Women's League Cup


The Women's League Cup, also known as the Subway Women's League Cup for sponsorship reasons, 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 23 teams. Prior to this it was known as the FA WSL Cup. Following the completed takeover by Women's Professional Leagues Limited, the cup is now referred to as the Women's League Cup.
Fourteen editions have been played, with Arsenal being the most successful club with seven titles.

History

Before the Women's Super League was established, the top women's clubs competed in the FA Women's Premier League Cup.
The first League Cup edition under the WSL 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 edition saw a change of format. The straight knockout system was abolished and a group stage with two groups was established. The top two teams from each group advanced to the semi-finals.
File:Arsenal Ladies Vs Notts County .jpg|thumb|Pedro Martínez Losa and Kelly Smith with the FA WSL Cup, 2015
In 2014, 18 teams entered, and new WSL 2 teams joined the WSL teams. There were three groups of six teams. In 2015, the quarter-final stage was played for the first time.
For 2016, the cup changed to a true knockout format and abolished the group stage, a move made in agreement with the clubs to increase excitement and competitiveness. With 19 teams, the bottom six teams played a preliminary round. In the round of 16 that followed, the seeding system was used, so the WSL 1 teams met the WSL 2 teams, who had home field advantage.
In 2017–18, a group stage was added again.
In 2018–19, as part of the restructuring of women's football, 22 teams entered. The competition was split up into 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.
The format was similar in 2019–20, with an extra team in the South for a total of 23 teams.

List of finals

Only Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City have won the Women's League Cup. Arsenal, Birmingham City and Chelsea have lost the most finals, finishing as runners-up three times.
SeasonWinnersScoreRunners-upVenueAttendance
2011Arsenal4–1Birmingham CityPirelli Stadium, Burton upon Trent2,167
2012Arsenal1–0Birmingham CityUnderhill Stadium, London2,535
2013Arsenal2–0LincolnThe Hive, London3,421
2014Manchester City1–0ArsenalAdams Park, High Wycombe3,697
2015Arsenal3–0Notts CountyNew York Stadium, Rotherham5,028
2016Manchester City1–0 Birmingham CityAcademy Stadium, Manchester4,214
2017–18Arsenal1–0Manchester CityAdams Park, High Wycombe2,136
2018–19Manchester City0–0 ArsenalBramall Lane, Sheffield2,424
2019–20Chelsea2–1ArsenalCity Ground, Nottingham6,743
2020–21Chelsea6–0Bristol CityVicarage Road, Watford0
2021–22Manchester City3–1ChelseaPlough Lane, Wimbledon8,004
2022–23Arsenal3–1ChelseaSelhurst Park, London19,010
2023–24Arsenal1–0 ChelseaMolineux Stadium, Wolverhampton21,462
2024–25Chelsea2–1Manchester CityPride Park Stadium, Derby14,187
2025–26ChelseaorManchester UnitedAshton Gate, Bristol

Results by team

Teams shown in italics are no longer in existence.
ClubWinsFirst final wonLast final wonRunners-upLast final lostTotal final
appearances
Arsenal7201120243202010
Manchester City420142022220256
Chelsea320202025320246
Birmingham City0——320163
Lincoln0——120131
Notts County0——120151
Bristol City0——120211

Title sponsors