NEW rebrand. NEW format. NEXT-LEVEL football: This week has seen a multitude of new and exciting plans unveiled for the future of women’s football.
WSL/ WSL2
The Women’s Professional Leagues Limited (WPLL), the company that oversees the top two divisions of English Women’s Football, has announced a change in name of what used to be The Women’s Championship to The Women’s Super League 2 (WSL2).
Wanting to give “a new visual identity” to the leagues is the main initiative behind the rebrand, looking to encompass this vivid image across kits, footballs and much more in the forthcoming season.
Bringing in the ‘WSL’ name across both divisions ties the system together under the same umbrella.
CMO of WSL Football, Ruth Hooper, announced:
“As soon as this concept was brought to the table, we knew it was the right route, and we embraced it. It has taken months of work, and we have spoken to clubs, fans, players and partners who have all inputted during the process and been on this journey with us.”
Women’s Champions League Inherits League Format
Expanding to 18 teams in the competition, (the most ever been) the Women’s Champions League will take on a ‘league phase’ much like this season’s men’s UCL.
Image taken from UEFA website.
The top four teams will go straight into the quarter-finals, whilst the teams ranking 5th to 12th will be placed in a two-legged knockout competition. Any teams below will be out of the competition.
As the winners of the WSL this season, Chelsea automatically qualify for the league format. Teams finishing second (Arsenal*) and third (Manchester United) will go through qualification rounds in the ‘league path’.
Five teams will go through after the qualifying rounds.
The Champions Path is another entry point, allowing four league-winning teams from associations ranked seventh or lower by UEFA to also join the Champions League.
UEFA hope this new format will enable a “fast-changing” competition with “unpredictable standings”, as well as “more balanced matches” and “top clashes”.
*Arsenal could still automatically secure a place for next season should they win this year’s competition.
More European Competition?
Image taken from UEFA website
The Women’s European Cup is a NEW competition being introduced by UEFA for the 25/26 season.
There will be 20 teams participating, here’s the breakdown…
Thirteen teams in associations ranked 8th or lower will go straight into the first qualifying round.
They will be accompanied by the 11 teams that finish third in the ‘champions’ an ‘league path’ second qualifying rounds from the Women’s Champions League.
Finally, they will be joined by the teams who finish runners-up in the league and the champions path second qualification, and the losers of the third qualification round.
Image taken from UEFA website.
Across both the Champions League and the European Cup there will be an astounding 91 club teams gifted the chance of playing European football.
New Kit Releases
Nike has released their women’s international kits this week with some thought-provoking designs across the range.
“In creating the kits pixel by pixel, Nike designers used overlapping maps with rich data specific to women athletes to guide the placement of mesh and ribbed textures throughout the uniforms — delivering specific performance attributes, such as enhanced stretch or compression, exactly where it’s needed most.”
In the spotlight is the England Women’s kit, their home design resembling a similar look to the men’s training kit from 2018, which in turn is sparking some controversy among fans.
Rounding Up
As the dust settles on a week of major announcements, one thing is certain: women’s football is entering a transformative phase.
With a unified league structure, expanded European formats, and fresh visual identity, the sport is not just evolving — it’s accelerating.
All eyes now turn to the pitch, where the next chapter of this fast-growing game will be written.
