2024–25 Women's Championship
Football league season
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The 2024–25 Women's Championship season (known as the Barclays Women's Championship for sponsorship reasons) was the seventh season of the rebranded Women's Championship, the second tier of women's football in England, and the tenth season since the creation of the WSL 2.[2][3]
| Season | 2024–25 |
|---|---|
| Champions | London City Lionesses |
| Matches | 110 |
| Goals | 313 (2.85 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Isobel Goodwin (16 goals) |
| Biggest home win | Durham 6–0 Portsmouth (30 March 2025) Newcastle United 6–0 Blackburn Rovers (13 April 2025) |
| Biggest away win | Portsmouth 0–5 Southampton (13 October 2024) Portsmouth 0–5 Charlton Athletic (16 February 2025) |
| Highest scoring | Sunderland 4–3 Bristol City (3 November 2024) Sunderland 3–4 Charlton Athletic (30 March 2025) |
| Longest winning run | (4 matches) Birmingham City Bristol City Charlton Athletic London City Lionesses Sunderland |
| Longest unbeaten run | (11 matches) Charlton Athletic London City Lionesses |
| Longest winless run | (14 matches) Portsmouth |
| Longest losing run | (6 matches) Blackburn Rovers Portsmouth Sheffield United |
| Average attendance | 2,086[1] |
← 2023–24 2025–26 →
All statistics correct as of 16 April 2026. | |
Ahead of the season, it was announced that selected league matches would be streamed live globally on the league's YouTube channel. The transition followed the creation and subsequent takeover of the running of the league by NewCo, now known as WSL Football, an independent, club-owned entity which replaced The Football Association after recommendations from a government-backed review into the women's game in 2023.
Teams
Twelve teams were originally due to compete in the Championship for the 2024–25 season, the same number as the previous season, although this was later reduced to eleven prior to the start of the season. Crystal Palace were promoted to the Women's Super League as 2023–24 Women's Championship winners.[4] They will be replaced by Bristol City who returned to the division following relegation from the Women's Super League after one season.[5] Following a switch to a two down, two up system with the FA Women's National League, the 2024–25 season marks the first time more than one newly promoted team will contest the Championship. Lewes and Watford were relegated to the FA Women's National League, Lewes after a six-season spell and Watford after one season following their promotion the previous year.[6][7] They were replaced by Newcastle United, winners of the 2023–24 FA Women's National League North,[8] and Portsmouth, winners of the 2023–24 FA Women's National League South.[9] Both these clubs are making their Championship debuts.
On 30 June 2024, it was announced Reading had withdrawn from the Championship and would re-enter at the fifth tier (Southern Region), citing financial issues.[10] The FA confirmed the league would instead operate with eleven teams for the season, reducing from two relegation spots to one. The league will return to a twelve team league at the beginning of the 2025–26 season.[11]
| Team | Location | Ground | Capacity | 2023–24 season | Manager |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Birmingham City | Birmingham (Bordesley) | St Andrew's | 29,902 | 5th |  Amy Merricks |
| Blackburn Rovers | Blackburn | Ewood Park | 31,367 | 6th | Simon Parker |
| Bristol City | Bristol (Ashton Gate) | Ashton Gate | 27,000 | WSL, 12th | Stephen Kirby |
| Charlton Athletic | London (Charlton) | The Valley | 27,111 | 2nd | Karen Hills |
| Durham | Durham | Maiden Castle | 1,800 (League) 2,400 (Cup) | 9th | Adam Furness |
| London City Lionesses | Bromley | Hayes Lane | 5,000 | 8th |  Jocelyn Prêcheur |
| Newcastle United | Newcastle upon Tyne (Kingston Park) | Kingston Park Stadium | 10,200 | WNL North, 1st | Becky Langley |
| Portsmouth | Havant | Westleigh Park | 5,300 | WNL South, 1st | Jay Sadler |
| Sheffield United | Sheffield | Bramall Lane | 32,050 | 7th | Ash Thompson |
| Southampton | Southampton | St Mary's Stadium | 32,384 | 4th | Remi Allen |
| Sunderland | Hetton-le-Hole | Eppleton CW | 2,500 | 3rd | Melanie Reay |
Managerial changes
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southampton | Marieanne Spacey |
Change of role | 30 April 2024[12] | Pre season | Remi Allen |
12 July 2024[13] |
| London City Lionesses | Remi Allen |
End of contract | 9 May 2024[14] | Jocelyn Prêcheur |
27 June 2024[15] | |
| Sheffield United | Luke Turner (interim) |
End of interim period | 19 July 2024[16] | Ash Thompson |
19 July 2024[16] | |
| Bristol City |  Lauren Smith |
Resigned | 27 August 2024[17] | Loren Dykes (interim) |
27 August 2024[17] | |
| Loren Dykes (interim) |
End of interim period | 19 September 2024[18] | 6th | Stephen Kirby |
19 September 2024[18] | |
Table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | London City Lionesses (C, P) | 20 | 13 | 4 | 3 | 38 | 17 | +21 | 43 | Promotion to the WSL |
| 2 | Birmingham City | 20 | 12 | 5 | 3 | 34 | 15 | +19 | 41 | |
| 3 | Charlton Athletic | 20 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 38 | 21 | +17 | 37 | |
| 4 | Durham | 20 | 11 | 3 | 6 | 35 | 27 | +8 | 36 | |
| 5 | Newcastle United | 20 | 9 | 7 | 4 | 38 | 24 | +14 | 34 | |
| 6 | Bristol City | 20 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 34 | 24 | +10 | 30 | |
| 7 | Sunderland | 20 | 9 | 3 | 8 | 30 | 34 | −4 | 30 | |
| 8 | Southampton | 20 | 5 | 6 | 9 | 22 | 25 | −3 | 21 | |
| 9 | Portsmouth | 20 | 3 | 4 | 13 | 16 | 48 | −32 | 13 | |
| 10 | Blackburn Rovers (R) | 20 | 3 | 3 | 14 | 16 | 41 | −25 | 12 | Relegated to FA Women's National League Division One North |
| 11 | Sheffield United | 20 | 1 | 4 | 15 | 12 | 37 | −25 | 7 | Reprieved from relegation[a] |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Notes:
- Sheffield United who were set to be relegated to the FA Women's National League after spending seven seasons in the Championship were reprieved from relegation after Blackburn Rovers withdrew from the league on 20 May 2025.[19]
Results
Season statistics
Top scorers
- As of 4 May 2025[20]
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Isobel Goodwin |
London City Lionesses | 16 |
| 2 |  Shania Hayles |
Newcastle United | 15 |
| 3 | Lexi Lloyd-Smith |
Bristol City | 10 |
| 4 | Ellie Brazil |
Charlton Athletic | 8 |
| Eleanor Dale |
Sunderland | ||
| 6 | Katie Bradley |
Charlton Athletic | 7 |
| Jodie Hutton |
Charlton Athletic | ||
| Mollie Lambert |
Durham | ||
| Beth Lumsden |
Newcastle United | ||
| 10 |  Chantelle Boye-Hlorkah |
London City Lionesses | 6 |
| Beth Hepple |
Durham | ||
| Ffion Morgan |
Bristol City | ||
| 13 |  Kosovare Asllani |
London City Lionesses | 5 |
| Aimee Claypole |
Durham | ||
| Rianna Dean |
Southampton | ||
 Katie Kitching |
Sunderland | ||
 Simone Magill |
Birmingham City | ||
| Molly Pike |
Southampton | ||
| Sophie Quirk |
Portsmouth |
Top assists
- As of 4 May 2025[21]
Clean sheets
- As of 21 December 2024[22]
| Rank | Player | Club | Clean Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lucy Thomas |
Birmingham City | 6 |
| 2 | Fran Stenson |
Southampton | 4 |
| Fran Bentley |
Bristol City | ||
| 4 |  Tatiana Saunders |
Durham | 3 |
| Claudia Moan |
Newcastle United |