Founded 2011 Number of teams 19 | Region England Most successful club(s) Arsenal
(4 times) | |
Current champions Manchester City (2nd title) | ||
The FA WSL Cup is a league cup competition in English women's association football. The competition was originally open to the eight teams in the FA WSL, but since the WSL's expansion to two divisions, it has featured 18 teams. The sponsor Continental AG was announced on 19 August 2011, meaning the competition is referred to as the FA WSL Continental Tyres Cup for sponsorship reasons.
Contents
Six editions have been played with Arsenal appearing in the first five finals.
History
The first edition was played after the inaugural FA WSL season. Arsenal, having already won the WSL and the FA Women's Cup, completed the national treble after a 4–1 win over Birmingham City.
The 2012 cup saw a change of format. The straight knock-out was abolished and group-stage with two groups was created. The top two of each group advance to the semi-finals.
2014 saw 18 teams enter, with the new WSL 2 teams joining the WSL teams. There are three groups of six teams. In 2015 for the first time a quarter-final stage was played.
For 2016 the cup changed to a true knock-out format and abolished the group stage. A move which was made in agreement with the clubs to increase excitement and competitiveness. With 19 teams, the bottom six teams play a preliminary round. The round of 16 following that is seeded, so that WSL 1 teams meet WSL 2 teams, who have home advantage.
List of finals
Only Arsenal and Manchester CIty have won the cup. Birmingham City lost three finals so far.