Women’s Super League, Championship seasons ended immediately

The Women’s Super League and Women’s Championship seasons have been ended immediately, with the outcome of the WSL title and promotion and relegation issues still to be decided.

 

The joint WSL and Women’s Championship board has sent various recommendations to the Football Association board to “determine the most appropriate sporting outcome for the season”.

An FA statement said the decision came after “overwhelming feedback from clubs” and was made “in the best interest of the women’s game”.

It continued: “This will also enable clubs, the Women’s Super League and Women’s Championship board and the FA to plan, prepare and focus on next season when football returns for the 2020-21 campaign.”

It means all divisions of women’s football in England have now been cancelled for the 2019-20 campaign.

Clubs had been assuming their season would not resume, several sources had told BBC Sport, leaving the 45 remaining fixtures in the WSL WSL – and 36 in the Championship – outstanding.

Monday’s joint leagues board meeting came after a formal consultation process with clubs last week. The FA wrote to clubs on Wednesday to seek their formal views on whether to end the season and how to do so.

What is still to be decided?

Manchester City were top of the table when the season was suspended in March because of the coronavirus pandemic, although second-placed Chelsea had a game in hand on the leaders.

Reigning champions Arsenal were three points further back in third place.

Should final places in the Women’s Super League be decided by an unweighted points-per-game ratio, Chelsea would climb above City to go top.

Also still to be confirmed are England’s two representatives to take part in next season’s Women’s Champions League, which, the FA said in their statement, “would be based on sporting merit” from the WSL season.

At the foot of the WSL, Liverpool remain in danger of being relegated. The Reds are a point below second-from-bottom Birmingham and have played a game more.

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Aston Villa are six points clear of Sheffield United at the top of the second-tier Championship.

It is understood no decision has yet been made regarding the conclusion of the Women’s FA Cup, which had reached the quarter-final stage before March’s suspension of elite football in England.