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.

FA WSL
Season2016
ChampionsManchester City
2015

Manchester City won their first ever WSL 1 championship on 25 September 2016 with a 2–0 win over Chelsea.[1][2]

Teams

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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.[3]

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

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FA WSL 1
Season2016
ChampionsManchester City
RelegatedDoncaster Rovers Belles
Matches played72
Goals scored212 (2.94 per match)
Top goalscorerEniola Aluko
(9 goals)
Biggest home winManchester City 6–0 Doncaster Rovers Belles
(2 May 2016)
Biggest away winSunderland 0–5 Chelsea
(30 June 2016)
Highest scoringChelsea 6–3 Liverpool
(8 May 2016)
Highest attendance4,096
Manchester City 2–0 Chelsea
(25 September 2016)
Average attendance1,128[4]
2015

Table

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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
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
Source: FA WSL
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored
(C) Champions

Results

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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
Updated to match(es) played on 30 October 2016. Source: FA WSL
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Top goalscorers

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Top goalscorer Eniola Aluko in 2009
As of 16 January 2017. [5][6]
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
  Beth Mead Sunderland
  Katie Chapman Chelsea
  Toni Duggan Manchester City
  Jessica Clarke Notts County
  Ji So-yun Chelsea

WSL 2

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FA WSL 2
Season2016
ChampionsYeovil Town
PromotedBristol City
Yeovil Town
Matches played90
Goals scored279 (3.1 per match)
Top goalscorerIniabasi Umotong & Jo Wilson
(13 goals)
Biggest home winYeovil Town 5–0 Watford
(1 May 2016)
Biggest away winWatford 0–5 London Bees
(16 May 2016)
Highest scoringOxford United 3–5 Millwall Lionesses
(24 March 2016)
2015

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

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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
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
Source: FA WSL
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored
(C) Champions

Results

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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
Updated to match(es) played on 16 January 2017. Source: FA WSL
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
  • 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.[7]

Top goalscorers

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

WSL Cup

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The FA WSL Cup format was changed to a true knock-out tournament.[8] 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.[9]

Preliminary round

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Team 1  Score  Team 2
8 May 2016
Sheffield 3–1 Durham
Oxford United 1–0 Millwall Lionesses
Watford 0–2 London Bees
Sheffield3–1Durham
Home of Football, Sheffield
Oxford United1–0Millwall Lionesses
Report
Northcourt Road, Abingdon
Attendance: 405
Watford0–2London Bees
Broadwater, Berkhamsted

First round

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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
Aston Villa0–8Manchester City
Report
Central Ground, Sutton Coldfield
Attendance: 492
Referee: Sarah Garrett
Everton0–1Liverpool
Report
Reading1–3Arsenal
Report
Attendance: 1,034
London Bees3–3 (a.e.t.)Chelsea
Report
Penalties
4–2
Sheffield2–0Bristol City
Report
Home of Football Stadium, Sheffield
Attendance: 138
Doncaster Rovers Belles2–1Sunderland
Report
Home of Football Stadium, Sheffield
Attendance: 188
Referee: Jane Simms
Oxford United0–2Birmingham City
Report
Northcourt Stadium, Abingdon
Attendance: 454
Yeovil Town1–3Notts County
Report
Raleigh Grove, Sherborne
Attendance: 406

Second round

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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
Arsenal3–2Notts County
Report
Attendance: 421
Birmingham City1–0 (a.e.t.)Liverpool
Report
Attendance: 712
Manchester City4–1Doncaster Rovers Belles
Report
Attendance: 1,153
Referee: Anthony Backhouse
Sheffield0–2London Bees
Report
Home of Football, Sheffield

Semi-finals

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Played on 3 and 4 September 2016.

Team 1  Score  Team 2
London Bees 0–4 Birmingham City
Manchester City 1–0 Arsenal
London Bees0–4Birmingham City
Report
Attendance: 398
Manchester City1–0Arsenal
Report
Attendance: 1,643

Final

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Played on 2 October 2016. Manchester City won their second cup after 2014 and completed the double.[10]

Team 1  Score  Team 2
Manchester City 1–0 (a.e.t.) Birmingham City
Manchester City1–0 (a.e.t.)Birmingham City
Report
Attendance: 4,214
Referee: Rebecca Welch

References

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  1. ^ Leighton, Tony. "Manchester City seal Women's Super League title with a 2-0 win over Chelsea". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 September 2016.
  2. ^ "Man City Women are champions!". Manchester City W.F.C. Archived from the original on 28 March 2017. Retrieved 25 September 2016.
  3. ^ Posted 11 December 2015, 12:52 in (11 December 2015). "Bristol Name Change Approved". She Kicks. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 13 August 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ "Year-on-year growth in Women's Super League attendances". thefa.com. 7 November 2016.
  5. ^ "Topscorers". Soccerway. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
  6. ^ "PLAYER STATS". Retrieved 28 March 2016.
  7. ^ United awarded win over Millwall
  8. ^ "FA WSL Continental Cup is knockout!". shekicks.net. 10 December 2015. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
  9. ^ Posted 29 March 2016, 07:30 in (29 March 2016). "Continental Tyres Cup Draw". She Kicks. Archived from the original on 11 April 2016. Retrieved 13 August 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  10. ^ "Women's Continental Cup final: Manchester City 1-0 Birmingham City (aet)". BBC. 2 October 2016. Retrieved 2 October 2016.
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