The Women’s Super League (WSL) kicks off tonight, and it’s a big deal.
The WSL is about to embark on its first season under new management - with all ties severed with the Football Association (FA) and the Women’s Professional Leagues Limited (WPLL) taking over.
This move could easily be the biggest benefactor that women’s football, especially financially, has ever seen.
Here’s VAVEL USA’s preview of the upcoming Women’s Super League Season.
Teams to watch
Chelsea
The West London-based side are the defending champions of the WSL.
This time, they'll have to do without legendary manager Emma Hayes who has moved stateside to manage the USA women’s national team.
Hayes spent 10 years with the Blues and won seven WSL titles.
New manager Sonia Bonpastor, formerly of Lyon, will hope to get the best out of established players such as Sam Kerr and Lauren James, while also hoping new signings Lucy Bronze and Sandy Baltimore can hit the ground running.
Manchester City
League runners up to Chelsea in 2024, on goal difference, Manchester City will be hopeful that small margins can be closed this season, leading to a triumph at the end of the year.
If star striker Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw can recreate her attacking exploits from her most recent season where she scored 21 goals in 18 games and was the WSL’s top scorer, the Sky Blues will have quite a good chance.
Arsenal
Arsenal are legends of the English game within the sphere of women’s football.
The only team not from Germany, Sweden, France or Spain to have ever won the Champions League, the Gunners have lost their spark in recent years and their last league title dates back to 2019.
Jonas Eidevall will be yearning for a better performance from his side in the league this year.
Under him, Arsenal have tasted glory with two FA Cups in the past two years.
Having signed attacker Mariona Caldentey from Barcelona and midfielder Rosa Kafaji from BK Hacken over the summer, Arsenal will look to put a dent in the pride of both Chelsea and City.
Manchester United
Off of the back of a disappointing campaign last year where they finished fifth, Manchester United will be desperate to reignite the WSL’s ‘Big Four.’
It’s been a summer of change for the red side of Manchester.
Huge departures such as Mary Earps to PSG and Katie Zelem to Angel City were replaced by huge signings, not least Melvine Malard from Olympique Lyon and Dominique Janssen from Wolfsburg.
Fighting for the league might be an optimistic expectation, but Champions League qualification should be a possibility.
As for the other 8 sides in the Super League, there’s interesting narratives involving them as well.
Can Liverpool finally break into title contention following an impressive fourth placed finish?
Will Brighton, with the big-name signings of Fran Kirby and Nikita Parris, look to punch above their weight?
How will newly promoted Crystal Palace do?
Players to watch
Sam Kerr
The biggest name in the WSL, and to match, the highest rated player in the league in EA FC 25 at 90 rated, Sam Kerr is a star for club and country.
After sustaining an ACL injury in Chelsea’s training camp in January, Kerr has been sidelined for the entirety of 2024.
A return date is still not known, but there is a burning question on people’s minds.
With Kerr fully fit and firing, can Chelsea finally be the second English team to lift the Women’s Champions League?
Khadija Shaw
50 goals in 57 WSL career games for the Jamaican striker is a massive total, and she’ll be looking to add to that tally this season.
City’s chances at both domestic and international success will be influenced by the number nine’s output, and it shouldn’t be a surprise if she is the top scorer in the league again this season.
Vivianne Miedema
A couple of seasons ago, Vivianne Miedema was on top of the world.
Four successive double digit goal seasons with Arsenal was a huge statement, but the past two seasons have seen her sidelined on numerous occasions with various injuries.
New signings, such as Caldentey for Arsenal, will be hoping to play at an elite level in a new league.
Perennial superstars like Lauren James and Alessia Russo will be hoping to take that step up and become generation-defining players.
There’s a lot of unknowns heading into the next 9 months for the Women’s Super League, but that’s why it’s important to watch.
The performance of the league under new owners with more finances could just change the course of women’s football massively.
