The Women's Super League launched!
The first ever semi-professional women's league is upon us.
In a move to professionalise women's football and attract girls and fans to the game, The Football Association announced the launch of the first-ever semi professional league for women.
The FA WSL (Women's Super League) will be played during the summer months and features eight teams from across the country competing for the inaugural Super League title.
Teams representing Arsenal, Birmingham, Bristol, Chelsea, Doncaster, Everton, Liverpool and Lincoln will play each other twice over 14 match rounds.
Chelsea Ladies took on Arsenal Ladies in the first ever WSL fixture on Wednesday 13 April 2011, kicking-off at 5.30pm at Tooting & Mitcham's home and was televised live on ESPN.
Throughout the season, a weekly highlights show will be broadcast on ESPN alongside a dedicated website, www.fawsl.com, keeping fans up-to-date with the latest action and news from the league.
Football is the biggest participation sport among women and girls and new research from The FA published today shows that a further 180,000 women aged 16-34 are considering playing the game in the next year.
Commenting on the creation of the league, David Bernstein, Chairman of The FA said: "This is a true landmark in the women's game, a real opportunity for it to take off in England. I want to congratulate everyone who has worked on getting the WSL to this point, particularly the clubs and their players, who have shown so much enthusiasm. The launch of this league together with England competing in the World Cup in Germany makes for an exciting summer of women's football ahead."
Kelly Simmons, The FA's Head of National Game added: "Football is the most popular team sport for girls to play and we have over a million regular players throughout the country. What has been missing in the sport until now was a clear pathway of progression for young girls who are good enough to play professionally and earn a living doing so.
"We believe the league will encourage many more young girls to get into and stay in football where they can see an elite structure at the very top of the game and the role models to inspire them."