The Women’s Super League (WSL) is preparing for one of its most transformative seasons yet, with changes taking place on the pitch, in the stands, and on fans’ TV screens.
The 2025/26 season kicks-off on September 5 with Chelsea hosting Manchester City under the lights at 19:30, marking the beginning of a landmark five-year domestic broadcast deal.
The opening weekend has been scheduled to coincide with the first men’s international break of the season, giving the WSL centre stage from 5–7 September. Fans will be able to watch every match from the first round of fixtures live across Sky Sports, BBC and YouTube.
Headline games include Arsenal – fresh off their UEFA Women’s Champions League triumph – taking on newly promoted London City Lionesses on Saturday (13:30).
Sunday’s schedule includes a Merseyside derby between Liverpool and Everton, along with Brighton vs Aston Villa, Manchester United vs Leicester City, and Tottenham Hotspur vs West Ham United – all kicking off at 12:00.
New deal, new season, new structure
The new broadcast rights agreement will change how and when fans can watch the WSL.
Sky Sports will have a dedicated Sunday slot at 12pm for live matches, strategically placed before the channel’s Premier League Super Sunday programming. It is part of Sky’s commitment to broadcast 118 WSL matches per season, including 78 games exclusively across its platform.
Meanwhile, the BBC will show 21 matches each season – 14 on terrestrial TV and seven on digital platforms such as BBC iPlayer. Audio commentary of selected matches will also be available on BBC Radio 5 Live, Sounds and on local BBC radio for every match on weekends.
WSL expansion
The 2025/26 season will be the final season the WSL operates with 12 teams; from the 2026/27 season, the league will expand to 14 clubs in an attempt to enhance competitiveness and sustainability.
With the expansion comes a new end-of-season relegation play-off: the team finishing bottom of the WSL will face the third-placed team from the WSL 2 in a one-off match to secure a spot in the top flight.
Alcohol-in-stands trial expands for full season
Another change fans will notice this season is the expansion of the alcohol-in-stands trial.
Following a successful pilot involving more than 50,000 supporters across 19 games last season, the trial will now be extended to 14 clubs across both WSL and WSL 2.
Among the venues participating are Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium, Chelsea’s Kingsmeadow and Stamford Bridge, Everton’s Goodison Park, Liverpool’s St Helens and Anfield, London City Lionesses’ Hayes Lane, Manchester City’s Joie Stadium and Manchester United’s Leigh Sports Village and Old Trafford.
The alcohol stand trial will also be present at stadiums in the WSL 2 at Birmingham City, Bristol City, Crystal Palace, Newcastle United, Sheffield United, Sunderland and Southampton.
The trial is notable because, unlike the men’s professional game, women’s football is not subject to the Sporting Events (Control of Alcohol etc.) Act 1985, which prohibits drinking alcohol in view of the pitch.
The original trial, which included clubs such as Bristol City, Newcastle United and Southampton, received overwhelmingly positive feedback. Two-thirds (66%) of fans surveyed supported the initiative, with 48% in strong support. Notably, no safety incidents were reported, and 84% of attendees rated their sense of safety 9 or 10 out of 10.
Holly Murdoch, Chief Operating Officer for WSL Football, said: “Expanding this trial for the new campaign, encompassing our Barclays WSL teams and additional Barclays WSL2 clubs too, is part of our strategy to offer a best-in-class experience for our fans attending matches.
“Exploring giving supporters the choice to drink alcohol in the stands was something we were excited to trial and following such positive feedback from the proof-of-concept version, we’re looking forward to opening it up to more venues and equally, hearing from those at the heart of it – our clubs and supporters.”
The aim of the trial’s expansion is to test the impact at scale, across larger crowds, diverse venues, and key football markets in London and the North West, throughout a full season.
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