Stories, scheduling & spectacle – five takeaways from 2025-26 WSL

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Stories, scheduling & spectacle – five takeaways from 2025-26 WSLFigure caption, Manchester City lift WSL trophy after win at West HamByJoe BradshawBBC Sport senior journalistPublished13 minutes agoTen months ago, Lionesses fever gripped the nation as England’s women lifted another international trophy by beating Spain on penalties to win Euro 2025.That newest silverware for the national team and a bumper new TV deal for the Women’s Super League ensured extra momentum behind the game in the UK.The 2025-26 WSL has played out against that backdrop.To unpick the action, BBC Sport answers five prevalent questions.Are Man City the new dominant force?Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Manchester City’s Khadija Shaw has been the WSL’s top scorer for the third successive seasonAfter six years of total Chelsea rule, there is a different name on the WSL trophy.Manchester City wrapped up their first title for a decade before the final game.It has been well deserved and their ascension is potentially a sign of the division’s growing competitiveness.Andree Jeglertz’s side boast the most wins, the most goals and the second-best defence, as well as arguably the league’s best player in top scorer Khadija Shaw.Under the Swedish manager’s careful tutelage, they have leapt from a fourth-placed finish last season to first, seizing top spot in week eight and maintaining control ever since.”You can have success one year but if you want to build something for the future you need to create an environment where everyone says: ‘Wow, I don’t want to go home from work’,” he told BBC Sport.”The best teams, that succeed, are ones that enjoy going to work.”City’s players have clearly enjoyed life this season – but can their success last?No Champions League football helped ease the load on the squad, with Shaw for example, playing nearly 800 minutes fewer than Arsenal’s Alessia Russo.Adapting to European fixtures next season will be a new challenge.They will expect a rebound from their rivals too, especially Chelsea, whose win total of 15 was their lowest in a full season since 2018-19.Similarly, contending across five competitions this season caught up with Arsenal, who gave themselves too much to do when faced with a myriad of games in hand.Then, there is the future of Shaw, out-of-contract in the summer and heavily linked with a switch to Chelsea.The 2026-27 season could look quite different.Inside Man City’s WSL title-winning season

  • 6 May
  • Why summers of change beckon for WSL giants

    • 1 day ago

    • Champions League challengers have work to do

    Spurs head coach Ho on improvement

    After promising starts this season, both Manchester United and Tottenham slipped out of European contention before the clocks went back.

    For Spurs, boss Martin Ho inspired a big improvement on 2024-25 to move up from 11th place and achieve their record WSL points total.

    The ambitious boss is not happy with being ‘best of the rest’ behind the established top four in the WSL.

    “We want this club to be recognised as not just one of the best in the UK, but in Europe,” mentioned Ho.

    At United, the pressure is greater.

    Making the Champions League quarter-finals was a statement of intent but the way their top-three push petered out left long-serving manager Mark Skinner under serious scrutiny.

    The strength of the squad has been exposed and additions are required to compete on all fronts next season.

    • How will Tottenham build on successful WSL season?

      • 2 days ago

    Have fans been entertained?

    There have been some great games this season.

    Manchester City thumping defending champions Chelsea 5-1 felt like a changing of the guard, Tottenham winning 7-3 at Villa Park was suitably bonkers, while Chelsea beating Aston Villa 4-3 after six goals in 35 chaotic first-half minutes was highly entertaining.

    However, zoom out from individual matches and the picture is less rosy.

    Compared with the past five seasons, only 2021-22 had fewer goals (392 against 384). Indeed, there have been more 0-0s (10) than in any season this decade.

    Shots-wise, this season is also only better than 2021-22 (1,157 to 1,138)

    It is though worth saying only in 2023-24, did teams hit the woodwork more (118 v 109).

    The lack of jeopardy in the title race was echoed in the relegation picture.

    With the WSL expanding to 14 teams next season, only the side that finishes bottom is at risk of going down – and only then if they lose a play-off against third place in WSL 2.

    It has been clear for months that, despite a January spending spree that included signing Alisha Lehmann, Leicester City were the worst team in the WSL – and that was settled mathematically with two games to go.

    • Leicester City women face relegation play-off – what happened?

      • 1 May

    Is the schedule helping?

    This season, the Sunday evening slot was shelved in favour of a focus on noon kick-offs to favour TV cameras.

    However, the number of English men’s teams in European football has made this lunchtime slot even more competitive with extra 14:00 kick-offs in the Premier League.

    This time also overlaps with grassroots football, arguably shrinking the size of potential audience.

    Then there are the showpiece matches such as the League Cup final. Chelsea against Manchester United could have been the day’s big ticket event but, the 14:15 kick-off clashed with United men playing Aston Villa at 14:00.

    While the WSL rightly point to the final weekend of March as setting an attendance record of 111,000 supporters across the 12 WSL and WSL 2 games, supporters through the gates has generally decreased this season.

    In fact, only Arsenal and Everton boast a higher average gate than the past two seasons, with the latter’s aided by a switch to Goodison Park.

    Even Manchester City’s success has not prompted greater attendances. For this season’s derby against Manchester United, 17,520 were in the stands – less than half of 2023-24’s 40,086.

    However, to balance this point, it is also important to say that Arsenal’s average attendance of more than 34,000 would put them 13th in the men’s Premier League (per Transfermarkt, external).

    Similarly, Chelsea have decided to play every home game at Stamford Bridge next season, while upwardly mobile Brighton have also pledged to create Europe’s first purpose-built ground for their women’s team.

    • Brighton plan Europe’s first purpose-built £80m women’s stadium

      • 28 April
    • Bespoke women’s football stadiums? Why US sides are making the move

      • 15 March

    Does the WSL lag behind Europe’s best?

    Last year, Arsenal won the Champions League but will be mere spectators when Barcelona and Lyon face off next Saturday (17:00 BST).

    The Gunners reaching the semi-finals but were dispatched by the French giants in a one-sided second leg.

    Chelsea went out a round before, to Arsenal, while Manchester United were seen off by Bayern Munich.

    The Ballon d’Or will likely reflect this European balance.

    Nominations come later in the summer but with no international tournaments this year, it will be enlightening to see which WSL players make the shortlist.

    Nine made the top 30 last August – and that did not include anyone from Manchester City, for whom Khadija Shaw, Vivianne Miedema and Yui Hasegawa among others have staked huge claims.

    Others such as Arsenal’s Alessia Russo and Mariona Caldentey, Chelsea’s Alyssa Thompson and Manchester United’s Jess Park have also all had exceptional seasons and may feature.

    Yet when the biggest award is doled out, it is still likely to be dominated by players from elsewhere. After all, a Barcelona player has won each of the past five years

    Perhaps until Champions League success becomes commonplace, the leading WSL clubs must accept second billing to Europe’s other heavyweights.

    Having mentioned that, with Georgia Stanway, Ona Batlle and even Alexia Putellas linked with switches to England this summer, the balance could flip sooner than expected.

    Ellen White, Jen Beattie and Ben Haines

    Listen to Ben Haines, Ellen White and Jen Beattie on the Women’s Football Weekly podcast. New episodes drop every Tuesday on BBC Sounds, plus find interviews and extra content from the Women’s Super League and beyond on the Women’s Football Weekly feed

    Related topics

    • Women’s Football
    • Football
    • Women’s Super League

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