WSL Football is reportedly planning a radical revamp of the Women’s League Cup, which could include barring teams which have qualified for the Champions League.
There have been complaints over the tournament for several years, with some viewing it as complicated and unfair.
Chelsea needed to win three games to lift the trophy last season due to their Champions League participation. Teams that play in the group stage need to play a minimum of six games to lift the trophy.
It comes after a controversial 24 hours for the competition, after the chaotic draw for the quarter and semi-finals on TikTok.
Champions League clubs could be banned from the Women’s League Cup
The Telegraph have reported that clubs competing in the Champions League next season could be banned from playing in the League Cup.
Clubs have reportedly voted in favour of the proposal, which would bring a major change to the tournament.
If that rule had been in place this season, then Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United would all have played no part in the competition. As the WSL table stands, Manchester City, Chelsea and Manchester United would not play in the tournament next season.
It is not the only change to the format being proposed for the competition that features WSL and WSL 2 sides.
The tournament could switch to the Swiss model, which, as of this season, has also been used in the Champions League.
Despite potentially losing the top three teams in the WSL, the tournament might not drop in numbers. That is because the WSL and WSL 2 are expanding to 14 teams from next season.
Why are the changes being proposed?
The Telegraph reports that the proposal to remove Champions League clubs would be to manage player load and welfare.
This is due to a growing calendar with the WSL’s expansion, the growth of the Champions League and other new planned tournaments such as the Club World Cup from 2028.
The Club World Cup is separate to the Women’s Champions Cup, which Arsenal will take part in this season. That tournament includes the Champions League winners as one of six confederation winners.
Could the plans devalue the Women’s League Cup?
There has been a mixed reaction to the report over the proposed changes. Although it will give more chances for other clubs to lift a trophy, there are also fears that it could devalue the competition.
The WSL has an established top-four consisting of Arsenal, Chelsea and both Manchester City. The club which misses out on the Champions League would be massive favourites to win the competition.
On Reddit, one West Ham fan commented: “I really don’t like this because I feel the same with the men’s one. Yes, more chance of a lesser team winning it but for me it’s devalued by the fact you’ve removed the good teams to win it. I’d rather not win it than win it because there’s no Arsenal/Chelsea/City or whatever.”
Reddit user Aidizzle added: “To me, this just devalues the competition and I’d be surprised if a FTA partner still wished to show the final given it chops out what are likely to be the strongest teams each season – the current WSL top 4 has the 3 teams in Europe, and the only outlier Man City would have missed the Cup last season.”
On X, Donna Jones wrote: “We’ve been saying it’s been unfair for years that everyone else plays 3 games to try and win the group to go through to QF, but the CL teams come in, and usually one of them wins it. Least this means there should be different winners and make the groups worth it.”
What happened in the League Cup draw?
The planned changes to the League Cup come after the chaotic draw for the quarter and semi-finals which were conducted on TikTok.
WSL clubs and fans were unhappy with “crude” remarks by TikTok influencer GK Barry, who conducted the draw alongside partner and Portsmouth player Ella Rutherford.
She also mistakenly placed a ball back into the bag before pulling it out again. An adjudicator at the draw has since confirmed that the same ball was selected, so the draw didn’t need to be restarted.
The Athletic have reported that the WSL apologised to Tottenham. This was after GK Barry referred to an anti-Spurs chant by asking: “What do we think about Tottenham?”
Similar to the Sky Sports Halo project, the draw was aimed at attracting new audiences.
