Latest news with #NikkiDoucet
Glasgow Times
6 days ago
- Business
- Glasgow Times
Former England striker Toni Duggan welcomes WSL expansion to 14 teams from 2026
A proposal put forward by Nikki Doucet, chief executive of Women's Professional Leagues Limited, was voted through at Monday's WSL Football shareholders meeting. It still requires the approval of the Football Association board but, if it gets the green light, 14 teams will compete in the women's top flight from next year and the 2025-26 WSL campaign will conclude with a relegation/promotion play-off. An update on the structure of #BarclaysWSL and #BarclaysWSL2 for the 2025-26 season 🏆 — Barclays Women's Super League (@BarclaysWSL) June 16, 2025 Duggan told talkSPORT: 'I just love what women's football has done. I was part of it when they scraped it back to eight teams. 'Don't get me wrong, it was difficult to take because a league of eight teams, you were only playing a few games a season. 'We've had to gradually build to get to this stage and I think this is the right time for it, really. 'Over in Spain, if I'm comparing the two, I think Spanish football can learn from the WSL because if I'm being honest, there's too many teams over in Spain and they need to condense it to bring the talent together.' Duggan, who played for Everton, Manchester City – with whom she won the WSL title – Barcelona and Atletico Madrid during a glittering career which also brought 79 senior international caps, announced her retirement at the age of 33 in September last year. However, she admitted her excitement at a development she believes is significant for the women's game in this country. She said: 'Obviously clubs now have to adhere to certain things. They have to have a stadium big enough, they have to be able to have television companies there, they have to have good facilities. Former England striker Toni Duggan announced her retirement last September (Martin Rickett/PA) 'I just think that's important for women's football. It's a given for the men's teams, so that's the direction the women's game has gone in and now we're in a position where we're ready to make it a 14-team league, and I think it's exciting.' If the expansion from a 12-team WSL to 14 gets FA approval, it offers three Women's Championship clubs the chance to gain promotion during the 2025-26 campaign. The top two in the Championship – which will be rebranded as Women's Super League 2 from next season – will go up automatically and the third-placed side will take on the team which finished bottom of the WSL in a play-off.
Rhyl Journal
6 days ago
- Business
- Rhyl Journal
Former England striker Toni Duggan welcomes WSL expansion to 14 teams from 2026
A proposal put forward by Nikki Doucet, chief executive of Women's Professional Leagues Limited, was voted through at Monday's WSL Football shareholders meeting. It still requires the approval of the Football Association board but, if it gets the green light, 14 teams will compete in the women's top flight from next year and the 2025-26 WSL campaign will conclude with a relegation/promotion play-off. An update on the structure of #BarclaysWSL and #BarclaysWSL2 for the 2025-26 season 🏆 — Barclays Women's Super League (@BarclaysWSL) June 16, 2025 Duggan told talkSPORT: 'I just love what women's football has done. I was part of it when they scraped it back to eight teams. 'Don't get me wrong, it was difficult to take because a league of eight teams, you were only playing a few games a season. 'We've had to gradually build to get to this stage and I think this is the right time for it, really. 'Over in Spain, if I'm comparing the two, I think Spanish football can learn from the WSL because if I'm being honest, there's too many teams over in Spain and they need to condense it to bring the talent together.' Duggan, who played for Everton, Manchester City – with whom she won the WSL title – Barcelona and Atletico Madrid during a glittering career which also brought 79 senior international caps, announced her retirement at the age of 33 in September last year. However, she admitted her excitement at a development she believes is significant for the women's game in this country. She said: 'Obviously clubs now have to adhere to certain things. They have to have a stadium big enough, they have to be able to have television companies there, they have to have good facilities. 'I just think that's important for women's football. It's a given for the men's teams, so that's the direction the women's game has gone in and now we're in a position where we're ready to make it a 14-team league, and I think it's exciting.' If the expansion from a 12-team WSL to 14 gets FA approval, it offers three Women's Championship clubs the chance to gain promotion during the 2025-26 campaign. The top two in the Championship – which will be rebranded as Women's Super League 2 from next season – will go up automatically and the third-placed side will take on the team which finished bottom of the WSL in a play-off.
eNCA
6 days ago
- Business
- eNCA
England's top women's league to expand to 14 teams
LONDON - The English Women's Super League (WSL) is set to expand to 14 teams from 12 for the start of the 2026/27 season after the proposal was voted through by clubs on Monday. The changes still require the approval of the English Football Association but are expected to pass with a promotion/relegation play-off as part of the shake up to the women's game. Currently, just one club is relegated and one promoted each season. Next season the top two from the second tier WSL2 will be automatically promoted. Additionally, third-place in the WSL2 will face the team that finishes bottom in the top tier in a play-off. From the 2026/27 campaign, the one automatic relegation and promotion place will return with a play-off between second bottom in the WSL and second top in the second tier. "Subject to the approval from the FA board, expanding the WSL to 14 teams will stimulate movement between leagues and through the pyramid which increases opportunities," said Nikki Doucet, chief executive of Women's Professional Leagues Limited. "The introduction of a promotion/relegation play-off creates distinction for the women's game and introduces a high-profile, high-stakes match." Expansion is part of a 10-year plan to raise standards across the top two tiers of English women's football, focused on improved facilities, staffing and academies. According to financial experts Deloitte, collective revenues in the WSL rose 34 percent to £65 million ($88 million) in 2023/24 and are projected to reach £100 million in the upcoming season. However, Deloitte also found that average attendances across the league dipped by 10 percent last season to 6,642 as the surge in interest generated by England's Euro 2022 success faded.
North Wales Chronicle
6 days ago
- Business
- North Wales Chronicle
Former England striker Toni Duggan welcomes WSL expansion to 14 teams from 2026
A proposal put forward by Nikki Doucet, chief executive of Women's Professional Leagues Limited, was voted through at Monday's WSL Football shareholders meeting. It still requires the approval of the Football Association board but, if it gets the green light, 14 teams will compete in the women's top flight from next year and the 2025-26 WSL campaign will conclude with a relegation/promotion play-off. An update on the structure of #BarclaysWSL and #BarclaysWSL2 for the 2025-26 season 🏆 — Barclays Women's Super League (@BarclaysWSL) June 16, 2025 Duggan told talkSPORT: 'I just love what women's football has done. I was part of it when they scraped it back to eight teams. 'Don't get me wrong, it was difficult to take because a league of eight teams, you were only playing a few games a season. 'We've had to gradually build to get to this stage and I think this is the right time for it, really. 'Over in Spain, if I'm comparing the two, I think Spanish football can learn from the WSL because if I'm being honest, there's too many teams over in Spain and they need to condense it to bring the talent together.' Duggan, who played for Everton, Manchester City – with whom she won the WSL title – Barcelona and Atletico Madrid during a glittering career which also brought 79 senior international caps, announced her retirement at the age of 33 in September last year. However, she admitted her excitement at a development she believes is significant for the women's game in this country. She said: 'Obviously clubs now have to adhere to certain things. They have to have a stadium big enough, they have to be able to have television companies there, they have to have good facilities. 'I just think that's important for women's football. It's a given for the men's teams, so that's the direction the women's game has gone in and now we're in a position where we're ready to make it a 14-team league, and I think it's exciting.' If the expansion from a 12-team WSL to 14 gets FA approval, it offers three Women's Championship clubs the chance to gain promotion during the 2025-26 campaign. The top two in the Championship – which will be rebranded as Women's Super League 2 from next season – will go up automatically and the third-placed side will take on the team which finished bottom of the WSL in a play-off.
Leader Live
6 days ago
- Business
- Leader Live
Former England striker Toni Duggan welcomes WSL expansion to 14 teams from 2026
A proposal put forward by Nikki Doucet, chief executive of Women's Professional Leagues Limited, was voted through at Monday's WSL Football shareholders meeting. It still requires the approval of the Football Association board but, if it gets the green light, 14 teams will compete in the women's top flight from next year and the 2025-26 WSL campaign will conclude with a relegation/promotion play-off. An update on the structure of #BarclaysWSL and #BarclaysWSL2 for the 2025-26 season 🏆 — Barclays Women's Super League (@BarclaysWSL) June 16, 2025 Duggan told talkSPORT: 'I just love what women's football has done. I was part of it when they scraped it back to eight teams. 'Don't get me wrong, it was difficult to take because a league of eight teams, you were only playing a few games a season. 'We've had to gradually build to get to this stage and I think this is the right time for it, really. 'Over in Spain, if I'm comparing the two, I think Spanish football can learn from the WSL because if I'm being honest, there's too many teams over in Spain and they need to condense it to bring the talent together.' Duggan, who played for Everton, Manchester City – with whom she won the WSL title – Barcelona and Atletico Madrid during a glittering career which also brought 79 senior international caps, announced her retirement at the age of 33 in September last year. However, she admitted her excitement at a development she believes is significant for the women's game in this country. She said: 'Obviously clubs now have to adhere to certain things. They have to have a stadium big enough, they have to be able to have television companies there, they have to have good facilities. 'I just think that's important for women's football. It's a given for the men's teams, so that's the direction the women's game has gone in and now we're in a position where we're ready to make it a 14-team league, and I think it's exciting.' If the expansion from a 12-team WSL to 14 gets FA approval, it offers three Women's Championship clubs the chance to gain promotion during the 2025-26 campaign. The top two in the Championship – which will be rebranded as Women's Super League 2 from next season – will go up automatically and the third-placed side will take on the team which finished bottom of the WSL in a play-off.
