FA Women's National League
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The FA Women's National League is a group of six
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
divisions which sit at the third and fourth tiers of
women's football in England Women's association football, Women's football has been played in England for over a century, sharing a common history with the men's game in the country in which the Laws of the Game (association football), Laws of the Game were codified. Wome ...
. Founded in 1991 as the WFA National League, the league was run by the
Women's Football Association The Women's Football Association (WFA) was the governing body of women's football in England. It was formed in 1969 and was disbanded in 1993, as responsibility for overseeing all aspects of the game of women's football in England passed to t ...
, before control was handed to the
Football Association A football association, also known as a football federation, soccer federation, or soccer association, is a governing body for association football. Many of them are members of the sport's regional bodies such as UEFA and CONMEBOL and the world gov ...
in 1994, and the name changed to FA Women's Premier League. The league consisted of the National Division, England's top division until 2010, and the Northern and Southern Divisions, which formed the second tier. The league operated a system of
promotion and relegation Promotion and relegation is used by sports leagues as a process where teams can move up and down among divisions in a league system, based on their performance over a season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are sometimes call ...
, with the bottom two teams of the National Division relegated, and the winners of the Northern and Southern Divisions promoted. With the introduction of the
Women's Super League The Women's Super League (WSL), also known as the Barclays Women's Super League for sponsorship reasons, and formerly the FA WSL, is a professional association football league and the highest level of women's football in England. Currently oper ...
, the National Division became the second tier, while the Northern and Southern Divisions became the third. The National Division was replaced in 2013 by the
Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...
, with the Northern and Southern Divisions continuing at the third tier. In 2014 the fourth tier Combination Leagues became part of the FA Women's Premier League, and were rebranded as the Division One North, Midlands, South East, and South West. The league received it current name and branding in 2018.
Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
hold the record for most titles won, with twelve. The current National League champions are
Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is a professional association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founde ...
(North, 2nd title) and Ipswich Town (South, 1st title).


History

Before the National League, women's teams nationally had competed in the WFA Cup (Women's FA Cup) since 1970, and there were English regional leagues, but this was the first regular nationwide competition of its kind. The Women's National League was inaugurated in the 1991–92 season by the
Women's Football Association The Women's Football Association (WFA) was the governing body of women's football in England. It was formed in 1969 and was disbanded in 1993, as responsibility for overseeing all aspects of the game of women's football in England passed to t ...
(WFA), with a monetary grant from the Sports Council. Eight teams played in the top flight in that year. From the League's foundation, it consisted of a national premier division and two lower divisions, the Northern and Southern Divisions, whose winners each season were promoted to the top flight. From 1991–92 until 2012–13, the national premier division was above the Northern and Southern Divisions. Since 1991–92, the Northern and Southern Divisions have run on an equal basis with promotion, and this continues today. The terms ''Women's Premiership'' and ''Ladies Premiership'' were generally used for the National Division only. After the League's third season, the FA assumed responsibility for the competition and renamed it, beginning with the 1994–95 FA Women's Premier League (FA WPL). The Women's Premier League remained level 1 and 2 of women's football until the end of the 2009–10 season. From 2000 until 2008, the WPL champions competed in the annual FA Women's Community Shield. The National Division's most successful clubs were
Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
(12 titles),
Croydon Croydon is a large town in South London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a Districts of England, local government district of Greater London; it is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater Lond ...
(3 titles), Doncaster Belles (2 titles and 7 times runners-up), Everton (1 title and 5 times runners-up), and
Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...
(3 titles at league level 2). The Women's Premier League lost several clubs prior to the 2010–11 season and the National Division was demoted to level 2, due to the creation of the
FA WSL The Women's Super League (WSL), also known as the Barclays Women's Super League for sponsorship reasons, and formerly the FA WSL, is a professional association football league and the highest level of women's football in England. Currently oper ...
in 2011. (The WSL was a summer league for its first six years, as opposed to the WPL's winter format.) Strangely, the lower divisions were still given the name "Premier League" for eight more seasons. The number of clubs competing in the Northern and Southern Divisions decreased from 12 to 10. The National Division decreased from 12 clubs to eight ( 2010–11), then increased to 10 clubs ( 2011–12 and 2012–13). The National Division was scrapped after the 2012–13 season, due to the introduction of the WSL 2 in 2014, which included some clubs that moved from the Women's Premier League. During the 2013–14 season, the only divisions with WPL branding were the third tier Northern and Southern Divisions. The FA proposed rebranding the WPL collectively as the Women's Championship League, but the idea was ultimately dropped. In 2014 the league moved away from the FA with the formation of an independent League Management Committee, elected by the clubs to run league operations. For the 2014–15 season, the Women's Premier League incorporated the fourth tier Combination Leagues as the Premier League's 'Division One', consisting of the Division One leagues: North, Midlands, South East and South West. Promotion to the second tier was also reintroduced, with the winners of the Northern and Southern Divisions playing each other in a single play-off match at a neutral venue, the winner becoming the overall Women's Premier League/National League champion, and promoted to the WSL 2. The first play-off occurred between
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and
Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...
at Stratford Town's Knights Lane ground. Sheffield won through a stoppage-time goal. In 2018 the FA Women's Premier League was rebranded as the FA Women's National League. Beginning with the 2023–24 season, it was decided that both the Northern and Southern Division champions will be automatically promoted to the Championship.


Winners


National Division champions

Below is a list of women's Premier League / National Division champions at level one from 1991 to 2010, followed by National Division champions at level two. Level 1 national champions: Level 2 national champions:


Northern / Southern Division champions

Level 2 champions: Level 3 champions: :''Automatic promotion ended in 2012–13. From 2014–15 to 2022–23, the club marked in bold won the league championship play-off between the Northern and Southern Division winners, and promotion to the
Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...
.'' : ''From 2023–34 onwards both the winners of the Northern Division and the Southern Division are promoted to the
Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...
.''


Division One champions

Following the incorporation of the Combination Leagues in 2014, the Women's Premier League / National League consisted of an additional four regional leagues below the Northern and Southern Divisions. Level 4 champions:


Format and clubs


Format

The National League consists of six divisions, forming the third and fourth tiers of
women's football in England Women's association football, Women's football has been played in England for over a century, sharing a common history with the men's game in the country in which the Laws of the Game (association football), Laws of the Game were codified. Wome ...
. The
National League North The National League North, officially known as Vanarama National League North for sponsorship reasons, is a professional Association football league in England. National League North is the second division of the National League (English footb ...
and
National League South The National League South, officially Vanarama National League South, is a professional Association football league in England. National League South is the second division of the National League (English football), National Leagues and step ...
, also known as the Premier Divisions, sit at the third tier, while Division One North, Midlands, South East, and South West, form the fourth tier.


Current clubs

The following clubs are competing in the 2025–26 season.


Cup competitions

The main cup competition of the National League is the
FA Women's National League Cup The FA Women's National League Cup is an annual English football cup competition, founded in 1991 by the Women's Football Association (WFA). The first edition of the Cup included clubs from the 1991–92 WFA National League Premier Division a ...
, a knock-out competition involving all of the teams within the League's six divisions. Due to the changing structure of women's football, this competition has historically varied from a straight knock-out competition to a competition with a preliminary group stage before reaching the knock-out stage. The first Cup-winners were
Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
in the 1991–92 WFA Women's National League Cup. The first winners of a Cup without top-flight teams were Barnet F.C. Ladies in the 2010–11 FA Women's Premier League Cup. The FA Women's National League Plate was introduced in the 2014–15 season (as the ''Women's Premier League Plate''). Under the current format, the teams that are eliminated from the opening round of the League Cup are entered into the Plate.


Sponsorship

The league's sponsors have included
AXA Axa S.A. is a French multinational insurance corporation headquartered in the 8th arrondissement of Paris. It also provides investment management and other financial services via its subsidiaries. As of 2024, it is the fourth largest financi ...
(1998–2002),
Nationwide Building Society Nationwide Building Society is a British mutual financial institution and the largest building society in the world. As of 2024, it serves over 16 million members and operates entirely for their benefit, without shareholders. The society was e ...
(2002–2007), and
Tesco Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in the United Kingdom at its head offices in Welwyn Garden City, England. The company was founded by Jack Cohen (businessman), Sir Jack Cohen in ...
(2007–2010). The league currently has no sponsorship deal.


See also

*
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 1991–92 WFA National League Premier Division, 1991 until 2009–10 FA Women's Premier League, 2010, the ...
*
FA Women's National League Cup The FA Women's National League Cup is an annual English football cup competition, founded in 1991 by the Women's Football Association (WFA). The first edition of the Cup included clubs from the 1991–92 WFA National League Premier Division a ...


References


External links


The Football Association – Women's National League official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:FA Women's National League 2 Sports leagues established in 1991 1991 establishments in England sv:FA Women's Premier League National Division