FA Women's League Cup

The FA Women's League 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 restructuring to two divisions, it has featured 22 teams. Prior to this it was known as the FA WSL Cup. The sponsor Continental AG was announced on 19 August 2011, meaning the competition is referred to as the FA Women's Continental League Cup for sponsorship reasons.[1]

FA Women's League Cup
Organising bodyThe FA
Founded2011 (2011)
Region England
Number of teams22
Current championsChelsea (1st title)
Most successful club(s)Arsenal
(5 times)
2019–20 FA Women's League Cup

Nine editions have been played with Arsenal winning five finals.

History
Winners trophy

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.[2][3]

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.[4]

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.[5] 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.

In 2017–18 again a group stage was added.[6]

In 2018–19, as part of the restructuring of women's football, 22 teams entered. The competition was split up into 11 North and South, with each region having one group of six and one group of five. Each team would play one match against each other, with the top two in each group advancing to a quarter-final. [7]

The format was similar in 2019-20, with an extra team in the South. The groups are A (North, 6 teams) B (South, 6 teams) C (North, 5 teams) D (South, 6 teams) making 23 teams.

List of finals

Only Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester City have won the FA Women's League Cup. Birmingham City have lost the most finals, finishing runners-up three times.[8]

Women's League Cup winners
Season Winner Score Runner–up Venue Attendance
2011 Arsenal 4–1 Birmingham City Pirelli Stadium, Burton upon Trent 2,167
2012 Arsenal 1–0 Birmingham City Underhill Stadium, London 2,535
2013 Arsenal 2–0 Lincoln The Hive, London 3,421
2014 Manchester City 1–0 Arsenal Adams Park, High Wycombe 3,697
2015 Arsenal 3–0 Notts County New York Stadium, Rotherham 5,028
2016 Manchester City 1–0 (a.e.t.) Birmingham City Academy Stadium, Manchester 4,214
2018 Arsenal 1–0 Manchester City Adams Park, High Wycombe 2,136
2019 Manchester City 0–0 (4–2 p) Arsenal Bramall Lane, Sheffield 2,424
2020 Chelsea 2–1 Arsenal City Ground, Nottingham 6,743

Results by team

Teams shown in italics are no longer in existence.

Results by team
Club Wins First final won Last final won Runners-up Last final lost Total final
appearances
Arsenal 5 2011 2018 3 2020 8
Manchester City 3 2014 2019 1 2018 4
Chelsea 1 2020 2020 0 — 1
Birmingham City 0 — — 3 2016 3
Notts County 0 — — 1 2015 1
Lincoln 0 — — 1 2013 1

References
  1. "FA WSL goes Continental". The FA. 19 August 2011. Retrieved 5 October 2011.
  2. "VIDEO: Gunners lift Continental Cup". The FA. 25 September 2011. Retrieved 5 October 2011.
  3. "Arsenal and Tavagnacco take first-leg leads". UEFA. 29 September 2011. Retrieved 5 October 2011.
  4. "FA WSL Conti Cup draw announced". fawsl.com. 21 February 2012. Retrieved 21 February 2012.
  5. "FA WSL Continental Cup is knockout!". shekicks.net. 10 December 2015. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
  6. https://shekicks.net/2017/08/16/continental-tyres-cup-groups-drawn/
  7. "Matches Cup, TheFA WSL". www.fawsl.com. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
  8. "Women's Continental Cup final: Manchester City 1–0 Birmingham City (aet)". BBC. 2 October 2016. Retrieved 2 October 2016.
  • Cup at fawsl.com
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