2018–19 FA WSL
The 2018–19 FA WSL was the eighth edition of the FA Women's Super League (WSL) since it was formed in 2010. It was the first season after a rebranding of the four highest levels in English women's football. The previous FA WSL 2 became the Championship – eleven clubs competed in the 2018–19 FA Women's Championship.
![]() FA WSL trophy | |
| Season | 2018–19 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Arsenal 3rd WSL title 15th English title |
| Relegated | Yeovil Town |
| Champions League | Arsenal Manchester City |
| Matches played | 110 |
| Goals scored | 315 (2.86 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Vivianne Miedema (22 goals) |
| Biggest home win | Manchester City 7–1 West Ham United (14 October 2018) Arsenal 6–0 Reading (21 October 2018) Chelsea 6–0 Bristol City (20 February 2019) |
| Biggest away win | Yeovil Town 0–8 Chelsea (7 May 2019) |
| Highest scoring | Manchester City 7–1 West Ham United (14 October 2018) Yeovil Town 0–8 Chelsea (7 May 2019) |
| Average attendance | 1,010[1] |
← 2017–18 2019–20 → | |
Arsenal won their first WSL since 2012 with a 4–0 victory over Brighton & Hove Albion.[2]
Teams
Following restructuring of the women's game in order to provide for a fully professional Women's Super League (WSL), membership of both the first and second tier is subject to a licence, based on a series of off-the-field criteria. Yeovil Town estimated the budget needed for a WSL season at about £350,000.[3] Existing WSL teams were first offered the opportunity to bid for licences,[4] with all applying FA WSL clubs retaining their place in the first tier, with Brighton & Hove Albion from the WSL2 also offered a place in the WSL.[5] From the first tier, Sunderland were unsuccessful in their license application.[5]
This left up to two places in the WSL and up to five places in the Championship for applying clubs.[4] Fifteen applications were received for both the top two tiers,[5] and West Ham were given a licence in the second stage, so that the league is made up of 11 teams.[6]

| Team | Location | Ground | Capacity | 2017–18 season |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arsenal | Borehamwood | Meadow Park | 4,502 | 3rd |
| Birmingham City | Solihull | Damson Park | 3,050 | 5th |
| Brighton & Hove Albion | Crawley | Broadfield Stadium | 6,134 | 2nd, WSL 2 |
| Bristol City | Filton | Stoke Gifford Stadium | 1,500 | 8th |
| Chelsea | Kingston upon Thames | Kingsmeadow | 4,850 | 1st |
| Everton | Southport | Haig Avenue | 6,008 | 9th |
| Liverpool | Birkenhead | Prenton Park | 16,587 | 6th |
| Manchester City | Manchester | Academy Stadium | 7,000 | 2nd |
| Reading | High Wycombe | Adams Park | 9,617 | 4th |
| West Ham United | Romford | Rush Green Training Ground | 3,000 | 7th, WPL South |
| Yeovil Town | Dorchester | The Avenue Stadium | 5,229 | 10th |
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Managerial changes
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bristol City | Signed with Manchester United | 29 May 2018 | End of season (8th) | 4 July 2018 | ||
| West Ham United | End of interim period | 7 June 2018 | Pre-season | 7 June 2018 | ||
| Liverpool | Sacked | 8 June 2018 | 12 June 2018 | |||
| Yeovil Town | Appointed Director of Football | 14 June 2018 | 14 June 2018 | |||
| Liverpool | Resigned | 14 September 2018 | 11th | 26 October 2018 | ||
| Everton | Sacked | 7 November 2018 | 11th | 1 December 2018 | ||
| Birmingham City | Signed with Orlando Pride | 11 January 2019 | 4th | 21 January 2019 |
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal (C) | 20 | 18 | 0 | 2 | 70 | 13 | +57 | 54 | Qualification for the Champions League |
| 2 | Manchester City | 20 | 14 | 5 | 1 | 53 | 17 | +36 | 47 | |
| 3 | Chelsea | 20 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 46 | 14 | +32 | 42 | |
| 4 | Birmingham City | 20 | 13 | 1 | 6 | 29 | 17 | +12 | 40 | |
| 5 | Reading | 20 | 8 | 3 | 9 | 33 | 30 | +3 | 27 | |
| 6 | Bristol City | 20 | 7 | 4 | 9 | 17 | 34 | −17 | 25 | |
| 7 | West Ham United | 20 | 7 | 2 | 11 | 25 | 37 | −12 | 23 | |
| 8 | Liverpool | 20 | 7 | 1 | 12 | 21 | 38 | −17 | 22 | |
| 9 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 20 | 4 | 4 | 12 | 16 | 38 | −22 | 16 | |
| 10 | Everton | 20 | 3 | 3 | 14 | 15 | 38 | −23 | 12 | |
| 11 | Yeovil Town (R) | 20 | 2 | 1 | 17 | 11 | 60 | −49 | −3[lower-alpha 1] | Relegation to the Championship |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored
(C) Champion; (R) Relegated
Notes:
- Yeovil Town deducted 10 points for entering administration.[20]
Results
Position by round
| Qualification to Champions League | |
| Relegation to Championship |
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