The Football Association (FA) have today confirmed the new FA Women’s National League ( FA WNL) season will begin on Sunday 17 August and end on Sunday 26 April, with the full fixture list to be released on Tuesday 15 July.

Following the approved expansion of the Barclays Women’s Super League, next season will also see a one-off change to the promotion system in The FA WNL, which covers Tiers 3 and 4 of the pyramid.

To retain divisions of 12 teams across Tiers 2, 3, and 4 for the 2026/27 season, an extra team will be promoted from Tier 3 to the Barclays WSL2, alongside the winners of the Southern Premier Division and Northern Premier Division. A play-off match will decide this place between the two teams that finish second in the two divisions at the end of next season.

Two additional teams will also be promoted from Tier 4 to Tier 3, alongside the four division winners.

These will also be determined by play-offs, with the second-placed sides in Division One North and Division One Midlands facing each other for one place, and the two second-placed sides in Division One South West and Division One South East competing for the other spot. All three play-off finals will take place in May, while relegation remains unaffected, with the two bottom-placed sides from each division dropping down.

The 2025/26 season will also see a change to the format of The FA Women’s League Cup, with the introduction of a group stage and entry of Professional Game Academy sides, who last season competed in the Plate competition for the first time, with the aim of providing more competitive playing opportunities for younger players.

Teams will initially be drawn into 22 groups of four teams, from which the 22 group winners and 10 best runners-up will advance to the Cup knockout stages. The other 12 runners-up, and 20 best third-placed teams will advance to the Plate knockout stages. From there, both the Cup and the Plate will hold four knockout rounds before the final.

“It’s fantastic to see the FA supporting the expansion of the divisions,” said First Team Manager Karl Watson. “The introduction of a revamped cup competition and play-offs will add an extra layer of excitement and unpredictability, which is great news for the fans.”