2019–20 FA WSL
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.jpg) FA WSL trophy | |
| Season | 2019–20 |
|---|---|
| Matches played | 82 |
| Goals scored | 240 (2.93 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Vivianne Miedema (16 goals) |
| Biggest home win | Arsenal 11–1 Bristol City (1 December 2019) |
| Biggest away win | Birmingham City 0–6 Chelsea (24 November 2019) |
| Highest scoring | Arsenal 11–1 Bristol City (1 December 2019) |
| Highest attendance | 38,262 - Tottenham 0–2 Arsenal (17 November 2019) |
← 2018–19 2020–21 →
All statistics correct as of 13 February 2020. | |
The 2019–20 FA WSL season (also known as the Barclays FA Women's Super League for sponsorship reasons) is the ninth edition of the FA Women's Super League (WSL) since it was formed in 2010.[1] It is the second season after the rebranding of the four highest levels in English women's football and the twelve teams contesting the season will be the greatest number in the league's history thus far, following its steady increase from its original eight.[2] It is the first under the new Barclays title sponsorship following a landmark multi-million pound investment.[3]
On 13 March 2020, in line with the FA's response to the coronavirus pandemic, it was announced the season was temporarily suspended until at least 3 April 2020.[4]
Broadcasting
Ahead of the 2019–20 season, the FA launched a new comprehensive streaming service available on desktop or mobile app that would broadcast every FA WSL game live internationally for free,[5] except in Australia where Optus Sport holds exclusive rights,[6] Central America where Sky México holds exclusive rights, and Scandinavia where NENT holds exclusive rights.[7] The FA Player also streams the majority of WSL games in the United Kingdom alongside the one game per weekend televised by BBC Sport digitally on their red button service and website[8] while subscription channel BT Sport holds the rights to televise a select number of matches which are geo-blocked from the FA Player in the UK.[7][9]
Teams
After the WSL's restructure going into the 2018–19 season, membership of the league returned solely to performance in the previous season, though the league expanded from eleven teams to twelve as Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur were both promoted after finishing first and second respectively in the Championship during the 2018–19 season[10] while only Yeovil Town were relegated.[11][12]
| Team | Location | Ground | Capacity | 2018–19 season |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arsenal | Borehamwood | Meadow Park | 4,502 | 1st |
| Birmingham City | Solihull | Damson Park | 3,050 | 4th |
| Brighton & Hove Albion | Crawley | Broadfield Stadium[a] | 6,134 | 9th |
| Bristol City | Filton | Stoke Gifford Stadium[b] | 1,500 | 6th |
| Chelsea | Kingston upon Thames | Kingsmeadow[c] | 4,850 | 3rd |
| Everton | Liverpool | Walton Hall Park[d][e] | 10th | |
| Liverpool | Birkenhead | Prenton Park[f] | 16,587 | 8th |
| Manchester City | Manchester | Academy Stadium[g] | 7,000 | 2nd |
| Manchester United | Manchester | Leigh Sports Village | 12,000 | WC, 1st |
| Reading | High Wycombe | Adams Park[h] | 9,617 | 5th |
| Tottenham Hotspur | Canons Park | The Hive Stadium[i] | 6,500 | WC, 2nd |
| West Ham United | Romford | Rush Green Stadium[j] | 3,000 | 7th |
- ^ Match v Birmingham moved to Falmer Stadium
- ^ Opening weekend match v Brighton & Hove Albion held at Ashton Gate
- ^ Tottenham rivalry match held at Stamford Bridge
- ^ Opening six home fixtures played at Haig Avenue
- ^ Merseyside derby held at Goodison Park
- ^ Merseyside derby held at Anfield
- ^ Manchester derby held at City of Manchester Stadium
- ^ Match v Bristol City moved to Madjeski Stadium
- ^ North London derby held at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
- ^ Match v Tottenham Hotspur moved to London Stadium
Stadium changes
In response to the record viewing figures during the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup, three select fixtures were initially moved to Premier League grounds: The Manchester derby at the City of Manchester Stadium, Chelsea v Tottenham at Stamford Bridge and the North London derby at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.[13][14] In total, eight of the twelve teams have moved FA WSL fixtures to the larger grounds of their men's affiliate teams: Bristol City later announced their opening game would be played at Ashton Gate,[15] Reading moved one of their league fixtures (as well as all three League Cup games) to the Madjeski Stadium[16] and West Ham announced they would host Spurs at the London Stadium.[17] Brighton & Hove Albion moved their match against Birmingham to the Falmer Stadium to coincide with the FA's Women's Football Weekend, held during a men's international break.[18] Liverpool later moved their Merseyside derby, held on the same weekend, to Anfield and Everton moved the reverse fixture in February to Goodison Park.[19][20]
After originally planning to permanently relocate to their new Walton Hall Park stadium in October 2019 following their opening two home games, delays meant Everton had to postpone the move until February 2020 and eventually scheduled six of their 11 home league games at Haig Avenue in Southport.[21][22][23]
Personnel and kits
- As of 23 February 2020
| Team | Manager | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arsenal |  Joe Montemurro
|
 Kim Little
|
Adidas | Fly Emirates |
| Birmingham City |  Charlie Baxter (interim)
|
Kerys Harrop
|
Adidas | Maple from Canada |
| Brighton & Hove Albion | Hope Powell
|
Danielle Buet
|
Nike | American Express |
| Bristol City | Tanya Oxtoby
|
 Loren Dykes
|
Bristol Sport | Yeo Valley |
| Chelsea | Emma Hayes
|
 Magdalena Eriksson
|
Nike | Yokohama Tyres |
| Everton | Willie Kirk
|
Lucy Graham
|
Umbro | SportPesa |
| Liverpool | Vicky Jepson
|
Sophie Bradley-Auckland
|
New Balance | BetVictor |
| Manchester City |  Alan Mahon (interim)
|
Steph Houghton
|
Puma | Etihad Airways |
| Manchester United | Casey Stoney
|
Katie Zelem
|
Adidas | Chevrolet |
| Reading | Kelly Chambers
|
Natasha Harding
|
Macron | YLD |
| Tottenham Hotspur | Karen Hills Juan Amoros
|
Jenna Schillaci
|
Nike | AIA |
| West Ham United | Matt Beard
|
Gilly Flaherty
|
Umbro | Betway |
Managerial changes
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manchester City | Nick Cushing
|
Signed with New York City FC[24] | 2 February 2020 | 1st | Alan Mahon (interim)
|
3 February 2020 |
| Birmingham City | Marta Tejedor
|
Mutual separation[25] | 3 March 2020 | 11th | Charlie Baxter (interim)
|
3 March 2020 |
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manchester City | 16 | 13 | 1 | 2 | 39 | 9 | +30 | 40 | Qualification for the Champions League |
| 2 | Chelsea | 15 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 47 | 11 | +36 | 39 | |
| 3 | Arsenal | 15 | 12 | 0 | 3 | 40 | 13 | +27 | 36 | |
| 4 | Manchester United | 14 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 24 | 12 | +12 | 23 | |
| 5 | Reading | 14 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 21 | 24 | −3 | 21 | |
| 6 | Tottenham Hotspur | 15 | 6 | 2 | 7 | 15 | 24 | −9 | 20 | |
| 7 | Everton | 14 | 6 | 1 | 7 | 21 | 21 | 0 | 19 | |
| 8 | West Ham United | 14 | 5 | 1 | 8 | 19 | 34 | −15 | 16 | |
| 9 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 16 | 3 | 4 | 9 | 11 | 30 | −19 | 13 | |
| 10 | Bristol City | 14 | 2 | 3 | 9 | 9 | 38 | −29 | 9 | |
| 11 | Birmingham City | 13 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 5 | 23 | −18 | 7 | |
| 12 | Liverpool | 14 | 1 | 3 | 10 | 8 | 20 | −12 | 6 | Relegation to the Championship |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored
Results
Season statistics
- As of 23 February 2020
Top scorers
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Vivianne Miedema
|
Arsenal | 16 |
| 2 | Bethany England
|
Chelsea | 14 |
| 3 |  Pauline Bremer
|
Manchester City | 10 |
| 4 | Chloe Kelly
|
Everton | 9 |
| 5 | Lauren James
|
Manchester United | 6 |
 Ji So-Yun
|
Chelsea | ||
| Ellen White
|
Manchester City | ||
| 8 | Daniëlle van de Donk
|
Arsenal | 5 |
 Rachel Furness
|
Liverpool | ||
| Lauren Hemp
|
Manchester City | ||
 Adriana Leon
|
West Ham United | ||
| Kim Little
|
Arsenal | ||
| Jordan Nobbs
|
Arsenal | ||
 Guro Reiten
|
Chelsea | ||
| Ebony Salmon
|
Bristol City | ||
| Aileen Whelan
|
Brighton & Hove Albion | ||
| Fara Williams
|
Reading | ||
| Katie Zelem
|
Manchester United |
Top assists
| Rank | Player | Club | Assists |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vivianne Miedema
|
Arsenal | 8 |
| 2 | Janine Beckie
|
Manchester City | 7 |
| 3 | Fara Williams
|
Reading | 6 |
| Guro Reiten
|
Chelsea | ||
| 5 | Jonna Andersson
|
Chelsea | 5 |
| 6 | Daniëlle van de Donk
|
Arsenal | 4 |
| Lisa Evans
|
Arsenal | ||
| Lauren Hemp
|
Manchester City | ||
| Keira Walsh
|
Manchester City | ||
| 10 | Erin Cuthbert
|
Chelsea | 3 |
| Bethany England
|
Chelsea | ||
| Leah Galton
|
Manchester United | ||
| Fran Kirby
|
Chelsea | ||
| Beth Mead
|
Arsenal | ||
| Jill Scott
|
Manchester City | ||
| Lucy Staniforth
|
Birmingham City | ||
| Ellen White
|
Manchester City |
Clean sheets
| Rank | Player | Club | Clean sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ellie Roebuck
|
Manchester City | 10 |
| 2 |  Manuela Zinsberger
|
Arsenal | 6 |
| 3 | Mary Earps
|
Manchester United | 5 |
| 4 | Ann-Katrin Berger
|
Chelsea | 4 |
 Tinja-Riikka Korpela
|
Everton | ||
| Becky Spencer
|
Tottenham Hotspur | ||
| Megan Walsh
|
Brighton & Hove Albion | ||
| 8 | Sophie Baggaley
|
Bristol City | 3 |
| 9 | Hannah Hampton
|
Birmingham City | 2 |
| Rachael Laws
|
Reading | ||
 Pauline Peyraud-Magnin
|
Arsenal | ||
| Carly Telford
|
Chelsea |
Awards
Monthly awards
| Month | Manager of the Month | Player of the Month | Ref. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manager | Club | Player | Club | ||
| September | Karen Hills Juan Amorós
|
Tottenham Hotspur | Chloe Kelly
|
Everton | [26][27][28][29] |
| October | Emma Hayes
|
Chelsea | Kirsty Hanson
|
Manchester United | [30][31] |
| November | Willie Kirk
|
Everton | Millie Bright
|
Chelsea | [32][33] |
| December | Joe Montemurro
|
Arsenal | Vivianne Miedema
|
Arsenal | [34][35] |
| January | Emma Hayes
|
Chelsea | Bethany England
|
Chelsea | [36][37] |
| February | Emma Hayes
|
Chelsea | Bethany England
|
Chelsea | [38][39] |
Prize money
An FA WSL prize fund will be in place for the first time, following the new Barclay's sponsorship deal, with the entire pot totaling £500,000. The money will be awarded in decreasing increments with the champions winning £100,000 and the last placed team being awarded £6,000.[40][41]
| Finish | Prize money |
|---|---|
| 1st | £100,000 |
| 2nd | £67,000 |
| 3rd | £60,000 |
| 4th | £55,000 |
| 5th | £49,000 |
| 6th | £43,000 |
| 7th | £36,000 |
| 8th | £30,000 |
| 9th | £24,000 |
| 10th | £18,000 |
| 11th | £12,000 |
| 12th | £6,000 |
See also
- 2019–20 FA Women's League Cup
- 2019–20 FA Women's Championship (tier 2)
- 2019–20 FA Women's National League (tier 3 & 4)
References
- ^ "The History of Women's Football". Football Association. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
- ^ The Football Association (26 February 2018). "Women's league restructure". www.thefa.com. Retrieved 17 September 2019.
- ^ Association, The Football. "Barclays unveiled as title sponsor of FA Women's Super League". www.thefa.com.
- ^ Association, The Football. "Decision made to postpone professional football until Friday 3 April at the earliest". www.thefa.com.
- ^ "New streaming service for Barclays FA WSL". www.fawsl.com.
- ^ Optus, Singtel. "optus sport kicks off new investment in women's football". www.optus.com.au. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
- ^ a b "FA WSL on TV". womenscompetitions.thefa.com.
- ^ "FA Player: Football Association to launch women's football live streaming app". 6 August 2019.
- ^ "FA wants Women's Super League on terrestrial TV". The Times. 28 June 2019.
- ^ "Tottenham Hotspur won promotion to the Women's Super League with a 1–1 draw at Aston Villa which confirmed they will finish second in the Championship". BBC news. 1 May 2019. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
- ^ "Women's Super League: New full-time, professional era - all you need to know". 9 September 2018. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
- ^ "Yeovil Town Ladies hope for 'new chapter', after avoiding administration". BBC Sport. 16 April 2019. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
- ^ "WSL: Etihad Stadium & Stamford Bridge to host 2019-20 season openers". 8 July 2019.
- ^ "Women's Super League: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to host Spurs v Arsenal in November". BBC. 10 July 2019.
- ^ "City Women open season at Ashton Gate". Bristol City.
- ^ "Women set for 3 Madejski matches as Conti Cup fixtures finalised". www.readingfc.co.uk.
- ^ "West Ham United to host historic match at London Stadium". www.whufc.com.
- ^ "WSL action returns to the Amex". www.brightonandhovealbion.com.
- ^ "Liverpool Women v Everton Women: Anfield to host Merseyside derby for first time". 24 October 2019.
- ^ "Everton To Host Liverpool In First Goodison WSL Derby". www.evertonfc.com.
- ^ Association, The Football. "Everton Ladies Set For New Walton Home". www.liverpoolfa.com.
- ^ "Everton Ladies' 2019/20 WSL Fixtures Confirmed". www.evertonfc.com.
- ^ "New Date And Venue For Women's Clash At Home To Reading". www.evertonfc.com. 20 December 2019.
- ^ "NICK CUSHING TO JOIN NEW YORK CITY FC". Manchester City FC. 9 January 2020. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
- ^ "CLUB STATEMENT - MARTA TEJEDOR". Birmingham City FC. 3 March 2020. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
- ^ "September Manager of the Month". Barclays football. 12 October 2019.
- ^ "Karen and Juan scoop Manager of the Month prize". Tottenham Hotspur.
- ^ "September Player of the Month". Barclays football. 12 October 2019.
- ^ "Everton Star Kelly Lands WSL Prize". www.evertonfc.com.
- ^ "October Manager of the month". womenscompetitions.thefa.com.
- ^ "October Player of the month". womenscompetitions.thefa.com.
- ^ "November Manager of the Month". Barclays football. 14 December 2019.
- ^ "November Player of the Month". Barclays football. 14 December 2019.
- ^ "December Manager of the Month". Barclays football. 4 January 2020.
- ^ "December Player of the Month". Barclays FA WSL. 4 January 2020.
- ^ "January Manager of the Month". Barclays football. 1 February 2020.
- ^ "January Player of the Month". Barclays FA WSL. 1 February 2020.
- ^ "February Manager of the Month". Barclays football. 7 March 2020.
- ^ "February Player of the Month". Barclays FA WSL. 7 March 2020.
- ^ "Prize fund". womenscompetitions.thefa.com.
- ^ "Women's Super League: Barclays agree multi-million sponsorship deal". 20 March 2019.