Everything to Know About the Women’s Super League: Teams, Players, and More
The Women’s Super League (WSL) is the highest tier of professional women’s football in England. Consisting of 12 teams, the league has one relegation spot, meaning the 12th placed team is demoted to the FA Women’s Championship, and the champion of the FA Women’s Championship is promoted to the WSL. In addition, the champion of the WSL gains automatic entrance to the Women’s Champions League, while the second and third-place teams gain entrance to the qualification rounds. The WSL also has 2 domestic cups: the FA Women’s League Cup and the Women’s FA Cup.
With the next WSL season fast approaching, here is everything you need to know about the teams and players and how they ranked in the 2023-2024 season.
Chelsea Football Club Women
Chelsea is a 7-time champion and arguably one of the most successful teams in the WSL, having won the last 6 titles in a row. The club enters a new phase this year as legendary manager Emma Hayes has departed in order to join the United States Women National Team. Hayes’ departure leaves some big shoes to fill, but French manager Sonia Bompastor, who has been tapped as Hayes’ successor, brings with her an impressive winning record from her time with Olympique Lyonnais Féminin. Bompastor won the Women’s Champions League win Olympique, a trophy Hayes was never able to achieve.
As Chelsea looks to fight for their 8th league title, the team has strengthened their defence with the addition of British defender Lucy Bronze from Barcelona Femenì, and will also see must-anticipated return of forward Sam Kerr from her ACL injury, who will partner with the likes of young talents Lauren James and Aggie Beever-Jones.
Manchester City Women’s Football Club
Finishing runners-up in the WSL last season, Manchester City look to go clench the league title this season after signing the WSL record goalscorer Vivianne Miedema from Arsenal. The club has not won the league championship since 2016 when the likes of Lucy Bronze and Kiera Walsh were on the team; however with talents like Khadija “Bunny” Shaw, Chloe Kelly and Lauren Hemp, alongside a stellar defence, including captain Alex Greenwood, the team look to make progress in the WSL and the Women’s Champions League.
Arsenal Women Football Club
After acquiring forward Alessia Russo from Manchester United for a record bid, many expected Arsenal to go back to its winning ways, fighting for the WSL title. While they did join Chelsea and Manchester City in the fight, Arsenal did not live up to expectations, having first time losses to both Tottenham and Liverpool. The team, however, did win the Continental Cup, rebranded as the Women’s League Cup this year. Throughout the season, the team acquired new talents, including defender Emily Fox, and also welcomed back vice-captain Leah Williamson and striker Beth Mead after being sidelined with ACL injuries. Looking ahead to the 2024 season, Arsenal lost top player Vivianne Miedema to rivals Manchester City, however they also signed Spanish forward Mariona Caldentey, who scored an impressive 114 goals in 302 appearances for Barcelona Femenì.
Arsenal fans can also look forward to more matches at Emirates Stadium, with the team having confirmed 8 matches there this season so far.
Liverpool Football Club Women
Liverpool have won the WSL twice in its history, winning back-to-back in 2013 and 2014. In 2020, however, the team was relegated to the second tier FA Women’s Championship. After missing out on being promoted back to the top tier WSL in 2021, Liverpool hired former member manager Matt Beard, who led to Liverpool regaining its place in the WSL in 2022.
Liverpool accomplished many achievements in last year’s WSL campaign, including wins over Arsenal and Manchester United for the first time in the team’s history, and finishing 4th in the WSL standings ahead of rivals Manchester United.
Manchester United Women Football Club
Manchester United only reintroduced their women’s football team in 2018, gaining promotion to the WSL after winning the FA Women’s Championship in their first season. Last season, Manchester United did not preform to expectations in the WSL, yet won their first Women’s FA Cup after thrashing Tottenham Hotspur 4-0 in the final match in front of a packed Wembley Stadium.
Moving into the 2024 season, Manchester United has lost key players in forward Lucia Garcia, goalkeeper Mary Earps, and captain Katie Zelem. To fill the gap left by the departure of these key players, the club signed winger Celin Bizet and seek the return of the Professional Footballers Association’s ‘Best Young Player’ Grace Clinton, who returns to the Red Devils after a loan spell at Bizet’s former club, Tottenham Hotspur.
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club Women
While Tottenham Hotspur only finished 6th in the WSL, it was an improvement from the year prior where the team narrowly escaped relegation. In Robert Vilahemn’s first season in charge of the club, Tottenham Hotspur achieved their first win over North London rivals Arsenal in a 1 – 0 victory, as well as their first Women’s FA Cup final, finishing runners-up to Manchester United.
Despite an attempt to keep on Manchester loanee Grace Clinton, who was arguably Tottenham’s best player last season, the club was unsuccessful in their attempt to keep the midfielder. In addition, the club lost Celin Bizet to Manchester United, another key player of the Lilywhites. Despite the losses, fans do have new signings to look forward to, including the likes of Aussie players Hayley Raso and Claire Hunt, alongside Spanish midfielder Maite Oroz.
Aston Villa Women Football Club
Many expected Aston Villa to have a better season than they did following a phenomenal 2021-2022 campaign, finishing 5th in the standings after only 2 season in the top tier. In addition to having forward Rachel Daly, who won the WSL Golden Boot the previous year, the team also signed Canadian forward Adriana Leon from Manchester United. Unfortunately, due to a lacklustre start at the beginning of the WSL campaign, Aston Villa finished seventh in the table.
Villans can look forward to some incredible new signings this season, including Missy Bo Kearns from Liverpool and Kaite Robinson from Brighton, two up-and-coming English players. In addition, Aston Villa has announced all their home games will be played at the same stadium as the men, with Villa Park hosting every WSL game this season.
Everton Women’s Football Club
Everton finished 8th last season, two places below their standing after the 2022 season; however, the team had some notable victories last season, one over Merseyside rivals Liverpool at Anfield and another over Aston Villa. In addition, Issy Hobson made history for the Toffees when she became the WSL’s youngest goalscorer at 16 years of age, earning the club a draw against Arsenal.
Everton lost key players throughout the year that also led to a more difficult season, including Nathalie Björn who departed in January for Chelsea, and Nicoline Sørensen, who shocked the football community when she announced her retirement from the sport at only 26 years old. To add to Everton’s challenges, they also lack the budget enjoyed by their rivals to put towards strengthening their team during the off season.
Brighton & Hove Albion Women Football Club
Brighton finished 9th in the WSL last season, an improvement from nearly being relegated the year prior. As Brighton look to progress further in the WSL, the club has signed Fran Kirby from Chelsea and Nikita Parris from Manchester United. Kirby scored 63 goals during her time at Chelsea, while Parris scored 8 goals for United last season, being the club’s top goalscorer. With these additions, Brighton look to be a team full of surprises this season.
Leicester City Women Football Club
During the 2023-2024 campaign, Leicester City found themselves in difficult times, not winning any of their last 8 games, while also finding themselves in some controversy. Following an internal investigation, Manager Willie Kirk was sacked by the club for an alleged inappropriate relationship with a player after the club had deemed he had violated their code of conduct. Jennifer Forster took over as interim manager and led the club to the semifinals of the FA cup, beating Liverpool in the quarterfinals before eventually losing to Tottenham in the semis.
West Ham United Women Football Club
West Ham United had an extremely difficult season fighting to avoid relegation for a majority of the year. The club brought in several new players during the January transfer window, including Kristie Mewis, Katrina Gorry, and Shelina Zadorsky, who were instrumental in helping the team avoid relegation.
Crystal Palace Football Club Women
After scoring 55 goals and conceding only 20 last season, Crystal Palace won the Championship, narrowly beating Charlton to gain promotion to the WSL. This will be the club’s first time in the top tier of English women’s football, and with the promotion, the team will now have to face stiffer competition. The new signings of Katie Stengel and Katrine Veje, who both have previous experience in the WSL, will help the club to adjust quickly to life in the WSL.
The WSL officially kicks off Friday September 20th, and can be viewed in Canada on Sportsnet and the Barclays Women’s Super League Official YouTube page.
