Women's Championship (England) 2026/27

The Women's Championship serves as the second tier of English women's football, sitting directly below the top-flight Women's Super League. The competition is currently branded as the Barclays Women's Super League 2 under a sponsorship agreement. It operates as a professional league governed by WSL Football, an independent company owned by the participating clubs. The structure was established in 2014 by The Football Association to replace the FA Women's Premier League National Division. After initially operating as WSL 2, the league underwent rebranding in 2018 and 2022 before reverting to the WSL 2 designation for the 2025–26 campaign.

The 2025–26 season features 12 clubs competing in a double round-robin format where every team plays each other twice. This structure ensures a comprehensive schedule across the season. The primary objective for participants is promotion to the top tier. Under the current transitional expansion rules for the 2026–27 season, automatic promotion is granted to the top two teams. Historically, only the champion secured this status. Teams finishing in the lower positions face relegation to either the Northern or Southern Premier Division of the FA Women's National League.

The competition acts as a vital development pathway for the wider women's game, hosting reserve and affiliate teams from established clubs. While the men's equivalent EFL Championship involves 24 teams and includes playoff spots, this league maintains a smaller footprint with a focus on direct progression. The title history shows no single dominant force; since inception, eleven different clubs have claimed the championship, each winning once. Birmingham City secured the most recent title in the 2025–26 season, following victories by London City Lionesses, Crystal Palace, and Bristol City in preceding years.