2023–24 Women's Super League Explained

Competition:	Women's Super League
Season:	2023–24
Dates:	1 October 2023 – 18 May 2024
Winners:	Chelsea 7th title
Relegated:	Bristol City
Continentalcup1:	Champions League
Continentalcup1 Qualifiers:	Arsenal Chelsea Manchester City
Matches:	132
Total Goals:	437
League Topscorer:	Khadija Shaw (21 goals)
Biggest Home Win:	5 May 2024
Biggest Away Win:	4 November 2023 18 May 2024
Highest Scoring:	3 March 2024
Longest Wins:	14 games Manchester City
Longest Unbeaten:	14 games Manchester City
Longest Winless:	17 games Bristol City
Longest Losses:	9 games Bristol City
Highest Attendance:	60,160 Arsenal 3–1 Manchester United 17 February 2024
Attendance:	971,977
Average Attendance:	7,363
Prevseason:	2022–23
Nextseason:	2024–25

The 2023–24 Women's Super League season (also known as the Barclays Women's Super League for sponsorship reasons) was the 13th season of the Women's Super League (WSL) since it was formed in 2010. It is the fifth season after the rebranding of the four highest levels in English women's football.^[1]

Teams

Twelve teams contested the 2023–24 Women's Super League season. Bristol City were confirmed as 2022–23 Women's Championship champions on 3 April 2022, ensuring that they would return to the WSL for the first time since the 2020–21 season after a two-year absence.^[2] They replaced Reading, who were relegated after defeat on the final day to eventual WSL title winners Chelsea, ending a seven-season spell in the WSL dating back to 2016.^[3]

Team	Location	Ground	Capacity	data-sort-type=number	2022–23 season
		Meadow Park^[4]	4,500	3rd
		Bescot Stadium^[5]	11,300	5th
		Broadfield Stadium^[6]	5,800	11th
	Bristol	Ashton Gate	27,000
		Kingsmeadow^[7]	4,850	1st
		Walton Hall Park^[8]	2,200	6th
		King Power Stadium^[9]	32,212	10th
		Prenton Park^[10]	16,547	7th
		Academy Stadium^[11]	7,000	4th
		Leigh Sports Village^[12]	12,000	2nd
		Brisbane Road^[13]	9,271	9th
			6,078	8th

Stadium changes

Ahead of the season, newly-promoted Bristol City confirmed the women's team's primary home ground would be the club's main stadium, Aston Gate. They moved from the Robins High Performance Centre in Failand after one season.^[14]

In addition, nine of the 10 clubs whose women's team played at secondary stadia moved select matches to the club's primary ground throughout the season. West Ham United were the only team not to do this. Leicester City moved one match, against Aston Villa on 19 January 2024, to their backup venue of Pirelli Stadium in Burton upon Trent, due to maintenance at the King Power.^[15]

Personnel and kits

Team	Manager	Captain	Kit manufacturer	Shirt sponsor	Shirt sponsor (sleeve)	Shirt sponsor (back)	Shorts sponsor
Arsenal			Adidas	Fly Emirates	Visit Rwanda	None	None
Aston Villa			Castore	Cazoo	Trade Nation	None	None
Brighton & Hove Albion	(interim)	^[16]	Nike	American Express	Snickers UK	None	None
Bristol City		^[17]	O'Neills	Hubbo	UWE Bristol	Thatchers Cider	Digital NRG
Chelsea			Nike	Infinite Athlete	BingX	None	Singer Capital Markets
Everton		^[18]	Hummel	Stake.com	KICK	Christopher Ward	None
Leicester City	(interim)		Adidas	King Power	Bia Saigon	Sekonda	None
Liverpool			Nike	Standard Chartered	Expedia	None	None
Manchester City			Puma	Etihad Airways	OKX	Nissan	Joie
Manchester United			Adidas	TeamViewer	DXC Technology	None	None
Tottenham Hotspur		^[19]	Nike	AIA	Cinch	Tumi	None
West Ham United		^[20]	Umbro	Betway	JD Sports	ZO Skin Health	Maldon Accident Repair Centre

Managerial changes

Team	Outgoing manager	Manner of departure	Date of vacancy	Position in table	Incoming manager	Date of appointment
West Ham United		Mutual consent	28 May 2023^[21]	End of season (8th)	Rehanne Skinner	20 July 2023^[22]
Tottenham Hotspur		End of interim period	30 June 2023^[23]	End of season (9th)		7 July 2023^[24]
Brighton & Hove Albion		Sacked	1 February 2024^[25]	10th	(interim)	1 February 2024
Leicester City		Sacked	8 March 2024	7th	(interim)	8 March 2024

League table

Season statistics

Top scorers

Rank	Player	Club	Goals^[26]
1	Khadija Shaw	Manchester City	21
2	Lauren James	Chelsea	13
	Elisabeth Terland	Brighton & Hove Albion
4	Alessia Russo	Arsenal	12
5	Aggie Beever-Jones	Chelsea	11
	Lauren Hemp	Manchester City
7	Amalie Thestrup	Bristol City	9
8	Rachel Daly	Aston Villa	8
	Beth Mead	Arsenal
	Sjoeke Nüsken	Chelsea
	Nikita Parris	Manchester United

Clean sheets

Rank	Player	Club	Clean sheets^[27]
1	Khiara Keating	Manchester City	9
2	Mary Earps	Manchester United	7
3	Hannah Hampton	Chelsea	6
4	Courtney Brosnan	Everton	5
	Rachael Laws	Liverpool
	Manuela Zinsberger	Arsenal
7	Zećira Mušović	Chelsea	4
8	Teagan Micah	Liverpool	3
9	Mackenzie Arnold	West Ham United	2
	Sophie Baggaley	Brighton & Hove Albion
	Ann-Katrin Berger	Chelsea
	Sabrina D'Angelo	Arsenal
	Daphne van Domselaar	Aston Villa
	Anna Leat	Aston Villa
	Rebecca Spencer	Tottenham Hotspur

Hat-tricks

See main article: List of Women's Super League hat-tricks.

Player	For	Against	Result	Date	Ref.
Martha Thomas	Tottenham Hotspur	Aston Villa	4–2 (A)	21 October 2023	^[28]
Sjoeke Nüsken	Chelsea	Brighton & Hove Albion	4–2 (H)	22 October 2023	^[29]
Lauren James	Chelsea	Liverpool	5–1 (H)	18 November 2023	^[30]
Khadija Shaw	Manchester City	Tottenham Hotspur	7–0 (H)	26 November 2023	^[31]
		Everton	4–1 (A)	17 December 2023	^[32]
Lauren James	Chelsea	Manchester United	3–1 (H)	21 January 2024	^[33]
Khadija Shaw	Manchester City	Liverpool	5–1 (H)		^[34]
Guro Reiten^4	Chelsea	Bristol City	8–0 (H)	5 May 2024	^[35]
Leanne Kiernan	Liverpool	Leicester City	4–0 (A)	18 May 2024	^[36]

Notes⁴ Player scored 4 goals

Discipline

-		Most yellow cards	Total	Most red cards	Total	Ref.
Player	Hawa Cissoko (West Ham United) Katie McCabe (Arsenal)	8	12 players	1	^[37]
Club	Liverpool	41	Manchester City	4

Awards

Monthly awards

Month	Manager of the Month		Player of the Month		Goal of the Month		Ref.
	Manager	Club	Player	Club	Player	Club
October	Willie Kirk	Leicester City	Martha Thomas	Tottenham Hotspur	Cloé Lacasse (vs. Manchester United)	Arsenal	^[38] ^[39] ^[40]
November	Jonas Eidevall	Arsenal	Lauren James	Chelsea	Rachel Daly (vs. West Ham United)	Aston Villa	^[41] ^[42] ^[43]
December	Matt Beard	Liverpool	Khadija Shaw	Manchester City	Danielle Turner (vs. Manchester City)		^[44] ^[45] ^[46]
January	Emma Hayes	Chelsea	Lauren James	Chelsea	Vivianne Miedema (vs. Liverpool)	Arsenal	^[47] ^[48] ^[49]
February	Gareth Taylor	Manchester City	Khiara Keating	Manchester City	Aurora Galli (vs. West Ham United)	Everton	^[50] ^[51] ^[52]
March			Jess Park		Khadija Shaw (vs. Liverpool)	Manchester City	^[53]
April	Brian Sørensen	Everton	Alessia Russo	Arsenal	Ella Toone (vs. Leicester City)	Manchester United	^[54] ^[55] ^[56]

Annual awards

Award	Winner	Club
Barclays WSL Player of the Season^[57]	Khadija Shaw	Manchester City
Barclays WSL Manager of the Season^[58]	Matt Beard	Liverpool
Barclays WSL Goal of the Season^[59]	Danielle Turner (vs. Manchester City)	Aston Villa
PFA Players' Player of the Year^[60]	Khadija Shaw	Manchester City
PFA Young Player of the Year^[61]	Grace Clinton	Tottenham Hotspur
FWA Footballer of the Year^[62]	Khadija Shaw	Manchester City

PFA Team of the Year^[63]
Goalkeeper	Khiara Keating (Manchester City)
Defenders	Laia Aleixandri (Manchester City)			Lotte Wubben-Moy (Arsenal)			Alex Greenwood (Manchester City)			Niamh Charles (Chelsea)
Midfielders	Grace Clinton (Tottenham Hotspur)				Erin Cuthbert (Chelsea)				Yui Hasegawa (Manchester City)
Forwards	Lauren James (Chelsea)				Khadija Shaw (Manchester City)				Lauren Hemp (Manchester City)

External links

• Official website

Notes and References

1. Web site: Key dates confirmed for 2023/24 WSL campaign . 2023-05-27 . www.chelseafc.com . en-gb.
2. Web site: Bristol City Women 4–0 Charlton Athletic Women . . 3 April 2022 . 27 May 2023.
3. Web site: Reading Women 0–3 Chelsea Women . BBC Sport.
4. Six matches moved to Emirates Stadium.
5. Three matches moved to Villa Park.
6. Two matches moved to Falmer Stadium.
7. Four matches moved to Stamford Bridge.
8. Match v Liverpool moved to Goodison Park.
9. Match v Aston Villa moved to Pirelli Stadium.
10. Match v Everton moved to Anfield.
11. Match v Manchester United moved to City of Manchester Stadium.
12. Two matches moved to Old Trafford.
13. Two matches moved to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
14. Web site: Bristol City Women confirm move to Ashton Gate after WSL promotion . The New York Times . 24 April 2023.
15. Web site: Leicester City Women Back This Weekend . foxestrust.co.uk.
16. Web site: Losada named club captain . www.brightonandhovealbion.com . 23 September 2023.
17. Web site: Dougherty . Noah . Connolly named City captain . Bristol City FC . 19 September 2023.
18. Web site: Hughes . David . Finnigan On Everton Captaincy Pride . Everton F.C. . 27 September 2023.
19. Web site: George-Miller . Dustin . Spurs Women update – New striker, new captain, kit numbers . Cartilage Free Captain . 19 September 2023.
20. Web site: Mackenzie Arnold appointed West Ham United women's team captain . West Ham United. 29 September 2023.
21. Web site: Garry . Tom . West Ham Women part ways with Paul Konchesky after disappointing WSL campaign . The Telegraph . 28 May 2023.
22. Web site: Rehanne Skinner appointed West Ham United women's first-team manager . West Ham United F.C. . 20 July 2023.
23. Web site: Rehanne Skinner departs . Tottenham Hotspur F.C. . 13 March 2023 . 20 July 2023.
24. Web site: Club announcement – Appointment of Robert Vilahamn as Women's Head Coach . Tottenham Hotspur F.C. . 7 July 2023 . 7 July 2023.
25. Web site: Phillips leaves head coach role . Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. . 1 February 2024 . 1 February 2024.
26. Web site: Women's Super League top scorers . BBC Sport. 1 October 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240518172800/https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/womens-super-league/top-scorers . 18 May 2024.
27. Web site: Women's Super League Goalkeeper Stats . FBref.com. 1 October 2023.
28. Web site: Miller . Ben . Aston Villa 2–4 Tottenham Hotspur: Spurs go top of Women's Super League thanks to Thomas hat-trick . BBC Sport . 21 October 2023 . 21 October 2023.
29. Web site: Miller . Ben . Chelsea 4-2 Brighton & Hove Albion: Blues come from behind to move level with WSL leaders . BBC Sport . 25 October 2023 . 22 October 2023.
30. Web site: Emons . Michael . Chelsea Women 5-1 Liverpool Women: Lauren James' first WSL hat-trick helps take Blues six points clear . BBC Sport . 18 November 2023 . 18 November 2023.
31. Web site: Smith . Emma . Manchester City 7-0 Tottenham Hotspur: Khadija Shaw scores hat-trick in big win . BBC Sport . 26 November 2023 . 26 November 2023.
32. Web site: Poole . Harry . Everton Women 1-4 Manchester City Women: Khadija Shaw scores hat-trick for title hopefuls . BBC Sport . 17 December 2023 . 17 December 2023.
33. Web site: Millington . Adam . Chelsea 3-1 Manchester United: James hat-trick sends Chelsea three points clear . BBC Sport . 21 January 2024 . 21 January 2024.
34. Web site: Thomas . Marissa . Manchester City 5-1 Liverpool: Khadija Shaw scores three as dominant City beat Reds . BBC Sport . 21 January 2024 . 21 January 2024.
35. Web site: Drury . Sam . Chelsea 8-0 Bristol City: Chelsea put eight past Robins to boost title hopes . BBC Sport . 5 May 2024 . 5 May 2024.
36. Web site: Leicester City 0-4 Liverpool: Kiernan hat-trick helps Liverpool thrash Leicester . BBC Sport . 18 May 2024 . 18 May 2024.
37. Web site: Women's Super League Stats. 1 October 2023. FBref.com.
38. Web site: Kirk Voted Barclays WSL Manager Of The Month . Leicester City F.C. . 9 November 2023 . 9 November 2023.
39. Web site: Martha named WSL Player of the Month! . Tottenham Hotspur F.C. . 7 December 2023 . 2 November 2023.
40. Web site: Holbrook . Emma . Lacasse wins WSL Goal of the Month for October! . Arsenal F.C. . 9 November 2023 . 9 November 2023.
41. Web site: Rogers . Jonathon . Eidevall wins November's WSL Manager of the Month . Arsenal F.C. . 7 December 2023 . 7 December 2023.
42. Web site: Lauren James wins November's WSL Player of the Month award . Chelsea F.C. . 7 December 2023 . 7 December 2023.
43. Web site: Daly strike voted WSL Goal of the Month . Aston Villa F.C. . 8 December 2023 . 8 December 2023.
44. Web site: Price . Glenn . Matt Beard wins WSL Manager of the Month award for December . Liverpool F.C. . 11 January 2024 . 11 January 2024.
45. Web site: Cox . Sam . Shaw named December Player of the Month . Manchester City F.C. . 11 January 2024 . 11 January 2024.
46. Web site: Turner wins Barclays WSL Goal of the Month . Aston Villa F.C. . 11 January 2024 . 11 January 2024.
47. Web site: Emma Hayes named WSL Manager of the Month for January . Chelsea F.C. . 8 February 2024 . 8 February 2024.
48. Web site: Lauren James scoops WSL Player of the Month award . Chelsea F.C. . 8 February 2024 . 8 February 2024.
49. Web site: Holbrook . Emma . Miedema wins WSL Goal of the Month for January . Arsenal F.C. . 8 February 2024 . 8 February 2024.
50. Web site: Cox . Sam . Taylor named February Manager of the Month . Manchester City F.C. . 29 February 2024 . 29 February 2024.
51. Web site: Cox . Sam . Keating named February Player of the Month . Manchester City F.C. . 29 February 2024 . 29 February 2024.
52. Web site: Aurora Galli's spectacular strike wins February's WSL Goal of the Month . Sky Sports . 29 February 2024 . 29 February 2024.
53. Web site: Kelsey . George . City's clean sweep of WSL awards . Manchester City F.C. . 11 April 2024 . 11 April 2024.
54. Web site: Sørensen scoops Manager of the Month award . Everton F.C. . 9 May 2024 . 9 May 2024.
55. Web site: Wright . Stephen . Russo wins WSL Player of the Month for April . Arsenal F.C. . 9 May 2024 . 9 May 2024.
56. Web site: Nelson . Joe . Toone scoops WSL Goal of the Month award . Manchester United F.C. . 9 May 2024 . 9 May 2024.
57. Web site: Kelsey . George . Shaw claims WSL Player of the Season award . Manchester City F.C. . 17 May 2024.
58. Web site: Price . Glenn . Matt Beard named WSL Manager of the Season at LMA Awards . Liverpool F.C. . 21 May 2024.
59. Web site: Turner wins Barclays WSL Goal of the Season! . Aston Villa F.C. . 29 May 2024 . 29 May 2024.
60. Web site: Khadija Shaw Wins PFA Women’s Player of The Year . Professional Fooballers' Association . 20 August 2024 . 20 August 2024.
61. Web site: Grace Clinton Wins PFA Young Player of The Year . Professional Fooballers' Association . 20 August 2024 . 20 August 2024.
62. Web site: Foden and Shaw win Football Writers' Association awards. BBC Sport. 3 May 2024. 18 May 2024.
63. Web site: PFA WSL Team of the Year . Professional Fooballers' Association . 20 August 2024 . 20 August 2024.