Women’s Super League 2 opens season with promotion format changes
The Guardian Sport • 1 min read • Latest: Sep 2, 2026, 12:00 PM
Last updated Sep 2, 2026
The Women’s Super League 2 season begins Friday with a match between Watford and Burnley. League officials have implemented a revised format for the campaign following the expansion of the top-tier Women’s Super League earlier this summer. Only the team that finishes at the top of the standings is now guaranteed promotion to the first division. The teams finishing in second and third place will enter a new pre-qualifying match. The winner of that fixture will advance to face the second-bottom side from the Women’s Super League in a final promotion and relegation playoff match. Twelve teams are competing in this year's division as squads begin their respective bids for promotion and efforts to avoid relegation.
- •The Women’s Super League 2 season begins Friday.
- •Watford hosts Burnley in the opening match.
- •Only the league champion gains automatic promotion.
- •A new pre-qualifying match determines the final promotion playoff contender.
- •Twelve teams are competing in the division.
- 12:00 PMThe Guardian Sport — Women’s Super League 2 predictions: can Newcastle reach promotion and will Watford stay up?
"As the 12 teams start their campaigns, we look at each side’s chances of going up and who will occupy the relegation places The Women’s Super League 2 season, which gets under way on Friday when Watford host Burnley, comes with a tweaked format and the introduction of a new fixture. After the expansion of the WSL this summer, only the WSL2 champions are guaranteed promotion and the teams finishing second and third will contest a new, pre-qualifying match to determine who will face the WSL’s second-bottom side in the end-of-season promotion/relegation playoff decider. But which of the 12 sides have the best chances of going up. and who may occupy the relegation places? Continue reading...
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