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

Figure caption, Manchester City lift WSL trophy after win at West Ham Ten 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 latest 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. Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Manchester City's Khadija Shaw has been the WSL's top scorer for the third successive season After 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 Published6 MayWhy summers of change beckon for WSL giants Published1 day agoChampions League challengers have work to doFigure caption, 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," said Ho. 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? Published2 days agoHave 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? Published1 MayIs 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

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

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