The Women’s League Cup will be rebranded as the Players Cup and shift to a league-style format with regional matchups for the 2026-27 season.
In November, clubs from the Women’s Super League (WSL) and WSL 2 backed changes designed to ease scheduling pressures and safeguard player welfare.
Under the new rules, clubs competing in the Women’s Champions League will not take part. As a result, holders Chelsea, WSL champions Manchester City and runners-up Arsenal will sit out this year’s competition.
The remaining 23 clubs from the top two tiers are divided into Northern and Southern sections, but results will feed into a single overall table. Matches will be played from September to December on the same midweeks as Champions League fixtures.
Each team will play six regional games—three at home and three away—with three points for a win. Drawn matches go straight to penalties: the shootout winner gets two points, the loser one.
The top eight teams advance to January’s quarter-finals, with higher-ranked sides at home. One-legged semi-finals will also be hosted by the higher seed, and the final is set for a neutral venue on the weekend of 13–14 March.
WSL chief revenue officer Zarah Al-Kudcy said the aim is to create meaningful minutes for young and squad players and to even out playing opportunities across divisions while maintaining player welfare standards.
Last season’s format featured five groups, with teams playing three or four matches; group winners were joined in the quarter-finals by clubs involved in European competition.
Fixtures will be released on Thursday, 6 August.
Northern section: – Aston Villa, Birmingham City, Burnley, Durham, Everton, Liverpool, Manchester United, Newcastle, Nottingham Forest, Sheffield United, Sunderland
Southern section: – Brighton & Hove Albion, Bristol City, Charlton Athletic, Crystal Palace, Ipswich Town, Leicester City, London City Lionesses, Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur, Watford, West Ham United, Wolves