Women's Championship (England)
The Women's Championship (formerly The FA Women's Championship) is the second-highest division of women's football in England. The division was established in 2014 as the FA Women's Super League 2 (WSL 2).
| First season | 2014 |
|---|---|
| Country | England |
| Number of teams | 12 |
| Level on pyramid | 2 |
| Promotion to | Women's Super League |
| Relegation to | National League North National League South |
| Domestic cup(s) | Women's FA Cup |
| League cup(s) | FA Women's League Cup |
| Current champions | Bristol City (1st title) (2022–23) |
| Most championships | Aston Villa, Sunderland, Reading, Yeovil Town, Doncaster Rovers Belles, Manchester United, Leicester City, Liverpool, Bristol City (1 title each) |
| Website | womenscompetitions.thefa.com |
| Current: 2023–24 Women's Championship | |
WSL 2 replaced the previous level 2 division, the FA Women's Premier League (WPL) National Division, which ended after the 2012–13 season. The WPL's last national division champions, Sunderland A.F.C. Women, were not promoted and also became the first winners of WSL 2 in the 2014 season. In addition to Sunderland, other WPL clubs that joined WSL 2 in 2014 were Watford and Aston Villa.
From 2014 to 2016, WSL 2 ran a summer-based season calendar before reverting to the winter season in 2017–18, the same as WSL 1.
FA WSL 2 was renamed the FA Women's Championship prior to the 2018–19 season. Ahead of the 2022–23 season the top two tiers unveiled a new visual identity, dropping "The FA" from the league names as part of the long term strategy for the leagues to be under new ownership in the future. Having sponsored the first tier since the 2019–20 season, it marked the first season of Barclays as the title partner of the Women's Championship.