WSL announces new name and format change for League Cup | OneFootball

WSL Football have announced changes to the League Cup for the 2026/27 season.

The competition was previously known as The Subway Women’s League Cup with a regional group stage before knock out games began with teams competing in the Champions League only entering for that phase.

After Subway renewed its sponsorship of the tournament it will now be known as The Subway Players Cup and it has undergone a change of format to a Swiss-style system but will not include any teams competing in the Champions League.

The initial League Phase of the new format will see all 23 clubs compete in a unified league table with teams playing six fixtures in a regionalised section – three home and three away.

As before, draws will go to a penalty shoot-out where the winner of that will earn an extra point.

The top eight teams from the League Phase will then face off in the quarter finals in January with first facing eight, second versus seventh, third against sixth, and finally fourth and fifth.

Semi-finals will then be played in February but before the final at a neutral venue on the weekend of March 13th-14th.

The format change is likely to provide fresh winners for the competition, which has so far only been won by three teams: Arsenal (seven times), Chelsea, and Manchester City (who have both won four times each).

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