Table coming soon….
The Women’s Super League (WSL) is the top division of women’s football in England, and the table on this page shows the current 2026/27 standings, updated automatically as results come in. Below the live table you’ll find a plain-English guide to how it works: how many teams play, how points are won, which positions earn a UEFA Women’s Champions League place, which fall into the promotion/relegation play-off or drop straight to Women’s Super League 2 (WSL2), how teams level on points are separated, the key dates, and how to follow every match from New Zealand.
What is the Women’s Super League?
The Women’s Super League is the highest tier of the English women’s football pyramid. It has been run since the 2024 handover by WSL Football, the company that took the competition over from the Football Association (FA). Its title sponsor is Barclays, so you will also see it written as the Barclays Women’s Super League (BWSL). Directly below it sits Women’s Super League 2 (WSL2), the second tier that teams are promoted from and relegated to.
For 2026/27 the league is bigger than before: it expanded from 12 clubs to 14, the first time it has run at that size. If you are new to league tables, our guide on how to read a standings table walks through every row and column, and the men’s top-flight equivalent is explained on our Premier League standings page.
How the 2026/27 WSL table works
The WSL uses a straightforward double round-robin. Each of the 14 clubs plays every other club twice, once at home and once away, for a total of 26 matches per team across the season. There is no group stage and no regular-season conference split.
Points are awarded the standard way for association football:
- Win: 3 points
- Draw: 1 point
- Loss: 0 points
The table is ordered by total points, most at the top. The column headings (P, W, D, L, GF, GA, GD, Pts) follow the usual football conventions; if any are unfamiliar, see our glossary of standings table abbreviations.
Key facts
| Competition | Women’s Super League (Barclays WSL) |
|---|---|
| Country / tier | England, top flight (tier 1) |
| Teams (2026/27) | 14 |
| Matches per team | 26 (double round-robin) |
| Points | Win 3, Draw 1, Loss 0 |
| Champions League places | 3 (top two to the league phase, 3rd to a qualifying round) |
| Relegation | 14th automatic; 13th into a play-off vs WSL2 runners-up |
| Season | 4 September 2026 – 23 May 2027 (play-off 29–30 May 2027) |
| Title decided by | League table (no final or play-off) |
| Governing body | WSL Football |
| Watch in NZ | Sky (Sky Sport); unselected games on the Barclays WSL YouTube channel |
What each position in the table means
Position matters at both ends of the WSL table: the top places earn European football, and the bottom places trigger a play-off or automatic relegation. The middle of the table is simply safe.
Champions League places (top three)
England currently holds three places in the UEFA Women’s Champions League (UWCL), the most of any association. The WSL champions and runners-up (1st and 2nd) enter the UWCL league phase directly, while the third-placed club enters a UWCL qualifying round. The exact entry round can shift from season to season because it depends on UEFA’s access list and England’s coefficient, so treat the qualifying stage as subject to confirmation each year.
Mid-table (4th to 12th)
Clubs finishing between 4th and 12th stay in the WSL for the following season with nothing further at stake: no European place and no relegation risk. Only the top three and bottom two positions carry a consequence.
Relegation and the play-off place (13th and 14th)
The club that finishes 14th (bottom) is relegated automatically to WSL2. The club that finishes 13th is not safe either: it goes into a promotion/relegation play-off against the runners-up of WSL2, with the winner taking the WSL place. The WSL2 champions are promoted automatically. This two-up, two-down structure replaced the old single-relegation system when the league expanded to 14 teams.
What the positions mean
| Position | What it means |
|---|---|
| 1st | WSL champions; UEFA Women’s Champions League league phase |
| 2nd | UEFA Women’s Champions League league phase |
| 3rd | UEFA Women’s Champions League qualifying round |
| 4th–12th | Stay in the WSL; no European place and no relegation risk |
| 13th | Promotion/relegation play-off against the WSL2 runners-up |
| 14th | Relegated automatically to WSL2 |
How teams level on points are separated
When two or more clubs finish on the same number of points, the WSL ranks them using this order:
- Goal difference (goals scored minus goals conceded)
- Goals scored
If clubs are still inseparable on a place that decides the title, a European spot or relegation, the competition’s regulations provide for a further decider. For the shared mechanics behind this, see our explainer on how league points and tiebreakers work. Always check the current season’s regulations, as tie-break rules are set per competition and can change.
Key dates for the 2026/27 season
The 2026/27 Barclays WSL season opened on the weekend of Friday 4 to Sunday 6 September 2026 and runs to its final weekend of 22-23 May 2027. The promotion/relegation play-off is scheduled for 29-30 May 2027, after the WSL2 campaign finishes on its own final weekend of 8-9 May 2027. Kick-off dates and times for individual rounds are set a few weeks ahead and can move for broadcast reasons, so the live table above is the reliable record of what has actually been played.
How the season ends
The WSL title is decided by the league table alone. There is no grand final or championship play-off: whichever club sits top after all 26 matches is crowned champion. The only end-of-season match outside the normal fixtures is the promotion/relegation play-off, which settles the fate of the 13th-placed club rather than the title.
How to follow the WSL from New Zealand
In New Zealand, WSL matches are carried by Sky (Sky Sport), which holds the New Zealand rights according to the league’s official broadcast listings. Matches not picked for a broadcaster in a given region are streamed worldwide on the official Barclays WSL YouTube channel, which is a useful fallback for Kiwi viewers. In the UK the games are split between Sky Sports and the BBC.
Watch the clock, though: New Zealand runs roughly 11 to 13 hours ahead of the UK depending on daylight saving in both countries. A typical UK afternoon kick-off therefore lands overnight or early morning the next day in New Zealand (NZDT/NZST). As a rough guide, a 12:00 UK Sunday fixture is around 1:00am Monday in New Zealand, while a Friday-evening match (about 7:00pm UK) is close to breakfast time on Saturday here. Check the exact local time for each round before setting an alarm.
Sources
- WSL Football – The 2026/27 fixtures are out (teams, dates, broadcast)
- WSL Football – Where to watch the Barclays Women’s Super League
- Sky Sports – FA approves WSL expansion to 14 teams from 2026/27
- Sky Sports – Women’s Super League fixtures 2026/27
- Guide to Football – The Women’s Super League (format, points, qualification)
Frequently asked questions
How many teams are in the Women’s Super League?
Fourteen clubs contest the WSL in 2026/27. The league expanded from 12 to 14 teams for this season, each playing 26 matches (every opponent home and away).
How many points do you get for a win in the WSL?
Three points for a win, one for a draw and none for a defeat. Clubs are ranked by total points, then by goal difference and then by goals scored.
Which WSL positions qualify for the Champions League?
The top three. The champions and runners-up go into the UEFA Women’s Champions League league phase, and the third-placed club enters a qualifying round, subject to UEFA’s access list each season.
Who gets relegated from the Women’s Super League?
The 14th-placed (bottom) club is relegated automatically to WSL2. The 13th-placed club plays a promotion/relegation play-off against the WSL2 runners-up to keep its place.
How can I watch the WSL in New Zealand?
Sky (Sky Sport) carries WSL matches in New Zealand. Fixtures not selected for a regional broadcaster are streamed globally on the official Barclays WSL YouTube channel.