Women’s Super League: Why do clubs face a four-week break in action?


Since action resumed on Saturday, 10 January, it has been a hectic period.

Four rounds of WSL action, FA Cup fourth round, League Cup semi-finals, the return of the Champions League and Arsenal competing in the inaugural Fifa Champions Cup have all been squeezed into a packed schedule.

Yet there is a stark difference between the amount of games played by the top teams and those lower down the division, including concerns about schedule congestion for teams fighting on multiple fronts, and the toll it could take on players.

Bottom side Leicester City have played the fewest games so far this season (19) and, having suffered early exits in both domestic cups, they now face an entire month without a competitive fixture.

Their next fixture is a crucial game against 11th-placed Liverpool in the WSL on Sunday, 15 March (11:55 GMT).

It’s an entirely different scenario for Manchester United though, who have played the most games to date (30).

This week, they will play Atletico Madrid in the Champions League on Thursday (20:00 GMT), and then take on Chelsea next Sunday in the FA Cup fifth round (13:30 GMT) before they return to WSL action in mid March.

The below graph shows the amount of fixtures played by every team in the WSL so far – with the green bars representing the maximum number each could play, should they win out in each competition that they are playing in.

Such discrepancy in fixtures will be impacted next season as the Women’s Super League expands from 12 to 14, although it may just mean more games all round.


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