| Competition: | FA WSL |
| Season: | 2021–22 |
| Winners: | Chelsea 5th title[1] |
| Relegated: | Birmingham City |
| Continentalcup1: | Champions League |
| Continentalcup1 Qualifiers: | Chelsea Arsenal Manchester City |
| League Topscorer: | Sam Kerr (20 goals) |
| Biggest Home Win: | 1 May 2022 |
| Biggest Away Win: | 27 March 2022 |
| Highest Scoring: | 27 March 2022 30 April 2022 |
| Matches: | 132 |
| Total Goals: | 384 |
| Longest Wins: | 9 matches Chelsea Manchester City |
| Longest Unbeaten: | 13 matches Chelsea |
| Longest Winless: | 10 matches Birmingham City Reading |
| Longest Losses: | 9 matches Leicester City |
| Highest Attendance: | 20,241 Manchester United 3–1 Everton (27 March 2022) |
| Lowest Attendance: | 298 Birmingham City 0–3 Reading (7 November 2021) |
| Prevseason: | 2020–21 |
| Nextseason: | 2022–23 |
The 2021–22 FA WSL season (also known as the Barclays FA Women's Super League for sponsorship reasons) was the eleventh season of the FA Women's Super League (WSL) since it was formed in 2010.[2] It was the fourth season after the rebranding of the four highest levels in English women's football.
On 4 May 2022, Birmingham City were relegated following a 6–0 defeat away at Manchester City with one game remaining. Members of the WSL since it was founded in 2011, it ended Birmingham's twenty-year stint as a top-flight club having last been promoted as the 2001–02 FA Women's Premier League Northern Division champions.[3]
Chelsea successfully defended the title by beating Manchester United 4–2 in the final matchday, winning their third consecutive and fifth overall WSL title.[4]
Twelve teams contested the 2021–22 FA WSL season. At the end of the previous season, Bristol City were relegated after four seasons in the WSL while Leicester City were promoted for the first time.[5]
| Team | Location | Ground | Capacity | data-sort-type=number | 2020–21 season |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4,502 | 3rd | ||||
| 11,300 | 10th | ||||
| Birmingham | St Andrew's | 29,902 | 11th | ||
| 5,800 | 6th | ||||
| 4,850 | 1st | ||||
| 2,200 | 5th | ||||
| 32,212 | |||||
| 7,000 | 2nd | ||||
| 12,000 | 4th | ||||
| 24,161 | 7th | ||||
| 5,419 | 8th | ||||
| 6,078 | 9th |
Two teams changed home ground prior to the start of the season: Birmingham City relocated from Damson Park to St Andrew's, home of the team's male affiliate since 1906.[6] Leicester City prepared for their maiden WSL season by moving to their parent club's main stadium, King Power Stadium, with Burton Albion's Pirelli Stadium serving as backup when fixtures clash with Leicester's men's side.[7]
| Team | Manager | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arsenal |  | Adidas | Fly Emirates | ||
| Aston Villa | Kappa | Cazoo | |||
| Birmingham City | (interim) |  | Nike | SmartMeds | |
| Brighton & Hove Albion | Nike | American Express | |||
| Chelsea | | Nike | Three | ||
| Everton | (interim) | Hummel | MegaFon | ||
| Leicester City | Adidas | FBS | |||
| Manchester City | Puma | Etihad Airways | |||
| Manchester United | Adidas | TeamViewer | |||
| Reading | Macron | YLD | |||
| Tottenham Hotspur |  | Nike | AIA | ||
| West Ham United |  | Umbro | Betway |
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aston Villa | (interim) | End of interim period[8] | 10 May 2021 | End of season (10th) | 20 May 2021[9] | ||
| Birmingham City | Resigned[10] | 16 May 2021 | End of season (11th) | 30 June 2021[11] | |||
| Arsenal |  | Resigned[12] | 16 May 2021 | End of season (3rd) | | 28 June 2021[13] | |
| Manchester United | Resigned[14] | 16 May 2021 | End of season (4th) | 29 July 2021[15] | |||
| Everton | Sacked[16] | 16 October 2021 | 8th |  | 29 October 2021[17] | ||
| Birmingham City | Sacked[18] | 18 November 2021 | 11th | (interim) | 18 November 2021 | ||
| Birmingham City | (interim) | End of interim period[19] | 21 November 2021 | 11th | 21 November 2021 | ||
| Leicester City | Sacked[20] | 25 November 2021 | 12th | (interim) | 25 November 2021 | ||
| Leicester City | (interim) | End of interim period[21] | 6 December 2021 | 12th | 6 December 2021 | ||
| Everton | | Sacked[22] | 2 February 2022 | 10th | (interim) | 2 February 2022 |
The table lists the positions of teams after each week of matches. In order to preserve chronological progress, any postponed matches are not included in the round at which they were originally scheduled, but added to the full round they were played immediately afterwards. For example, if a match is scheduled for round 13, but then postponed and played between rounds 16 and 17, it will be added to the standings for round 16.
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals[23] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sam Kerr | Chelsea | 20 |
| 2 | Vivianne Miedema | Arsenal | 14 |
| 3 | Beth Mead | Arsenal | 11 |
| 4 | Lauren Hemp | Manchester City | 10 |
| 5 | Alessia Russo | Manchester United | 9 |
 Khadija Shaw | Manchester City | ||
| 7 | Bethany England | Chelsea | 8 |
| Leah Galton | Manchester United | ||
| Georgia Stanway | Manchester City | ||
| 10 | Ella Toone | Manchester United | 7 |
 Guro Reiten | Chelsea |
| Rank | Player | Club | Clean sheets[24] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Manuela Zinsberger | Arsenal | 13 |
| 2 | Mary Earps | Manchester United | 10 |
| 3 | Ann-Katrin Berger | Chelsea | 9 |
| 4 | Ellie Roebuck | Manchester City | 8 |
| 5 | Grace Moloney | Reading | 7 |
| Zećira Mušović | Chelsea | ||
| 7 | Megan Walsh | Brighton & Hove Albion | 6 |
| 8 | Rebecca Spencer | Tottenham Hotspur | 5 |
| 9 | Hannah Hampton | Aston Villa | 4 |
| Demi Lambourne | Leicester City | ||
| Sandy MacIver | Everton |
| Player | For | Against | Result | Date | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sam Kerr | Chelsea | Birmingham City | 5–0 (H) | 21 November 2021 | [25] | |
| Khadija Shaw (4) | Manchester City | Brighton & Hove Albion | 7–2 (H) | 30 April 2022 |
| Most yellow cards | Total | Most red cards | Total | Ref. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Maéva Clemaron (Tottenham Hotspur) Katie McCabe (Arsenal) | 7 | Hawa Cissoko (West Ham United) | 2 | [26] | |
| Club | Tottenham Hotspur | 39 | West Ham United | 2 | [27] |
| Award | Winner | Club | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barclays FA WSL Player of the Season | Sam Kerr[44] | Chelsea | |
| Barclays FA WSL Manager of the Season | Emma Hayes | Chelsea | |
| PFA Players' Player of the Year | Sam Kerr[45] | Chelsea | |
| PFA Young Player of the Year | Lauren Hemp[46] | Manchester City | |
| FWA Footballer of the Year | Sam Kerr[47] | Chelsea |
| PFA Team of the Year[48] | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goalkeeper | Ann-Katrin Berger (Chelsea) | ||||||||||||
| Defenders |  Ona Batlle (Manchester United) | Millie Bright (Chelsea) | Leah Williamson (Arsenal) | Alex Greenwood (Manchester City) | |||||||||
| Midfielders | Guro Reiten (Chelsea) | Caroline Weir (Manchester City) | Kim Little (Arsenal) | ||||||||||
| Forwards | Vivianne Miedema (Arsenal) | Sam Kerr (Chelsea) | Lauren Hemp (Manchester City) | ||||||||||