The Subway Women’s League Cup is back this week, bringing together Women’s Super League and WSL 2 teams in one competition.
Chelsea are the current holders, having beaten Manchester City in last season’s final at Pride Park in Derby, securing the first trophy of their domestic treble.
Here’s everything you need to know about the format, groups and key dates.
Format
What's the format of the Women's League Cup 2025/26?
Group stage
The group stages feature 21 teams, split geographically into five groups - four groups of four, and one group of five.
Each team plays every other team in their group once, with the exception of the group of five, where they play three of the other teams once.
Points system
- Win = 3 points
- Draw = 1 point each + penalty shootout for an extra bonus point awarded to the shootout winner
- Loss = 0 points
Progression
The top team of each of the five groups progresses to the quarter-finals, joining the three UWCL teams in the last eight.
Teams
Who enters the Women's League Cup?
All 24 clubs from the WSL and WSL 2 enter the competition.
The 21 clubs not involved in European football enter in the group stages.
The three English teams playing in the UEFA Women’s Champions League - Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United - join a round later at the quarter-final stage, meaning they could lift the trophy by playing just three matches.
Groups
What are the groups for the Women's League Cup 2025/26?
Group A |
Manchester City, Everton, Newcastle United, Nottingham Forest |
Group B |
Liverpool, Durham, Sunderland, Sheffield United |
Group C (five teams) |
Brighton & Hove Albion, West Ham United, Charlton Athletic, Southampton, Portsmouth |
Group D |
Leicester City, Crystal Palace, London City Lionesses, Ipswich Town |
Group E |
Aston Villa, Tottenham Hotspur, Birmingham City, Bristol City |
Teams were split into northern and southern sections to decide the groups.
Northern teams filled groups A and B, while southern teams filled groups C, D and E
Dates
What are the dates for the Women's League Cup 2025/26?
Group stage:
24/25 September 2025
8/9 October 2025 (Group C only)
18/19 October 2025
2/13 November 2025 (Group C only)
22/23 November 2025
Quarter-finals:
20–21 December 2025
Semi-finals:
21–22 January 2026
Final:
15 March 2026
What's at stake?
The League Cup is the first domestic trophy of the season up for grabs, and with the UWCL sides entering late, the competition can see some dramatic knockout rounds.
However, with the three European teams getting a bye to the latter stages, it tends to be the familiar heavyweights that go all the way.
Since the competition was rebranded from the FA Women’s Premier League Cup in 2011, only Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City have lifted the trophy.
