Changes to the WSL & More - June 17, 2025

England - WSL

It has been announced that the WSL will increase to 14 teams starting in the 2026/27 season. After this season, two teams will be automatically promoted from the WSL 2 (first and second-place teams). The third-place team in the WSL 2 will face the last-placed team in the WSL in a relegation playoff.

After the 2026/27 season, it will return to one place for automatic promotion and relegation. There will also be a playoff between the 13th-placed team in the WSL and the second-placed team in the WSL 2.

Spain - Liga F News

Olaya Rodríguez is the fifth player to leave the Real Madrid women’s team since the end of the season. The 20-year-old was on loan at Deportivo Abanca last season and will join them permanently for the 2025/26 season. Mylène Chavas, Carla Camacho, Caroline Møller, and Olga Carmona are all departing, with Melanie Leupolz retiring. Las Blancas are still searching for a new head coach after Alberto Toril and the club parted ways following the expiration of his contract.

Spanish defender Laia Aleixandri will return to Barcelona after her contract at WSL side Manchester City expires. The former Barca academy player has signed a contract until 2029.

Germany - Frauen-Bundesliga

Wolfsburg is already bringing in its tenth new player - in other words, it wants to restructure the team from the ground up. Thea Bjelde joins from Vålerenga IF Oslo and signs a contract with the Wolves until 2028. The 25-year-old Norwegian international already boasts a wealth of experience and can be deployed as a versatile midfielder. 'I can hardly wait to give my all for this club,' Bjelde is quoted as saying on Instagram.

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Bayern Munich are not sitting idle either. After backup goalkeeper Anna Wellmann left the club at the end of the season, Bayern has now unveiled the perfect replacement: Anna Kling is moving back to Germany from Switzerland. Last season, the 30-year-old played for FC Basel in the Swiss Women's Super League.

France - Première Ligue News

Paris FC continues to bolster its squad, signing two more players. After adding Hawa Sangaré from Stade de Reims Féminines, they then said Real Madrid goalkeeper Mylène Chavas.

United States - NWSL

Olivia Moultrie breaks record after record. The US-American is a genuinely exceptional talent, and she is only 19 years old. She first came to people's attention when she signed her first professional contract at the age of 13. The $300,000 contract with Nike made her the youngest professional footballer ever. Since then, Moultrie has established herself more and more in the NWSL, and now she has reached another milestone: she is the youngest player ever to play 50 games in the NWSL.

We now know where the NWSL final will be played! On 22nd November 2025, the league title will be played at PayPal Park. The stadium in San Jose, California, is home to Bay FC of the NWSL and the San Jose Earthquakes of the MLS, with a capacity of approximately 18,000 people. Tickets for the 'NWSL Championship 2025' go on sale in August. For the fourth consecutive year, the game will be broadcast live in prime time on the CBS Television Network and streamed on Paramount+.

A total of eight teams will qualify for the 2025 NWSL Playoffs. This format was only introduced last season. The quarter-finals will take place over the weekend of November 7th-9th, and the semi-finals will follow on the weekend of November 14th-16th.

Since the Portland Thorns were founded, the Washington Spirit have never been able to defeat the team in Portland. The Portland Thorns are still unbeaten in front of their home crowd at Providence Park this season. However, there were no real significant changes on matchday 12 either. Kansas City Current won 4-2 against Racing Louisville and remain five points clear at the top of the table. The Chicago Stars and Utah Royals are relegated to the bottom two places in the table - somehow, they are unable to assert themselves against the other teams. The two teams have each managed only one win this season.

Around the Other Leagues

Montreal Roses record another huge win, beating third-place Ottawa Rapid 2-1, with goals from Latifah Abdu and Tanya Boychuk. It was a blow for the Rapids, who had lost to bottom club Halifax Tides, which gained its first win of the campaign. AFC Toronto moved one point behind the leaders with two wins, beating Calgary Wild and Vancouver Rise.

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UEFA 2025 Euro News

Bitter news for the Swiss national team! Ramona Bachmann has torn her cruciate ligament. The 34-year-old attacking player will miss the home European Championships, of all things. ‘I'm devastated,’ she is quoted as saying in the official statement from the Swiss Football Association. ‘This tournament was a big goal for me, and I've given my all over the last few months to be ready for it.’ In her career, she has played 153 international matches and scored 60 goals. Even though she won't be on the pitch in July, her ‘heart will always be with the team’. She will undoubtedly be watching the games, together with her family. Bachmann only became a mum for the first time in May.

The German national team also turned out differently than many fans had hoped: Frankfurt striker Nicole Anyomi will not be on the pitch at the Women's Euro in Switzerland. The 25-year-old has already been missing from the squad in the past - the last time was last October. At that time, it was due to differences between her and national coach Christian Wück. The two were able to resolve these differences, but now the striker's health is throwing a spanner in the works. “My knee has shown me limits that I ignored for too long,” she writes on Instagram. “I miss the national jersey, but now my health comes first” A significant loss for the Germans, as Anyomi was the top scorer in the last Bundesliga season with 14 goals and nine assists.

Other News

‘I would have had no problem dying.’ In the podcast ‘Wie geht's’ with Robin Gosens, former German international Lina Magull talks openly about her depression. Last summer, she struggled with severe mental problems. It all started with the preliminary round elimination at the 2023 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. There were also personal changes and a steady decline in her importance in the FC Bayern Munich team.

Then came the move to Inter Milan in Serie A. ‘I fled Munich,’ she now says. During this initial period, she had her first panic attacks and lost control of her thoughts and her body. She realised that something was wrong and then went to a private clinic for a few weeks. This time taught her an incredible amount. Now, she is feeling better again. She only wants to concentrate on club football and therefore announced her retirement from the German national team in March, after scoring 22 goals in 77 international matches.