# 2016 FA WSL

The 2016 FA WSL was the sixth edition of the FA WSL since it was formed in 2010. The WSL 1 was expanded to nine teams. The WSL 2 included one team promoted from the FA Women's Premier League for the first time. The season started on 23 March and Chelsea were the defending WSL 1 champions.
Manchester City won their first ever WSL 1 championship on 25 September 2016 with a 2–0 win over Chelsea.

## Teams
### WSL 1

| Team | Location | Ground | Capacity | 2015 season |
| Arsenal | Borehamwood | Meadow Park | 4,502 | 3rd |
| Birmingham City | Solihull | Damson Park | 3,050 | 6th |
| Chelsea | Staines | Wheatsheaf Park | 3,009 | 1st |
| Doncaster Rovers Belles | Doncaster | Keepmoat Stadium | 15,231 | 2nd, WSL 2 |
| Liverpool | Widnes | Halton Stadium | 13,350 | 7th |
| Manchester City | Manchester | Academy Stadium | 7,000 | 2nd |
| Notts County | Nottingham | Meadow Lane | 20,229 | 5th |
| Reading | High Wycombe | Adams Park | 10,000 | 1st, WSL 2 |
| Sunderland | Hetton-le-Hole | Eppleton Colliery Welfare Ground | 2,500 | 4th |

### WSL 2

Bristol Academy was renamed Bristol City before the season.
| Team | Location | Ground | Capacity | 2015 season |
| Aston Villa | Sutton Coldfield | Central Ground, Coles Lane | 2,000 | 5th |
| Bristol City | Filton | Stoke Gifford Stadium | 1,500 | 8th, WSL 1 |
| Durham | Durham | New Ferens Park | 3,000 | 7th |
| Everton | Widnes | Halton Stadium | 13,350 | 3rd |
| London Bees | Canons Park | The Hive Stadium | 5,176 | 8th |
| Millwall Lionesses | London | The Den | 20,146 | 9th |
| Oxford United | Abingdon | Northcourt Road | 2,000 | 6th |
| Sheffield | Dronfield | Coach and Horses | 2,000 | 1st, WPL |
| Watford | Berkhamsted | Broadwater | 2,000 | 10th |
| Yeovil Town | Yeovil | Huish Park | 9,565 | 4th |

## WSL 1
### Table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Manchester City (C) | 16 | 13 | 3 | 0 | 36 | 4 | +32 | 42 | Qualification for the Champions League |
| 2 | Chelsea | 16 | 12 | 1 | 3 | 42 | 17 | +25 | 37 | Qualification for the Champions League |
| 3 | Arsenal | 16 | 10 | 2 | 4 | 33 | 14 | +19 | 32 | |
| 4 | Birmingham City | 16 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 18 | 13 | +5 | 27 | |
| 5 | Liverpool | 16 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 27 | 23 | +4 | 25 | |
| 6 | Notts County | 16 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 16 | 26 | −10 | 16 | Club folded after end of season |
| 7 | Sunderland | 16 | 2 | 4 | 10 | 17 | 41 | −24 | 10 | |
| 8 | Reading | 16 | 1 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 26 | −11 | 9 | |
| 9 | Doncaster Rovers | 16 | 1 | 0 | 15 | 8 | 48 | −40 | 3 | Relegation to FA WSL 2 |

### Results

| Home \ Away | ARS | BIR | CHE | DON | LIV | MCI | NTC | REA | SUN |
| Arsenal | | 0–0 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 5–1 |
| Birmingham City | 0–0 | | 0–4 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 |
| Chelsea | 1–2 | 1–1 | | 4–0 | 6–3 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 2–1 |
| Doncaster Rovers Belles | 0–5 | 0–1 | 1–4 | | 1–3 | 0–4 | 1–2 | 1–4 | 1–4 |
| Liverpool | 3–5 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 2–2 |
| Manchester City | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 6–0 | 1–1 | | 1–0 | 2–0 | 3–0 |
| Notts County | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 1–5 | | 2–2 | 2–1 |
| Reading | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | | 1–1 |
| Sunderland | 0–4 | 1–7 | 0–5 | 4–0 | 0–4 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | |

### Top goalscorers

    As of 16 January 2017.
| Rank | Player | Team | Goals |
| 1 | Eniola Aluko | Chelsea | 9 |
| 2 | Jane Ross | Manchester City | 8 |
| 3 | Caroline Weir | Liverpool | 7 |
| 4 | Danielle Carter | Arsenal | 6 |
| 5 | Fran Kirby | Chelsea | 5 |
| 5 | Beth Mead | Sunderland | 5 |
| 5 | Katie Chapman | Chelsea | 5 |
| 5 | Toni Duggan | Manchester City | 5 |
| 5 | Jessica Clarke | Notts County | 5 |
| 5 | Ji So-yun | Chelsea | 5 |

## WSL 2

Bristol Academy were relegated from the WSL 1 last season and renamed Bristol City, while Sheffield became the first team to be promoted to the WSL 2 from the FA Women's Premier League.

### Table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion |
| 1 | Yeovil Town (C) | 18 | 12 | 3 | 3 | 41 | 16 | +25 | 39 | Promotion to FA WSL 1 |
| 2 | Bristol City | 18 | 12 | 3 | 3 | 37 | 16 | +21 | 39 | Promotion to FA WSL 1 |
| 3 | Everton | 18 | 10 | 4 | 4 | 35 | 18 | +17 | 34 | |
| 4 | Durham | 18 | 10 | 3 | 5 | 30 | 19 | +11 | 33 | |
| 5 | Sheffield | 18 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 25 | 18 | +7 | 26 | |
| 6 | Aston Villa | 18 | 7 | 3 | 8 | 26 | 27 | −1 | 24 | |
| 7 | London Bees | 18 | 6 | 4 | 8 | 28 | 39 | −11 | 22 | |
| 8 | Millwall Lionesses | 18 | 3 | 7 | 8 | 24 | 31 | −7 | 16 | |
| 9 | Oxford United | 18 | 4 | 1 | 13 | 20 | 42 | −22 | 13 | |
| 10 | Watford | 18 | 2 | 1 | 15 | 13 | 53 | −40 | 7 | |

### Results

| Home \ Away | AST | BRI | DUR | EVE | LON | MIL | OXF | SHE | WAT | YEO |
| Aston Villa | | 2–2 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 4–0 | 0–2 |
| Bristol City | 2–0 | | 1–0 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 4–1 | 0–0 | 4–1 | 3–2 |
| Durham | 3–0 | 0–0 | | 1–3 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 0–2 |
| Everton | 2–1 | 2–3 | 1–1 | | 5–1 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 3–0 |
| London Bees | 2–1 | 0–3 | 2–2 | 3–4 | | 2–1 | 3–1 | 0–5 | 2–2 | 0–2 |
| Millwall Lionesses | 2–2 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | | 0–3 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–4 |
| Oxford United | 0–1 | 0–5 | 1–5 | 0–1 | 4–2 | 3–5 | | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–2 |
| Sheffield | 1–2 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 2–1 | | 3–0 | 1–1 |
| Watford | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–6 | 2–1 | 0–5 | 1–2 | 3–2 | 1–3 | | 1–2 |
| Yeovil Town | 4–2 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 1–0 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 5–0 | |
* The match Millwall Lionesses vs Oxford United was initially postponed because Millwall's stadium, The Den, was being used for a men's game. The FA WSL Management Committee then decided to award the match to Oxford United.

### Top goalscorers

| Rank | Player | Team | Goals |
| 1 | Iniabasi Umotong | Oxford United | 13 |
| 1 | Jo Wilson | London Bees | 13 |
| 3 | Sarah Wiltshire | Yeovil Town | 11 |
| 4 | Claire Emslie | Bristol City | 10 |
| 5 | Millie Farrow | Bristol City | 9 |
| 5 | Beth Hepple | Durham | 9 |
| 5 | Bethan Merrick | Aston Villa | 9 |
| 8 | Ann-Marie Heatherson | Yeovil Town | 7 |
| 8 | Jodie Michalska | Sheffield | 7 |
| 10 | Claudia Walker | Everton | 6 |
| 10 | Katie Wilkinson | Aston Villa | 6 |
| 10 | Ashlee Hincks | Millwall Lionesses | 6 |

## WSL Cup

The FA WSL Cup format was changed to a true knock-out tournament. With 19 teams, the bottom six teams play a preliminary round. The round of 16 following that is seeded, so that WSL 1 teams meet WSL 2 teams, who have home advantage.

### Preliminary round

| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
| 8 May 2016 |||
| Sheffield | 3–1 | Durham |
| Oxford United | 1–0 | Millwall Lionesses |
| Watford | 0–2 | London Bees |

### First round

| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
| 2 July 2016 |||
| Aston Villa | 0–8 | Manchester City |
| Everton | 0–1 | Liverpool |
| Reading | 1–3 | Arsenal |
| London Bees | 3–3 (4–2 p) | Chelsea |
| Sheffield | 2–0 | Bristol City |
| 3 July 2016 |||
| Doncaster Rovers Belles | 2–1 | Sunderland |
| Oxford United | 0–2 | Birmingham City |
| Yeovil Town | 1–3 | Notts County |

### Second round

| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
| 5 August 2016 |||
| Arsenal | 3–2 | Notts County |
| 7 August 2016 |||
| Birmingham City | 1–0 (a.e.t.) | Liverpool |
| Manchester City | 4–1 | Doncaster Rovers Belles |
| Sheffield | 0–2 | London Bees |

### Semi-finals

Played on 3 and 4 September 2016.
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
| London Bees | 0–4 | Birmingham City |
| Manchester City | 1–0 | Arsenal |

### Final

Played on 2 October 2016. Manchester City won their second cup after 2014 and completed the double.
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
| Manchester City | 1–0 (a.e.t.) | Birmingham City |