Manchester City Ladies to Compete in WSL Following League Restructure

Manchester City Ladies have been added to the top league of women’s football after the Women’s Super League (WSL) was expanded into two tiers.

The two tiers will have eight and ten teams from 2014, an increase from the previous single division of eight.

Teams can be promoted and relegated between the two divisions and the FA hopes the increase will advance the women’s game.

The FA will part-fund teams in the semi-professional WSL, awarding £70,000 to teams in WSL1 and £25,000 to those in WSL2.

The application process meant that clubs had to prove they would match the FA funding and thi will be monitored each year with teams holding provisional licenses until 2018.

The top flight will consist of Manchester City, champions Arsenal, Birmingham City, Bristol Academy, Chelsea, Everton, Notts County (formerly Lincoln Ladies) and Liverpool.

The second division will comprise of Aston Villa, Doncaster Rovers Belles, Durham, London Bees (Barnet FC), Millwall Lionesses, Oxford United, Reading, Sunderland, Watford and Yeovil Town.

“This is a tremendous accolade for the club and one we are very proud of,” said Aston Villa’s chief executive Paul Faulkner.

“At the heart of who we are as a club is the ‘one club, one family’ ethos and having Aston Villa Ladies FC competing in the Women’s Super League is a good addition to this.

“We want our fan base to be connected to the club in all its facets and the ladies team will play their part.”