Big changes are on the horizon for women’s football in England! It’s just been confirmed that the Women’s Super League (WSL) will grow from 12 to 14 teams starting in the 2026/27 season. Pretty exciting stuff, right? Chelsea, by the way, are the reigning champions, having fended off tough competition from Arsenal and Manchester United to snag the title for the sixth consecutive year.
So, here’s the deal: WSL Football has been hard at work over the last few months. They’ve been running a detailed consultative process, backed by solid research and analysis, exploring all sorts of options to really push the game forward. According to Doucet, "Our priority was to find a route that would benefit the whole women’s game pyramid." They’re convinced that this next step will raise the bar, create a clearer distinction in the league, and encourage more investment overall.
Now, if the FA board gives the green light, expanding the WSL to 14 teams could really shake things up. We’re talking about more movement between leagues and increased opportunities across the board. Plus, introducing a promotion/relegation play-off? That’s going to add a whole new level of excitement to the women’s game — high stakes, high profile!
Oh, and teams will also get to play 26 games instead of the current 22. More action is always a good thing, right?
All of this is contingent on the FA board's approval, of course. Just recently, during a vote, every club showed support for the expansion. There were some worries that relegation might be scrapped, but rest assured, that won’t be happening. The second tier, now known as Women’s Super League Two (WSL 2), will keep its current number of 12 teams.
As it stands, only one team gets relegated at the end of the season — the one that finishes in 12th place drops down a division. But once we hit that 14-team mark in 2027-28, the bottom team will automatically face relegation, while the WSL 2 champions will move up.
And good news for the top teams! Those finishing in the top three spots will still secure their places in the Champions League.
WSL Football took a good hard look at over 20 different league formats. They even considered things like getting rid of relegation, introducing split leagues, or going for a Swiss model. But in the end, they decided to stick with the current structure. Both the WSL and WSL 2 will continue with that double round-robin format, and the top three teams in the WSL? They’ll still be in the running for Champions League spots.
Lastly, they’re also looking to balance out game time. You see, players at top clubs, who often find themselves deep in domestic cups, Champions League matches, and international fixtures, are racking up way more minutes than those at lower-ranked teams. These players typically bow out of cup competitions early and just don’t have as many matches overall. It’s definitely something that needs attention!
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There were some worries that relegation might be scrapped, but rest assured, that won’t be happening. The second tier, now known as Women’s Super League Two (WSL 2), will keep its current number of 12 teams.
Both the WSL and WSL 2 will continue with that double round-robin format, and the top three teams in the WSL? They’ll still be in the running for Champions League spots.
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