The deal
The women’s soccer pyramid in England will undergo a major change from the 2026-27 season after clubs in the top two divisions voted to expand the top-tier Women’s Super League (WSL) and also introduce a promotion and relegation playoff.
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Under the proposals introduced by WSL Football, which oversees the top two tiers, the WSL will expand from 12 to 14 teams. At the same time, minimum standards will be raised to make the second-tier WSL 2, formerly known as the Championship, fully professional.
To reach 14 teams for the 2026-27 season, the top two clubs in WSL 2 will be automatically promoted to WSL, with the final 14th spot decided by a playoff match between the club that finishes last (12th) in the WSL at the end of the 2025-26 season and the third-placed team in WSL 2.
WSL 2 will remain a 12-club division.
Further down, the Football Association (FA) governing body, which still manages the format of the third-tier Women’s National League, is in talks with WSL Football over whether the National League North and National League South winners will be promoted and two WSL 2 teams relegated from the 2026-27 season to complete the soccer pyramid.
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By GlobalDataThese changes are all still subject to approval from the FA, which still has a ‘golden share’ in WSL Football, which took over the running of the top two divisions last year.
Why it matters
The changes mark a turning point for the WSL as it looks to increase competitiveness and financial security for the clubs in the top two tiers.
Organizers considered a range of formats – including split leagues, no relegation, and playoffs – eventually settling on the double round-robin format, which sees teams playing each other twice, the introduction of playoffs, and keeping relegation and promotion (after a public backlash).
Discussions started after the transfer of ownership of the WSL and WSL 2 from the FA last year to the newly created Women’s Professional Leagues Limited (WPLL), which saw all clubs become shareholders in the organization.
WPLL has since rebranded to WSL Football and is led by chief executive Nikki Doucet.
In a statement, the WSL has said: “Our priority was to find a route that would benefit the whole women's game pyramid, and we believe this next evolution of women's professional football will raise minimum standards, create distinction, and incentivize investment across the board.
“Subject to the approval from the FA board, expanding the WSL to 14 teams will stimulate movement between leagues and through the pyramid, which increases opportunities. The introduction of a promotion/relegation playoff creates distinction for the women's game and introduces a high-profile, high-stakes match.”
WSL Football is hoping the changes will increase the competitiveness and sustainability of the clubs; however, there are questions surrounding whether the clubs coming up from WSL 2 to WSL have the financial means to be competitive against the dominant teams, including London’s Chelsea and Arsenal.
Recent years have also seen clubs bouncing between the two divisions – when a club is promoted to the WSL and then relegated after one season – including Crystal Palace last season and Bristol City the campaign before.
Given this, there are concerns that the issue will be compounded with an expansion of the WSL, with the same teams jumping between the two leagues due to the financial gulf between the clubs.
Conrad Wiacek, head of analysis at GlobalData Sport, commented: “The WSL's expansion comes at a tricky moment for women's soccer in England.
“With Chelsea's dominance domestically highlighting a lack of competition, many will question the need for the league to expand until there is a more competitive landscape. The lack of competition has naturally impacted interest, where a singularly dominant force means that everyone else is playing for second place.
“This will have an impact on viewership, and when this drops, there will be a knock-on effect commercially, meaning that it will become even harder for teams to catch Chelsea.
“Until there is significant investment from other teams to match Chelsea, then it is unlikely that the domestic picture will change, and therefore the commercial growth of the WSL is unlikely to develop.”
The details
It has been reported that WSL plans to operate as a 14-team league for the foreseeable future due to research suggesting competitiveness would suffer if the league expanded further too quickly. Organizers will also need time to iron out any issues the changes may bring.
An expansion also comes with an increase in games, with the WSL now having to contend with an increasingly congested calendar. The women’s game features seven international windows and a three-week winter break, leaving a limited amount of matchdays once other regulations are considered.
Other commitments that contribute to the tight calendar include: a six-week gap between a major tournament and a new season, no more than two midweek games in a row, no midweek games after international breaks, and limited midweek games in the winter (due to having to fulfil games postponed from the weekend).
The men’s top-tier Premier League, meanwhile, has five international windows and a one-week winter break.
Meanwhile, the WSL will have to renegotiate its rights deals with partner broadcasters to incorporate the extra matches.
UK pay-TV giant Sky Sports and public broadcaster the BBC hold the domestic rights to the top-tier after signing a new five-year deal from 2025-26 through 2029-30.
As lead broadcast partner paying the larger share, Sky shows up to 118 matches, with 78 fixtures shown exclusively across Sky and Sky Sports channels, including all matches from the closing weekend of the season.
The remaining 34 matches are shared non-exclusively between Sky and WPLL’s YouTube channel, and seven are broadcast on both Sky and the BBC.
The agreement is understood to be worth £65 million ($84.6 million) over the five seasons. With production costs added, the total deal is likely to exceed £100 million.
Sky is understood to be preparing for talks with WSL Football over airing the extra matches each season from the 2026-27 campaign, but it is unclear whether the broadcaster will have to pay additional rights fees.
