# 2019–20 FA WSL

The 2019–20 FA WSL season (also known as the Barclays FA Women's Super League for sponsorship reasons) was the ninth edition of the FA Women's Super League (WSL) since it was formed in 2010. It was the second season after the rebranding of the four highest levels in English women's football and the twelve teams contesting the season was the greatest number in the league's history to date, following a steady increase from the original eight. It is the first under the new Barclays title sponsorship following a landmark multi-million pound investment.
On 13 March 2020, in line with the FA's response to the coronavirus pandemic, it was announced the season was initially suspended until at least 3 April 2020. After further postponements, the season was ultimately ended prematurely on 25 May 2020 with immediate effect. On 5 June 2020, Chelsea were named as champions, moving them up one place ahead of Manchester City on sporting merit after The FA Board's decision to award places on a points-per-game basis. Manchester City were awarded the second Champions League place and Liverpool were relegated using the same method.

## Teams

After the WSL's restructure going into the 2018–19 season, membership of the league returned solely to performance in the previous season, though the league expanded from eleven teams to twelve as Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur were both promoted after finishing first and second respectively in the Championship during the 2018–19 season, while only Yeovil Town were relegated.
| Team | Location | Ground | Capacity | 2018–19 season |
| Arsenal | Borehamwood | Meadow Park | 4,502 | 1st |
| Birmingham City | Solihull | Damson Park | 3,050 | 4th |
| Brighton & Hove Albion | Crawley | Broadfield Stadium | 6,134 | 9th |
| Bristol City | Filton | Stoke Gifford Stadium | 1,500 | 6th |
| Chelsea | Kingston upon Thames | Kingsmeadow | 4,850 | 3rd |
| Everton | Liverpool | Walton Hall Park | 2,200 | 10th |
| Liverpool | Birkenhead | Prenton Park | 16,587 | 8th |
| Manchester City | Manchester | Academy Stadium | 7,000 | 2nd |
| Manchester United | Leigh | Leigh Sports Village | 12,000 | WC, 1st |
| Reading | High Wycombe | Adams Park | 9,617 | 5th |
| Tottenham Hotspur | Canons Park | The Hive Stadium | 6,500 | WC, 2nd |
| West Ham United | Romford | Rush Green Stadium | 3,000 | 7th |
* ↑ Match v Birmingham City moved to Falmer Stadium
* ↑ Opening weekend match v Brighton & Hove Albion held at Ashton Gate
* ↑ Match v Tottenham Hotspur held at Stamford Bridge
* ↑ Opening six home fixtures played at Haig Avenue
* ↑ Merseyside derby held at Anfield
* ↑ Manchester derby held at City of Manchester Stadium
* ↑ Match v Bristol City moved to Madjeski Stadium
* ↑ North London derby held at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
* ↑ Match v Tottenham Hotspur moved to London Stadium

### Stadium changes

In response to the record viewing figures during the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup, three select fixtures were initially moved to Premier League grounds: The Manchester derby at the City of Manchester Stadium, Chelsea v Tottenham at Stamford Bridge and the North London derby at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. In total, eight of the twelve teams have moved FA WSL fixtures to the larger grounds of their men's affiliate teams: Bristol City later announced their opening game would be played at Ashton Gate, Reading moved one of their league fixtures (as well as all three League Cup games) to the Madjeski Stadium and West Ham announced they would host Spurs at the London Stadium. Brighton & Hove Albion moved their match against Birmingham to the Falmer Stadium to coincide with the FA's Women's Football Weekend, held during a men's international break. Liverpool later moved their Merseyside derby, held on the same weekend, to Anfield and Everton scheduled the reverse fixture in February at Goodison Park (the match was ultimately left unplayed when the season was suspended and then cancelled).
After originally planning to permanently relocate to their new Walton Hall Park stadium in October 2019 following their opening two home games, delays meant Everton had to postpone the move until February 2020 and eventually scheduled six of their 11 home league games at Haig Avenue in Southport.

### Personnel and kits

    As of 23 February 2020
| Team | Manager | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
| Arsenal | Joe Montemurro | Kim Little | Adidas | Fly Emirates |
| Birmingham City | Charlie Baxter (interim) | Kerys Harrop | Adidas | Maple from Canada |
| Brighton & Hove Albion | Hope Powell | Danielle Buet | Nike | American Express |
| Bristol City | Tanya Oxtoby | Loren Dykes | Bristol Sport | Yeo Valley |
| Chelsea | Emma Hayes | Magdalena Eriksson | Nike | Yokohama Tyres |
| Everton | Willie Kirk | Danielle Turner | Umbro | SportPesa |
| Liverpool | Vicky Jepson | Sophie Bradley-Auckland | New Balance | BetVictor |
| Manchester City | Alan Mahon (interim) | Steph Houghton | Puma | Etihad Airways |
| Manchester United | Casey Stoney | Katie Zelem | Adidas | Chevrolet |
| Reading | Kelly Chambers | Natasha Harding | Macron | YLD |
| Tottenham Hotspur | Karen Hills Juan Carlos Amorós | Jenna Schillaci | Nike | AIA |
| West Ham United | Matt Beard | Gilly Flaherty | Umbro | Betway |

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
| Manchester City | Nick Cushing | Signed with New York City FC | 2 February 2020 | 1st | Alan Mahon (interim) | 3 February 2020 |
| Birmingham City | Marta Tejedor | Mutual separation | 3 March 2020 | 11th | Charlie Baxter (interim) | 3 March 2020 |

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | PPG | Qualification |
| 1 | Chelsea (C) | 15 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 47 | 11 | +36 | 39 | 2.60 | Qualification for the Champions League |
| 2 | Manchester City | 16 | 13 | 1 | 2 | 39 | 9 | +30 | 40 | 2.50 | Qualification for the Champions League |
| 3 | Arsenal | 15 | 12 | 0 | 3 | 40 | 13 | +27 | 36 | 2.40 | |
| 4 | Manchester United | 14 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 24 | 12 | +12 | 23 | 1.64 | |
| 5 | Reading | 14 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 21 | 24 | −3 | 21 | 1.50 | |
| 6 | Everton | 14 | 6 | 1 | 7 | 21 | 21 | 0 | 19 | 1.36 | |
| 7 | Tottenham Hotspur | 15 | 6 | 2 | 7 | 15 | 24 | −9 | 20 | 1.33 | |
| 8 | West Ham United | 14 | 5 | 1 | 8 | 19 | 34 | −15 | 16 | 1.14 | |
| 9 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 16 | 3 | 4 | 9 | 11 | 30 | −19 | 13 | 0.81 | |
| 10 | Bristol City | 14 | 2 | 3 | 9 | 9 | 38 | −29 | 9 | 0.64 | |
| 11 | Birmingham City | 13 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 5 | 23 | −18 | 7 | 0.54 | |
| 12 | Liverpool (R) | 14 | 1 | 3 | 10 | 8 | 20 | −12 | 6 | 0.43 | Relegation to the Championship |

## Results

| Home \ Away | ARS | BIR | BHA | BRI | CHE | EVE | LIV | MCI | MNU | REA | TOT | WHU |
| Arsenal | — | 2–0 | 4–0 | 11–1 | 1–4 | – | 1–0 | 1–0 | – | – | – | 2–1 |
| Birmingham City | – | — | – | 0–1 | 0–6 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | – | – | 1–1 | – |
| Brighton & Hove Albion | 0–4 | 3–0 | — | – | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | – | 1–1 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 1–3 |
| Bristol City | – | 0–2 | 0–0 | — | 0–4 | – | 0–1 | 0–5 | – | – | 1–2 | – |
| Chelsea | 2–1 | 2–0 | – | 6–1 | — | – | – | 2–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 8–0 |
| Everton | 1–3 | – | 2–0 | 2–0 | – | — | – | 0–1 | 2–3 | 3–1 | 3–1 | – |
| Liverpool | 2–3 | – | – | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | — | – | – | 0–1 | – | 1–1 |
| Manchester City | 2–1 | 3–0 | 5–0 | 1–0 | 3–3 | 3–1 | 1–0 | — | 1–0 | – | – | 5–0 |
| Manchester United | 0–1 | – | 4–0 | 0–1 | – | 3–1 | 2–0 | – | — | 2–0 | 3–0 | – |
| Reading | 0–3 | 1–0 | – | 3–3 | – | 3–2 | – | 0–2 | 1–1 | — | 3–1 | 2–0 |
| Tottenham Hotspur | 0–2 | – | 1–0 | – | – | 2–2 | 1–0 | 1–4 | 0–3 | – | — | 2–1 |
| West Ham United | – | 1–0 | 2–1 | – | 1–3 | – | 4–2 | – | 3–2 | 2–3 | 0–2 | — |

## Season statistics

    As of 23 February 2020

### Top scorers

| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Vivianne Miedema | Arsenal | 16 |
| 2 | Bethany England | Chelsea | 14 |
| 3 | Pauline Bremer | Manchester City | 10 |
| 4 | Chloe Kelly | Everton | 9 |
| 5 | Lauren James | Manchester United | 6 |
| 5 | Ji So-Yun | Chelsea | 6 |
| 5 | Ellen White | Manchester City | 6 |
| 8 | Daniëlle van de Donk | Arsenal | 5 |
| 8 | Rachel Furness | Liverpool | 5 |
| 8 | Lauren Hemp | Manchester City | 5 |
| 8 | Adriana Leon | West Ham United | 5 |
| 8 | Kim Little | Arsenal | 5 |
| 8 | Jordan Nobbs | Arsenal | 5 |
| 8 | Guro Reiten | Chelsea | 5 |
| 8 | Ebony Salmon | Bristol City | 5 |
| 8 | Aileen Whelan | Brighton & Hove Albion | 5 |
| 8 | Fara Williams | Reading | 5 |
| 8 | Katie Zelem | Manchester United | 5 |

### Clean sheets

| Rank | Player | Club | Clean sheets |
| 1 | Ellie Roebuck | Manchester City | 10 |
| 2 | Manuela Zinsberger | Arsenal | 6 |
| 3 | Mary Earps | Manchester United | 5 |
| 4 | Ann-Katrin Berger | Chelsea | 4 |
| 4 | Tinja-Riikka Korpela | Everton | 4 |
| 4 | Becky Spencer | Tottenham Hotspur | 4 |
| 4 | Megan Walsh | Brighton & Hove Albion | 4 |
| 8 | Sophie Baggaley | Bristol City | 3 |
| 9 | Hannah Hampton | Birmingham City | 2 |
| 9 | Rachael Laws | Reading | 2 |
| 9 | Pauline Peyraud-Magnin | Arsenal | 2 |
| 9 | Carly Telford | Chelsea | 2 |

### Records

The match between Arsenal and Bristol City on 1 December 2019 ended 11–1, setting a new WSL record scoreline, surpassing the 9–0 win of Liverpool Ladies over Doncaster Rovers Belles in 2013.

## Awards
### Monthly awards

| Month | Manager of the Month | Manager of the Month | Player of the Month | Player of the Month | Ref. |
| Month | Manager | Club | Player | Club | Ref. |
| September | Karen Hills Juan Amorós | Tottenham Hotspur | Chloe Kelly | Everton | |
| October | Emma Hayes | Chelsea | Kirsty Hanson | Manchester United | |
| November | Willie Kirk | Everton | Millie Bright | Chelsea | |
| December | Joe Montemurro | Arsenal | Vivianne Miedema | Arsenal | |
| January | Emma Hayes | Chelsea | Bethany England | Chelsea | |
| February | Emma Hayes | Chelsea | Bethany England | Chelsea | |

### Annual awards

| Award | Winner | Club |
| Barclays FA WSL Player of the Season | Bethany England | Chelsea |
| Barclays FA WSL Manager of the Season | Emma Hayes | Chelsea |
| PFA Players' Player of the Year | Bethany England | Chelsea |
| PFA Young Player of the Year | Lauren Hemp | Manchester City |
| FWA Footballer of the Year | Vivianne Miedema | Arsenal |
PFA Team of the Year :
| Goalkeeper | Ann-Katrin Berger (Chelsea) | Ann-Katrin Berger (Chelsea) | Ann-Katrin Berger (Chelsea) | Ann-Katrin Berger (Chelsea) | Ann-Katrin Berger (Chelsea) | Ann-Katrin Berger (Chelsea) | Ann-Katrin Berger (Chelsea) | Ann-Katrin Berger (Chelsea) | Ann-Katrin Berger (Chelsea) | Ann-Katrin Berger (Chelsea) | Ann-Katrin Berger (Chelsea) | Ann-Katrin Berger (Chelsea) |
| Defenders | Maren Mjelde (Chelsea) | Maren Mjelde (Chelsea) | Maren Mjelde (Chelsea) | Leah Williamson (Arsenal) | Leah Williamson (Arsenal) | Leah Williamson (Arsenal) | Millie Bright (Chelsea) | Millie Bright (Chelsea) | Millie Bright (Chelsea) | Magdalena Eriksson (Chelsea) | Magdalena Eriksson (Chelsea) | Magdalena Eriksson (Chelsea) |
| Midfielders | Caroline Weir (Manchester City) | Caroline Weir (Manchester City) | Caroline Weir (Manchester City) | Caroline Weir (Manchester City) | Kim Little (Arsenal) | Kim Little (Arsenal) | Kim Little (Arsenal) | Kim Little (Arsenal) | Ji So-yun (Chelsea) | Ji So-yun (Chelsea) | Ji So-yun (Chelsea) | Ji So-yun (Chelsea) |
| Forwards | Bethany England (Chelsea) | Bethany England (Chelsea) | Bethany England (Chelsea) | Bethany England (Chelsea) | Vivianne Miedema (Arsenal) | Vivianne Miedema (Arsenal) | Vivianne Miedema (Arsenal) | Vivianne Miedema (Arsenal) | Chloe Kelly (Everton) | Chloe Kelly (Everton) | Chloe Kelly (Everton) | Chloe Kelly (Everton) |

## Prize money

An FA WSL prize fund was put in place for the first time, following the new Barclay's sponsorship deal, with the entire pot totaling £500,000. The money was awarded in decreasing increments with the champions winning £100,000 and the last placed team being awarded £6,000.
| Finish | Prize money |
| 1st | £100,000 |
| 2nd | £67,000 |
| 3rd | £60,000 |
| 4th | £55,000 |
| 5th | £49,000 |
| 6th | £43,000 |
| 7th | £36,000 |
| 8th | £30,000 |
| 9th | £24,000 |
| 10th | £18,000 |
| 11th | £12,000 |
| 12th | £6,000 |