History of Women's Super League in Timeline

The Women's Super League (WSL), now Barclays Women's Super League, is England's top-tier professional women's football league. Founded in 2010 by the Football Association (FA) and currently operated by WSL Football, it replaced the FA Women's Premier League National Division as the highest level. The inaugural 2011 season featured eight teams; it currently has twelve fully professional teams. The WSL initially had no relegation in its first two seasons.

February 2010: FA Announces WSL Creation as Top Priority

In February 2010, FA Chief Executive Ian Watmore announced the creation of the FA WSL as a "top priority".

November 2010: WSL Confirmed as Semi-Professional

In November 2010, it was confirmed that the WSL would be semi-professional, with only a "handful" of top players full-time.

2010: WSL Established

In 2010, the Women's Super League (WSL) was established by the Football Association (FA).

April 2011: WSL opening game broadcast on ESPN

On April 13, 2011, ESPN broadcast the opening game of the WSL between Chelsea and Arsenal at Imperial Fields. Arsenal won the game 1–0 with a first half goal by Gilly Flaherty. This was part of a four-year broadcast rights deal between FA women's competitions and ESPN.

April 2011: Inaugural WSL Season Kicks Off

On April 13, 2011, the inaugural WSL season began with a match between Chelsea and Arsenal at Imperial Fields, resulting in a 1-0 victory for Arsenal.

May 2011: Mid-Season Break for World Cup

In May 2011, the 2011 WSL season took a mid-season break from 12 May 2011, to allow for the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup.

May 2011: Second Televised WSL Game

On May 12, 2011, the second televised WSL game took place with Doncaster Belles losing 1–0 to Everton Ladies at the Keepmoat Stadium, Doncaster.

August 2011: Resumption and End of Season

In August 2011, the 2011 WSL season resumed in early July and finished in August.

2011: Yorkshire Building Society Sponsorship

During the 2011 season, Yorkshire Building Society was also a sponsorship partner along with Continental.

2011: WSL Summer Season

From 2011, the WSL adopted a summer football season, running from March to October, discarding the traditional winter season format.

April 2012: FA Discusses Salary Cap

In April 2012, The FA said the salary rule and 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.

2012: Squad Cap Increase

Ahead of the 2012 season, the WSL reviewed the squad cap of 20 players and increased it to 23 players.

2012: Previous Attendance Record

Arsenal previously held the attendance record from 2012 until 2019 in a match against Chelsea with a crowd of 5,052.

2012: Continental Tyres Lead Sponsor

From 2012 to 2019, Continental Tyres was the league's lead sponsor.

2012: British Players Seek New Teams

In 2012, after the WPS season was cancelled, British players were influenced by salary when deciding to move to another team.

2013: Potential Salary Cap

December 2014: FA WSL Announces Expansion Plan

In December 2014, the FA WSL announced a two-year plan to expand WSL 1 from eight to ten teams.

2014: League Cup Format Changes

For the 2014 season, the WSL teams in the Women's League Cup were placed into three regional groups of six. The group winners and best-performing runners-up all advanced to a knockout semi-final.

2014: Continental Sponsor FA Program

From 2014 to 2018 Continental sponsored the FA's new commercial programme including the England women's national football team, FA Women's Cup and the FA WSL Continental Cup in addition to the WSL.

2014: Creation of FA WSL 2 and Relegation

In 2014, the FA WSL 2 was created as a second division, with nine teams and one team being relegated from WSL 1. Manchester City was awarded the new WSL 1 licence and Doncaster Rovers Belles were relegated to WSL 2.

2014: WSL Division Expansion

In 2014, the Women's Super League expanded to include two divisions, FA WSL 1 and FA WSL 2, introducing a promotion and relegation system.

2015: WSL 2 Promotion

At the end of the 2015 season, two teams were promoted from WSL 2, while one team was relegated to WSL 2.

2015: League Cup Played Simultaneously with League Season

Since the 2015 season, the League Cup has been played simultaneously with the league season.

July 2016: League Format Change Announcement

In July 2016, the FA announced that the league would move from a summer league format to a winter league, with matches played from September to May the following year.

2016: WSL 2 Promotion

At the end of the 2016 season, one team was promoted from WSL 2, and one team was relegated to WSL 2. Also, for the first time, a team from the FA Women's Premier League earned a promotion to WSL 2.

2016: End of WSL Summer Season

In 2016, the Women's Super League summer football season came to an end after six years.

May 2017: FA WSL Spring Series

From February to May 2017, a shortened bridging season, branded as the FA WSL Spring Series, took place with teams playing each other once.

September 2017: Restructuring and Licensing Criteria Announcement

In September 2017, the FA announced that 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.

2017: Restructuring of WSL

Following the 2017–18 FA WSL season, WSL 1 was renamed back to the FA Women's Super League.

2017: Return to Winter League

In 2017, the WSL transitioned back to a winter league, running from September to May, reverting to the traditional football calendar.

2018: FA Women's Championship Renamed

Ahead of the 2018-19 season, the second division was renamed the FA Women's Championship.

2018: FA Women's Super League Becomes Fully Professional

Following the 2017–18 FA WSL season, the FA Women's Super League became a fully professional league for the first time. Teams had to re-apply for their licence to earn their place in the league.

2018: League Becomes Fully Professional

For the 2018–19 season, the FA Women's Super League became fully professional.

2018: Continental Sponsor FA Program

From 2014 to 2018 Continental sponsored the FA's new commercial programme including the England women's national football team, FA Women's Cup and the FA WSL Continental Cup in addition to the WSL.

March 2019: Barclays Sponsorship Deal

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.

2019: Previous Attendance Record Broken

Arsenal previously held the attendance record from 2012 until 2019 in a match against Chelsea with a crowd of 5,052.

2019: Continental Tyres Lead Sponsor

From 2012 to 2019, Continental Tyres was the league's lead sponsor.

2019: WSL Extended to Twelve Teams

In 2019, the league was extended to twelve teams, with Yeovil Town relegated after going into administration and being replaced by Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur, who gained promotion from the Championship.

May 2020: Chelsea Declared Champions Due to COVID-19

In May 2020, the league was curtailed by the COVID-19 pandemic, and Chelsea were declared champions of the season based on a points-per-game average.

2020: Manager Resignations and Club Commitment Questioned

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 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.

March 2021: FA WSL announces record-breaking TV rights deal

In March 2021, the FA WSL announced a new record-breaking three-year domestic television rights deal with Sky Sports and BBC, beginning with the 2021–22 season. Valued at around £8 million a season, this was the biggest broadcast deal of any professional women's football league globally and marked the first time that the WSL's rights had been sold separately from the men's game.

September 2021: Inaugural Barclays FA WSL Hall of Fame Inductees

In September 2021, the Women's Super League announced the first inductees into the Barclays FA WSL Hall of Fame.

December 2021: Barclays Renews Sponsorship

On December 15, 2021, Barclays renewed its sponsorship with an additional three-year deal, doubled its rights fee, and extended its sponsorship to the FA Women's Championship.

November 2022: WSL Sponsorship Revenue

As of 30 November 2022, the WSL's total annual sponsorship revenue was estimated to be about $14.72 million.

2022: Record Highest Attendance

Since the 2022–23 season, Arsenal have held the record for the highest average attendance per season and highest attendance game, breaking the record three more times during the 2023–24 season.

May 2023: Reading Manager Comments on Financial Disparity

On May 20, 2023, Reading manager Kelly Chambers commented on the financial challenges the team faced due to a smaller budget, as the only WSL club not affiliated with a men's Premier League club.

November 2023: WSL and Championship Clubs Agree to Form New Organisation

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 was named NewCo, and Nikki Doucet was named CEO.

2023: Record Highest Attendance

Since the 2022–23 season, Arsenal have held the record for the highest average attendance per season and highest attendance game, breaking the record three more times during the 2023–24 season.

February 2024: Highest WSL Attendance Record

In February 2024, a match between Arsenal and Manchester United set the highest league attendance record at 60,160 in the WSL.

July 2024: YouTube listed as new streaming service for WSL matches

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 the 2024–25 season.

October 2024: WSL agrees £65 million broadcast deal with Sky Sports and BBC

In October 2024, a five-year deal with Sky Sports and the BBC worth £65 million was agreed upon by the WSL. As the main investor, Sky Sports are to broadcast 118 live matches per season, the BBC have committed to 21 matches, with the remaining games available on YouTube.

2024: FA Women's Championship Rebranded

After the 2024–25 season, the FA Women's Championship was rebranded as the Women's Super League 2.

2024: Chelsea Win WSL Title

In the 2024–25 season, Chelsea won their record-extending eighth WSL title, marking their sixth consecutive win.

2024: New Organisation Name Change

Starting with the 2024–25 season, the organisation formed in November 2023, was known as Women's Professional Leagues Limited (WPLL).

June 2025: WSL to Expand to 14 Teams

In June 2025, it was announced that the WSL would expand to 14 teams from the 2026–27 season onwards.

2025: Twelve Clubs Compete in WSL

In the 2025-2026 season, twelve clubs compete in the Women's Super League.

2026: WSL2 Promotion Changes

As a result of the WSL expansion to 14 teams, the 2025–26 Women's Super League 2 season will directly promote two teams, while the bottom side WSL team will play in a promotion/relegation play-off against the third-placed WSL 2 side.