The Women’s Super League and Championship have announced major changes to their structure

Sunderland’s hopes of reaching the WSL in future seasons have been bolstered signifciantly after clubs across the top two tiers voted in favour of expanding the top divsion from the 2026/27 season.

That means there is the potential for three teams to win promotion from the 12-strong Women’s Championship next season. With the WSL set to expand to 14 teams from the 2026/27 season campaign, there will be two automatic promotion spots up for grabs in the second tier next season. The team that finishes third will then have the chance to play for promotion in a play-off against the team who finishes second bottom in the Super League.

From the following campaign there will be one automatic place to play for, while the team that finishes second will then play in the play-off against the team second bottom in the Super League. The Women’s Championship will continue as a 12-team division.

The news offers a huge incentive to Championship clubs next season, and Sunderland fans will be interested to see how ambitious the club are as a result. Competition will be ferocious, with clubs such as Newcastle United and Birmingham City likely to invest heavily in a bid to reach the top tier of the game.

Sunderland finished seventh last season, though they were at one stage in contention for promotion having taken the race all the way to the final day in the previous season. They have not yet announced any new signings for the upcoming campaign, though defender Amy Goddard’s departure has been confirmed.

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THE WSL statement in full

“At a WSL Football shareholders’ meeting today, subject to the approval of The FA Board, clubs voted to expand the Barclays Women’s Super League (BWSL) to 14 teams from the start of the 26/27 season with a double round-robin format which includes automatic promotion and relegation alongside the addition of a promotion/relegation playoff to create distinction within the English women’s game.

To expand the BWSL to 14 teams for the start of 26/27 season, it was agreed that up to three teams would be promoted from the Barclays Women’s Super League 2 (BWSL2).The top two teams would be promoted automatically and there would be a playoff between the 12th placed BWSL team and the 3rd place BWSL2 team at the end of the25/26 season (which will need to be scheduled).

BWSL2 will continue as a 12-team league with additional promotion opportunities from the FA Women’s National League (WNL) Northern and Southern Premier Divisions at the end of the 2025/26 season. These promotions will fill the additional vacancies created by the expansion of the BWSL. The method for these promotions, and any impact further down the pyramid, will be confirmed by The FA in due course.

From the 26/27 season, it was agreed that the competition format for the BWSL would remain as a double round robin with the top three teams qualifying for the UEFA women’s Champions League.

The 14th team in the BWSL would be automatically relegated and there would be an automatic promotion spot for the BWSL2 champions. In addition, there would be the introduction of a promotion/relegation playoff between the 13th placed BWSL team and the 2nd placed BWSL2 team to determine which club would either stay or be promoted.

The decision to expand the BWSL to 14 teams, the method to do it, including any promotion mechanism for the WNL, promotion/relegation between the BWSL and BWSL2 for the 26/27 season onwards are subject to the approval of The FA Board. Nikki Doucet, CEO, WSL Football said: “Over the past few months, WSL Football has leda thorough and robust, consultative process backed by research and analysis which explored multiple options that could drive the game forward and help it reach its potential.

“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 incentivise investment across the board. Subject to the approval from The FA Board, expanding the BWSL 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.”

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