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FA Women's National League Cup
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Women's National League Cup |
| current | 2025–26 WNL Cup |
| logo | WNL Cup logo.jpg |
| founded | |
| number of teams | 72 |
| current champions | Nottingham Forest (2nd title) |
| region | |
| most successful club | Arsenal |
| (10 titles) |
(10 titles) The FA Women's National League Cup is an annual English football cup competition, founded in 1991 by the Women's Football Association (WFA).
The first edition of the Cup included clubs from the 1991–92 WFA National League Premier Division and the winners were the second-tier Arsenal, who beat Millwall 1–0 with a goal by Naz Ball. The Football Association assumed the running of the competition in 1994–95.
Clubs from league levels 1 and 2 competed in the Women's Premier League Cup tournament annually until 2009–10, with Arsenal the most frequent winners, in ten seasons. From 2011 onwards, the top-league teams played in the FA WSL's League Cup instead. Since 2011, the most successful clubs in the Premier/National League Cup have been Tottenham and Blackburn with two final victories each.
The current Women's National League Cup is open to the 72 teams in the FA Women's National League – Northern and Southern divisions, plus the four regional Division One leagues. It is the women's football equivalent to the men's EFL Trophy of third- and fourth-tier teams, although the competitions are organised by different governing bodies.
A change to the format of the competition from the 2025-26 season onwards has seen the entry of Professional Game Academy sides for the first time.
Format
The competitions format has changed through the years, with some seasons having previously also included a preceding group stage prior to the knockout rounds.
After the league restructuring of the Women's Premier League in 2015 up to 72 teams are eligible to participate. At first all teams are drawn against each other in the determining round. The winning teams then are drawn into either a preliminary round or directly into the first round of the cup. Thus 32 teams then play the first round.
The losers of the determining round play a preliminary round and then a round of 32 onwards for the FA Women's National League Plate, first played out in 2015–16.
The 2025–26 season saw a change to the format of the League Cup, with the introduction of a group stage and entry of Professional Game Academy sides for the first time. Teams were initially drawn into 22 groups of four teams, from which the 22 group winners and 10 best runners-up advanced to the Cup knockout stages. The other 12 runners-up, and 20 best third-placed teams advanced to the National League Plate knockout stages. From there, both the Cup and the Plate held four knockout rounds before the finals of each competition.
1993 Wembley final
Main article: 1992–93 WFA Women's National League Cup
The 1992–93 competition ended with a final at Wembley Stadium. Before a sparse crowd, Arsenal beat Knowsley United 3–0 to retain the trophy.
This was one of very few competitive women's club games known to have been held at the old Wembley Stadium; it also remains the only women's League Cup final to be played at Wembley.
The match was held prior to the 1993 Football League Third Division play-off final. Arsenal manager Vic Akers recalled that the women's teams were not given use of the main dressing rooms.
List of seasons and finals
Level 1 and 2 league cup competition:
| Season | Winner | Runner-up | Score | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991–92 | Arsenal | Millwall Lionesses | 1–0 | Alt Park, Huyton |
| 1992–93 | Arsenal | Knowsley United | 3–0 | Wembley, London |
| 1993–94 | Arsenal | Doncaster Belles | 4–0 | Abbey Stadium, Cambridge |
| 1994–95 | Wimbledon | Villa Aztecs | 2–0 | Butlin Road, Rugby |
| 1995–96 | Wembley | Doncaster Belles | 2–2 (5–3 pen.) | Underhill Stadium, Chipping Barnet |
| 1996–97 | Millwall Lionesses | Everton | 2–1 | Underhill Stadium, Chipping Barnet |
| 1997–98 | Arsenal | Croydon | 0–0 (4–3 pen.) | Underhill Stadium, Chipping Barnet |
| 1998–99 | Arsenal | Everton | 3–1 | Prenton Park, Birkenhead |
| 1999–2000 | Arsenal | Croydon | 4–1 | Underhill Stadium, Chipping Barnet |
| 2000–01 | Arsenal | Tranmere Rovers | 3–0 | Deva Stadium, Chester |
| 2001–02 | Fulham | Birmingham City | 7–1 | Adams Park, Wycombe |
| 2002–03 | Fulham | Arsenal | 1–1 a.e.t. (3–2 pen.) | County Ground, Swindon |
| 2003–04 | Charlton Athletic | Fulham | 1–0 | Underhill Stadium, Chipping Barnet |
| 2004–05 | Arsenal | Charlton Athletic | 3–0 | Griffin Park, Brentford |
| 2005–06 | Charlton Athletic | Arsenal | 2–1 | Adams Park, Wycombe |
| 2006–07 | Arsenal | Leeds United | 1–0 | Glanford Park, Scunthorpe |
| 2007–08 | Everton | Arsenal | 1–0 | Brisbane Road, Leyton |
| 2008–09 | Arsenal | Doncaster Rovers Belles | 5–0 | Glanford Park, Scunthorpe |
| 2009–10 | Leeds Carnegie | Everton | 3–1 | Spotland, Rochdale |
Level 2 and 3 cup competition:
| Season | Winner | Runner-up | Score | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010–11 | Barnet | Nottingham Forest | 0–0 a.e.t. (4–3 pen.) | Adams Park, Wycombe |
| 2011–12 | Sunderland | Leeds United | 2–1 | Sixfields Stadium, Northampton |
| 2012–13 | Aston Villa | Leeds United | 0–0 a.e.t. (5–4 pen.) | Bootham Crescent, York |
Level 3 and 4 cup competition (Women's Premier League Cup, renamed National League Cup in 2018–19):
| Season | Winner | Runner-up | Score | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013–14 | Sheffield | Cardiff City | 6–2 | Pirelli Stadium, Burton upon Trent |
| 2014–15 | Charlton Athletic | Sheffield | 0–0 a.e.t. (4–2 pen.) | Liberty Way, Nuneaton |
| 2015–16 | Tottenham Hotspur | Cardiff City | 2–1 a.e.t. | Aggborough, Kidderminster |
| 2016–17 | Tottenham Hotspur | Charlton Athletic | 0–0 a.e.t. (4–3 pen.) | Lamex Stadium, Stevenage |
| 2017–18 | Blackburn Rovers | Leicester City | 3–1 | Proact Stadium, Chesterfield |
| 2018–19 | Blackburn Rovers | Crawley Wasps | 3–0 | Pirelli Stadium, Burton upon Trent |
| 2019–20 | Stoke City–Sunderland cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic | |||
| 2020–21 | Competition cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic | |||
| 2021–22 | Southampton | Huddersfield Town | 3–0 | Damson Park, Solihull |
| 2022–23 | Nottingham Forest | Watford | 3–2 a.e.t. | Pirelli Stadium, Burton upon Trent |
| 2023–24 | Hashtag United | Newcastle United | 2–1 | Kenilworth Road, Luton |
| 2024–25 | Nottingham Forest | Stoke City | 3–1 | Bescot Stadium, Walsall |
Performance by club
Until 2010 it was England's main League Cup competition, when it was replaced by the FA Women's League Cup in 2011.
| Club | Winners | Runners-up | Winning years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arsenal | 1991–92, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1997–98, 1998–99, 1999–00, 2000–01, 2004–05, 2006–07, 2008–09 | ||
| Croydon/Charlton Athletic | 2003–04, 2005–06, 2014–15 | ||
| Fulham | 2001–02, 2002–03 | ||
| Nottingham Forest | 2022–23, 2024–25 | ||
| Wembley/Barnet | 1995–96, 2010–11 | ||
| Blackburn Rovers | 2017–18, 2018–19 | ||
| Tottenham Hotspur | 2015–16, 2016–17 | ||
| Leeds United | 2009–2010 | ||
| Everton | 2007–08 | ||
| Millwall Lionesses | 1996–97 | ||
| Villa Aztecs/Aston Villa | 2012–13 | ||
| Sheffield | 2013–14 | ||
| Wimbledon | 1994–95 | ||
| Sunderland | 2011–12 | ||
| Southampton | 2021–22 | ||
| Hashtag United | 2023–24 | ||
| Doncaster Belles/ | |||
| Doncaster Rovers Belles | |||
| Cardiff City | |||
| Knowsley United | |||
| Birmingham City | |||
| Tranmere Rovers | |||
| Leicester City | |||
| Crawley Wasps | |||
| Huddersfield Town | |||
| Watford | |||
| Newcastle United |
References
References
- "FA women's football leagues and competitions".
- "FA Women's National League announces key dates and changes to promotion for 2025/26 season".
- (1 September 2014). "Premier League Cup and Plate Preliminary rounds". shekicks.net.
- "Vic Akers: The legendary Arsenal Ladies manager who won 10 Women's FA Cups". BBC Sport.
- "England – List of Women League Cup Winners". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation.
- [http://www.thefa.com/news/fawsl/2014/may/fa-womens-premier-league-cup-final-cardiff-sheffield-burton Carla Ward hits treble as Sheffield FC win FA Women's Premier League Cup]
- [http://www.thefa.com/news/fawsl/2015/may/the-final-charlton-athletic-sheffield-fc-nuneaton-town-report Charlton Athletic win FA Women's Premier League Cup]
- [https://www.rovers.co.uk/news/2018/april/rovers-ladies-win-league-cup/ Rovers Ladies win League Cup!] 2018
- "Apr 28, Crawley Wasps Ladies 0 Blackburn Rovers Ladies 3 | the FA Women's National League".
- (27 March 2020). "Women's season comes to premature end". Stoke City F.C..
- (24 April 2022). "Saints secure league and cup double". Southampton F.C..
- (27 April 2023). "Nottingham Forest: Reds focused on title hopes after Women's National League Cup win". BBC Sport.
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