-extending seventh title in

880-655: The WSL1 for the 2017–18 season, based on an evaluation by the FA of applicant clubs' business plans, budget, youth development, facilities and on-pitch performance. Notts County Ladies F.C. Notts County Ladies Football Club was a women's football club based in Nottingham , England. They played their home games at Meadow Lane . Notts County Ladies were created in 2014 when Lincoln Ladies were relocated from Lincoln to Nottingham and rebranded. The club were originally formed in Lincoln in 1995 and also spent

924-436: The club announced a bid to join the FA WSL . If successful the club planned to divide home games between Sincil Bank and current home, Ashby Avenue . In 2009–10 they had taken second place in the FA Women's Premier League Northern Division to Liverpool LFC , after finishing second to Sunderland WFC , Nottingham Forest and Liverpool LFC in the three previous seasons. On 22 March 2010 Lincoln were announced as one of

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968-572: The club spent three seasons playing in Collingham, Nottinghamshire at the Station Road ground, which became a "fortress". In 2002–03 the club played their home games at Sincil Bank and became the first women's club to play a full season at a professional Football League stadium. On 7 January 2013 the club announced that they would play their fixtures for the 2013 FA WSL at Sincil Bank. Lincoln Ladies FC claimed to have had one of

1012-413: The clubs involved in WSL, whilst Manchester United's outgoing manager Casey Stoney allegedly quit because of unresolved issues surrounding lack of training facilities and other infrastructure. In November 2023, all 24 Women's Super League and Women's Championship clubs unanimously agreed to form a new organisation to run the women's professional game in England, taking over from the FA. The organisation

1056-403: The creation of the league as a "top priority" in February 2010. The inaugural WSL season kicked off on 13 April 2011 — at Imperial Fields, Chelsea's home ground — with a match between Chelsea and Arsenal, which Chelsea lost 1–0. For the 2014 season, a second division was created named FA WSL 2 , with nine teams and one team being relegated from the WSL 1. WSL 1 remained as eight teams, with

1100-432: The division. The WSL discarded the winter football season for six years, between 2011 and 2016, playing through the summer instead (from March until October). Since 2017–18 , the WSL has operated as a winter league running from September to May, as was traditional before 2011. From 2014 to 2017–18, the Women's Super League consisted of two divisions – FA WSL 1 and FA WSL 2 – and brought a promotion and relegation system to

1144-494: The eight FA WSL teams for the inaugural 2011 season, which was televised on ESPN . In August 2010 the club signed Jess Clarke and Sophie Bradley for their FA WSL campaign. In the same week Sue Smith also joined from Leeds United . Weeks before the start of the new competition, Lincoln made another major signing with the capture of Casey Stoney from Chelsea . Lincoln Ladies FC ground-shared with Lincoln United F.C. at Ashby Avenue after summer 2009. Before that

1188-550: The following year. A shortened bridging season took place, branded as the FA WSL Spring Series , with teams playing each other once from February to May 2017. Following the 2017–18 FA WSL season, WSL 1 was renamed back to the FA Women's Super League, becoming a fully professional league for the first time, with eleven teams for the 2018–19 season . Teams had to re-apply for their licence to earn their place in

1232-473: The highest level of women's football in England . Established in 2010, it is run by the Football Association and features twelve fully professional teams. The league replaced the FA Women's Premier League National Division as the highest level of women's football in England, with eight teams competing in the inaugural 2011 season . In the WSL's first two seasons, there was no relegation from

1276-506: The largest fanbases of any female club in England . The FA Women's Cup semi-final in 2008 attracted 3,000 fans to Sincil Bank , while over 1,500 attended other high-profile home matches. By the last two seasons in Lincoln, 2012 and 2013, average home attendances had slumped to 526 and 269 respectively. In 2019, Nettleham LFC rebranded to Lincoln City Women F.C. and became the new team affiliated with Lincoln City F.C. They are often mistaken for Lincoln Ladies but held no connection to

1320-566: The league fixtures, the teams compete for a knock-out cup competition, the FA WSL Continental Cup . For the 2014 season , the teams were placed into three regional groups of six. The group winners and best-performing runners-up all advanced to a knockout semi-final. Since the 2015 season , the WSL Continental Cup have been played simultaneously with the league season. Following a review, the FA announced in September 2017 that

1364-561: The league, requiring clubs to offer their players a minimum 16-hour a week contract and to form a youth academy as compulsory for the new licence criteria. Sunderland was moved down to tier 3 in the women's football pyramid after not receiving a licence whilst Brighton & Hove Albion and West Ham United were added to the league. The league was extended to twelve teams for the 2019–20 season , with Yeovil Town relegated after going into administration and being replaced by Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur , who gained promotion from

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1408-405: The original team. On 26 April 2013, the club said it would become Notts County Ladies from the 2014 season onwards, but did not reveal logistics of the presumed move to Nottingham. This has not been without controversy. There was talk of creating a wholly new team in Lincoln as a consequence; in 2019, Lincoln City F.C. adopted a team in the FA Women's National League . A link with a male club

1452-574: The rights to televise a selection of matches. For the 2019–20 season, league matches were streamed via The FA Player, as well as some Women's Championship games, highlights from the FA Cup , League Cup and international England games. Some games in The FA Player were excluded, such as those broadcast on BT Sport in the UK and Ireland due to licensing rights. In March 2021, the FA WSL announced

1496-510: The same badge as their affiliate club. The rebranding to Notts County for the 2014 season entailed a relocation to Meadow Lane , Nottingham . For details of former players, see Category:Notts County L.F.C. players . As Lincoln Ladies F.C. : FA WSL The Women's Super League ( WSL ), known as the Barclays Women's Super League ( BWSL ) for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league and

1540-674: The same period. In July 2022, The FA declined a £150 million offer from an unnamed private equity firm to purchase the league. Baroness Sue Campbell had noted that The FA had refused other private equity offers. As of 2021 , matches are broadcast and streamed in the United Kingdom and Ireland via The FA Player, Sky Sports , and the BBC (UK only). Internationally, select matches are broadcast in at least twelve countries, including Australia, Canada, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Finland, Germany, Italy, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, and Sweden, and

1584-494: The semi-final of the FA Women's Cup in 2007–08. A five-year sponsorship deal with former Lincoln City F.C. board member Ray Trew in June 2008 led to the club's change of name to OOH Lincoln Ladies . Trew had previously sponsored the club through his SportsTV company, and made available extra funds for signings such as England internationals Kay Hawke and Amanda Barr to assist the club's promotion bid. In November 2009

1628-563: The start of the FA WSL Spring Series on 21 April 2017. Lincoln Ladies FC were founded in 1995 and began playing in the East Midlands Combination League. The club was promoted in each of the following seasons, bar one, until reaching the FA Women's Premier League Northern Division in 2002. This feat was achieved with the same core group of players. The team finished as league runners-up in four successive seasons (2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2009–10) and reached

1672-515: The team — the only WSL club not affiliated with a men's Premier League club – struggled to compete with a smaller budget for wages than women's sides with Premier League backing. She cited the £250,000 fee paid by Tottenham Hotspur for Bethany England , while some Reading staff were required to work multiple roles from lack of investment by its affiliated men's side in the EFL Championship . Teams in just bold indicate doubles with

1716-508: Was cancelled in the United States, Lincoln Ladies manager Glen Harris said that the next destination of that league's British players would be decided by "pounds, shillings and pence." Ultimately Kelly Smith , Alex Scott and Gemma Davison all joined Arsenal, while Ifeoma Dieke and Anita Asante joined the Swedish Damallsvenskan in preference to the WSL. On 20 May 2023, Reading manager Kelly Chambers noted that

1760-427: Was estimated to be about $ 14.72 million. In March 2019, the Women's Super League agreed a multi-million sponsorship deal with British bank Barclays from the start of the 2019–20 season. The three-year sponsorship deal is reported to be in excess of £10 million with a prize money pot of £500,000 for the league champions for the first time. The FA described the deal as "the biggest ever investment in UK women's sport by

1804-399: Was folding and withdrew from the league two days before their first scheduled fixture. Ten teams competed in this season. Brighton & Hove Albion was promoted after beating Sporting Club Albion in the 2015–16 FA Women's Premier League Championship play-off . Following the closure of Notts County Ladies in April 2017, one team was promoted at the end of the Spring Series to

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1848-462: Was named NewCo, and Nikki Doucet was named CEO. From the 2024–25 season , the company was known as the Women's Professional Leagues Limited (WPLL). The Women's Super League currently consists of twelve clubs. Initially the league was described as professional, with the top four players on each team being paid an annual salary in excess of £20,000. However, in November 2010 it was confirmed that

1892-636: Was necessary to meet the criteria for the new two tier FA WSL. Angry supporters in Lincoln compared the move to the 2003 relocation of Wimbledon F.C. to Milton Keynes . The club withdrew from the FA WSL 1 , the top tier in the English women's football league system , two days before the start of the FA WSL Spring Series on 21 April 2017. The club created a new women's team for the 2018–19 season as Notts County Women F.C. The playing colours of Notts County Ladies FC were black and white striped shirts and white shorts. The club also used

1936-526: Was relegated to the WSL 2 with the same happening at the end of the 2016 season. Also, for the first time, a team from the FA Women's Premier League earned a promotion to WSL 2, effectively connecting the WSL to the rest of the English women's football pyramid . The FA announced in July 2016 that the league would move from a summer league format to a winter league, in line with the traditional football calendar in England, with matches played from September to May

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