Understanding The Women’s Super League 2 (The Women’s Championship)

Womens Super League 2

There is an extent to which the various leagues in women’s football look to mirror the men’s so as to make them more accessible to others.

Generally speaking, though, the rising popularity of the women’s game has meant that a move towards giving the leagues their own identity has been seen as the right way forward.

That can be seen in the various rebranding decisions made around what is now known as the Women’s Super League 2, but was known as the Women’s Championship for some time.

The second level of football in the country for female players, it allows for promotion to the top-flight at the end of the campaign.

A Brief History

It was in 2014 that a decision was taken to expand the FA Women’s Super League in order to create a second division. The new league would have nine new teams, alongside one already formed team that had been relegated from the Super League. The top-flight would have eight teams, with one new team added, whilst what was initially to be referred to as WSL 2 would have ten.

That meant a new team being inserted into the WSL 1, with the licence going to Manchester City. The team relegated down to the second division was the Doncaster Rovers Belles, whilst the following teams received new licences:

  • London Bees
  • Durham
  • Aston Villa
  • Millwall Lionesses
  • Yeovil Town
  • Reading
  • Sunderland
  • Watford
  • Oxford United

In the December of 2014, the Football Association confirmed a plan to see the WSL 1 expanded from eight teams to ten over the following two years, with two teams promoted and one relegated in order to ensure that happened.

It was also decided that a system of promotion would be put in place with the Women’s Premier League, which has since become the National League, connecting the WSL to the rest of the football pyramid in the women’s game. It meant that the 2016 season saw the WSL 1 with nine teams and the WSL 2 with ten, repeated the process for the following year to see both have ten from then on.

Any club applying to join the WSL had to be able to prove that they could attract at least 350 spectators for the 2016 season, increasing to 400 for the following year. The FA WSL 2 became the Women’s Championship in 2018, before rebranding it back to the WSL 2 seven years later.

In the meantime, the season was halted in the May of 2020 because of the global health crisis of the time, then two years later it was renamed to become the Women’s Championship rather than the FA Women’s Championship. In the November of 2023, an announcement was made about the future of the professional game in England.

The Women’s Super League and what was then known as the Women’s Championship would be creating a new organisation to run the English women’s game, replacing the Football Association. Named NewCo, the new organisation named Nikki Doucet as Chief Executive Officer and prior to the 2024-2025 season rebranded to become the Women’s Professional Leagues Limited.

The Women’s Championship set a new attendance record on the 23rd of March 2025 when 38,502 people turned up to St James’ Park to watch Newcastle United WFC and Sunderland Women play the Tyne-Wear derby.

How the League is Structured

The Women’s Super League 2 operates a system of promotion into the Women’s Super League and relegation down to one of the National League North or the National League South, depending on the location of the team that has been relegated.

There are 12 teams that ply their trade in the second tier of English football, with two promoted to the WSL 1 directly by finishing in the first two places, whilst one will make it into a play-off for promotion that will see them go up against the team that finished third from bottom in the WSL 1 to decide which of them will play in the top-flight for the following season.

How many teams are relegated is a somewhat movable feast. Two clubs were relegated at the end of the 2023-2024 season, with two teams each being promoted from the National League North and the National League South. No changes were made to promotion into the WSL, creating a 12-team system.

The following year, the league ended up being reduced to 11 teams because financial issues forced Reading to withdraw from the Championship, with two relegation spots brought in for the 2025-2026 season, only to see one of them removed when Blackburn Rovers withdrew because of issues meeting the league’s requirements.