FA Women's League Cup


The FA Women's League Cup is a league cup competition in English women's association football. The competition was originally open to the eight teams in the FA WSL, but since the WSL's restructuring to two divisions, it has featured 22 teams. Prior to this it was known as the FA WSL Cup.
The sponsor Continental AG was announced on 19 August 2011, meaning the competition is referred to as the FA Women's Continental League Cup for sponsorship reasons.
Nine editions have been played with Arsenal winning five finals.

History

The first edition was played after the inaugural FA WSL season. Arsenal, having already won the WSL and the FA Women's Cup, completed the national treble after a 4–1 win over Birmingham City.
The 2012 cup saw a change of format. The straight knock-out was abolished and group-stage with two groups was created. The top two of each group advance to the semi-finals.
2014 saw 18 teams enter, with the new WSL 2 teams joining the WSL teams. There are three groups of six teams. In 2015 for the first time a quarter-final stage was played.
For 2016 the cup changed to a true knock-out format and abolished the group stage. A move which was made in agreement with the clubs to increase excitement and competitiveness. With 19 teams, the bottom six teams play a preliminary round. The round of 16 following that is seeded, so that WSL 1 teams meet WSL 2 teams, who have home advantage.
In 2017–18 again a group stage was added.
In 2018–19, as part of the restructuring of women's football, 22 teams entered. The competition was split up into 11 North and South, with each region having one group of six and one group of five. Each team would play one match against each other, with the top two in each group advancing to a quarter-final.
The format was similar in 2019-20, with an extra team in the South. The groups are A B C D making 23 teams.

List of finals

Only Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester City have won the FA Women's League Cup. Birmingham City have lost the most finals, finishing runners-up three times.
SeasonWinnerScoreRunner–upVenueAttendance
Arsenal4–1Birmingham CityPirelli Stadium, Burton upon Trent2,167
Arsenal1–0Birmingham CityUnderhill Stadium, London2,535
Arsenal2–0LincolnThe Hive, London3,421
Manchester City1–0ArsenalAdams Park, High Wycombe3,697
Arsenal3–0Notts CountyNew York Stadium, Rotherham5,028
Manchester City1–0 Birmingham CityAcademy Stadium, Manchester4,214
Arsenal1–0Manchester CityAdams Park, High Wycombe2,136
Manchester City0–0 ArsenalBramall Lane, Sheffield2,424
Chelsea2–1ArsenalCity Ground, Nottingham6,743

Results by team

Teams shown in italics are no longer in existence.
ClubWinsFirst final wonLast final wonRunners-upLast final lostTotal final
appearances
Arsenal520112018320208
Manchester City320142019120184
Chelsea1202020200—1
Birmingham City0——320163
Notts County0——120151
Lincoln0——120131