New Rules in the Women’s Super League
On June 16, 2025, Nikki Doucet, chief executive of WSL Football, proposed the rule changes for the 2026/27 season for the Women’s Super League (WSL). A majority of votes among the club members passed the proposal. The change of plan includes team expansion and the introduction of new playoff rules. However, the changes still need to be formally approved by the Football Association (FA) board.
The Women’s Super League is the top professional soccer league in England, which attracts the best female players from various countries. Currently, WSL has 2 divisions, WSL1 and WSL2, each of which has 12 teams. WSL1 has all professional players, while WSL2 has a mix of professional and semi-professional teams.
The WSL top tier will expand from 12 to 14 teams starting in the 2026/27 season. In addition to the expansion, the downgrade and upgrade system will change as well. Instead of the lowest team in the top tier being relegated to WSL2, the bottom two teams will be downgraded to WSL2. The top two teams in WSL2 will be promoted to the WSL1 automatically, while the current rule only allows one team to be upgraded. The thirteenth-place team in WSL1 and the third-place team in WSL2 will compete for the final spot in the WSL top tier.
The new playoff rule allows at least 2 teams to be promoted, which will encourage the clubs to invest more funding in the WSL2. In addition, the 12 to 14 teams’ expansion change also increases competitiveness and sustainability within the league. Adding more teams in WSL1 will create more uncertainty for the league. Backed by solid and robust research and analysis, the expansion in WSL1, alongside the introduction of an upgrade/downgrade playoff, is designed to restore movement between leagues and give more opportunities to play. Another goal of this rule change is to raise the profile of the league and attract greater investment.
“The introduction of a promotion-relegation playoff creates distinction for the women’s game and introduces a high-profile, high-stakes match.” Doucet said. Doucet’s words explain that the expansion and rule change will allow the players in the league to make new friends and learn more about each other.
The expansion to 14 teams is expected to enhance competition in the soccer league; however, there might be some potential challenges to the WSL too. Fixture congestion, a situation when players are required to play several games in a short period of time, could become a major problem, and concerns have been raised about the sustainability in the league.
Sources:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/articles/c5yl5272z6yo
https://sports.yahoo.com/article/season-structure-fa-wsl-expansion-082400326.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women%27s_Super_League
https://www.sportcal.com/news/deal-focus-wsl-expansion-to-reshape-womens-soccer-pyramid-in-england/?cf-view
https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/articles/c4grnrg8dy8o