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FourFourTwo
Sport
Sarah Rendell

Explained: Women's Super League expands with major reforms

Players of Chelsea celebrate victory and winning the Barclays WSL title following the Barclays Women's Super League match between Manchester United FC and Chelsea FC at Leigh Sports Village on April 30, 2025 in Leigh, England.

The Women's Super League will be expanded to 14 teams from the 12 from the 2026/27 season.

Fans of the sport have been calling for top-flight expansion for the past few seasons as one or two bad results can damage an entire season for a club because of there was not enough fixtures to fix the impact of a loss, especially if another club continues their good form.

For example, Arsenal started the 2024/25 season poorly but had a great run in the middle part of the season. But because Chelsea did not lose a match, Arsenal were not able to fight for the title after drawing to Everton and losing to the Blues early on in the campaign.

Women's Super League expansion: How will it work?

The WSL has been the name of the top-flight since 2011 (Image credit: Getty Images)

More clubs involved in the league would give clubs more room to lose a match or two and still lead a league charge.

It will also open the door for a more competitive season. Chelsea have won the last six WSL titles.

Arsenal won the Champions League this past season (Image credit: Getty Images)

In more good news for supporters, relegation will not be halted to expand the league.

At the end of the 2025/26 season, two Championship (WSL 2) clubs will be promoted into the WSL.

Then there will be a play-off between the third-place team in WSL 2 and the bottom-place WSL team to decide the 14th spot in the top-flight.

The move was voted through by representatives from clubs from the top two divisions in English football.

London City Lionesses were promoted into the WSL this past season (Image credit: Getty Images)

While the change has been widely welcomed by everyone involved in the sport, it does come with an issue.

It means clubs will play 26 league games every season rather than the 22 they compete in now.

The fixture calendar is already packed and a concern around player welfare has been raised.

Wider squads would help the issue with team rotation then an option but financial constraints would hold a lot of clubs back from implementing that solution.

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