Women's Super League: Previous winners

The Women's Super League is the highest level of women's football in England and it continues to grow since the inaugural season in 2011.

Of the 12 editions of the WSL, only four teams have managed to lift the trophy, Chelsea are the most successful club with seven titles to their name.

The Blues, who are also two-time runners-up, have won the title in the last five seasons and they are expected to set the benchmark again in the 2024/25 campaign.

Arsenal have three Super League trophies, the first of those coming in the inaugural season in 2011, while Liverpool are two-time winners and Manchester City's sole success came in 2016.

Arsenal make history

Year	Winners	Runner-up
2011	Arsenal	Birmingham City
2012	Arsenal	Birmingham City

The Women's Super League was established in 2010 but the start was deferred for a year due to the global economic downturn, meaning the inaugural season kicked off on 13th April 2011 with a clash between Chelsea and Arsenal at Imperial Fields.

The Gunners triumphed 1-0 and that was the first of 10 victories recorded on their way to the title, as they finished three points ahead of Birmingham City, who now ply their trade in the Women's Super League 2.

Everton, Lincoln Ladies, Bristol Academy, Doncaster Rovers Belles and Liverpool were the five other side that competed in the eight-team league, with the Reds finishing bottom.

Arsenal successfully defended their title in 2012, this time finishing eight points ahead of second-place Birmingham who had to settle for the silver medal again.

Liverpool's time

Year	Winners	Runner-up
2013	Liverpool	Bristol Academy
2014	Liverpool	Chelsea

Having finished bottom in the first two WSL seasons, Liverpool relocated from Skelmersdale to the Halton Stadium prior to the 2013 campaign, and that change delivered instant success.

The Reds won the 2013 season by five points from Bristol Academy before then defending their crown the following year on goal difference after ending level on 26 points with Chelsea.

The 2013 campaign was the first where relegation was brought in, with the bottom side dropping down to the WSL 2.

Chelsea and Man City join the party

Year	Winners	Runner-up
2015	Chelsea	Manchester City
2016	Manchester City	Chelsea

Two new names were etched onto the trophy over the next two years, with Chelsea claiming the first of their record six titles in 2015 after edging out Manchester City by two points.

It was a role reversal in 2016 as City beat the Blues to the title by five points, with the Citizens becoming just the second team and first since Arsenal in 2012 to go through the league campaign unbeaten.

The 2016 season was also the first time a higher number of teams were in the division, with the quota increasing from eight to nine in a bid to keep expanding the game.

Notts County, who finished sixth, folded after the end of the season, while Doncaster Rovers were relegated.

Chelsea and Arsenal become usual suspects

Year	Winners	Runner-up
2017/18	Chelsea	Manchester City
2018/19	Arsenal	Manchester City

Further changes were made to the format of the WSL ahead of the 2017/18 season, which ran from September 2017 to May 2018 and was the first to be played as a winter league.

The number of teams also increased from nine to 10 and it was Chelsea who ended up on top, finishing six points clear of Manchester City to lift the trophy for the second time in their history.

Further expansion came in the 2018/19 season with 11 teams competing in the division, and Arsenal found themselves back in the winners' circle by claiming their first title since 2012.

The Gunners won 18 of their 20 games to finish seven points ahead of the Citizens.

Dominant Chelsea rack up the silverware

Year	Winners	Runner-up
2019/20	Chelsea	Manchester City
2020/21	Chelsea	Manchester City
2021/22	Chelsea	Arsenal
2022/23	Chelsea	Manchester United
2023/24	Chelsea	Manchester City

Chelsea have been the team to beat in the WSL over the last five seasons, as they have won every title since 2019/20 to affirm their place as the greatest club in Women's Super League history.

The 2019/20 campaign, which featured 12 teams for the first time, ended prematurely due to postponements and it was the Blues who were named as champions on a points-per-game basis, with their 2.60 ratio better than Man City's 2.50.

There was a thrilling title race in 2020/21 with Chelsea managing to, again, hold off the Citizens to defend their crown by two points. Australian Sam Kerr played a big part in the success, scoring a leading 21 goals.

More success followed for the Blues in the next three campaigns, lifting the trophy in 2021/22, 2022/23 and 2023/24 to make it five titles in a row and a record seven overall.