Wednesday 27 September 2017 18:37, UK
The top tier of women’s football could feature 14 full-time teams from the 2018/19 season in a restructure announced by the Football Association on Wednesday.
The current FA Women's Super League (WSL) was set up in 2011 and a second tier, FAWSL (2), was added in 2014 - there are 10 teams in each but several are still part-time.
Following a review of the structure, the FA now wants to make a clear distinction between full-time and part-time teams in order to raise standards and boost the popularity of women's football.
Below the new top flight will be a national league of up to 12 semi-professional sides, with the current FA Women's Premier League sitting beneath that in tiers three and four as regional competitions featuring promotion and relegation.
In a statement, the FA's head of women's leagues and competitions Katie Brazier said: "Providing an elite performance environment will produce more and better players, increase the interest and excitement via more competitive leagues, attract a greater number of fans and, in turn, deliver improved commercial viability for clubs and the leagues.
"The decision was made following a full review of women's and girls' football competitions and extensive and valuable dialogue with the clubs, who have been really supportive of the changes being introduced."
The deadline for the 20 existing WSL clubs to apply for a place in the two new leagues is November 10 and their applications will be reviewed by the FA Women's Football Board in December.
