The 2013 FA WSL was the third season of the
FA WSL
The Women's Super League (WSL), currently known as the Barclays Women's Super League (BWSL) for sponsorship reasons, is the highest league of women's football in England. Established in 2010, it is run by the Football Association and features t ...
, the top-level women's
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
league of England. The season began on 14 April and ended on 29 September.
Arsenal were the defending champions, having won their ninth consecutive English title last season. The top two teams qualified for the 2014–15
UEFA Women's Champions League.
The season was the last before the creation of a second division of the WSL. All teams had to reapply for a place in WSL 1 in the next season.
Doncaster Belles were the only current WSL team not granted a WSL 1 place, thus they played in the WSL 2 the following season. This decision had already been taken before Doncaster finished the season bottom of the WSL with the lowest points tally, as no relegation to the WSL 2 based on points was scheduled until the WSL 2 had completed its inaugural season to produce a corresponding promotion team. The reason for Doncaster's relegation from WSL 1 was a failed reapplication based on financial criteria, which is an aspect of the WSL the FA monitors very closely since it funds the participating teams and the teams must regularly prove they can match the FA funding. The Belles' place in the top flight the following season was taken by the
Manchester City Ladies
Manchester City Women's Football Club (formerly ''Manchester City Ladies F.C.'') are an English women's football club based in Manchester who play in the FA Women's Super League. They are affiliated with Manchester City F.C. who play in the Pre ...
team from the
FA Women's Premier League National Division
The FA Women's Premier League National Division (originally WFA National League Premier Division) was a football division in England. From 1991 until 2010, the National Division functioned as the top league in English women's football. Durin ...
, but now re-branded as
Manchester City Women. Likewise, Lincoln Ladies retained their place in WSL 1 but relocated and re-branded as
Notts County Ladies
Notts County Ladies Football Club was a women's football club based in Nottingham, England. Like the club's male affiliate Notts County FC, they played their home games at Meadow Lane.
Notts County Ladies were created in 2014 when Lincoln L ...
for the following season.
Teams
The same teams as last season returned, as there was no relegation system in place.
Liverpool, who finished bottom in 2011 and 2012, relocated from
Skelmersdale to the
Halton Stadium in
Widnes prior to the 2013 season as part of an ambitious programme of investment. Lincoln Ladies left
Ashby Avenue to return full-time to
Sincil Bank.
League table
Results
Top scorers
League Cup
The
WSL Continental Cup was played in the same format as last year. Arsenal won their third title in as many editions with a 2–0 win over Lincoln.
Group 1
Group 2
Knockout stage
References
External links
Official websiteSeason
on soccerway.com
{{2012–13 in English football
Women's Super League seasons
1
1