VSL teams that have qualified for the Women’s Champions League from next season will not compete in the Women’s League Cup, VSL Football has confirmed.
Teams that finish in the top three of the VSL secure a place in Europe for the following campaign, and as it currently stands, then enter the League Cup at the quarter-final stage.
However, from the 2026/27 season, the three teams will not compete in the cup, with VSL Football citing calendar issues and wanting more playing time for players further down the VSL table and in VSL2.
But there may be a situation where one of the three teams that qualified for the Champions League does not compete in either Europe or the League Cup.
Only the winners of the VSL go directly to the Champions League stage, with the second- and third-placed teams playing in the qualifying rounds to secure their place.
If they are relegated before the league stage and do not enter the newly created Women’s Europa League, then they will still not be allowed to play in the League Cup.
The announcement comes a day after the semi-final matches for this season’s competition, in which Manchester United and Chelsea beat Arsenal and Manchester City.
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Highlights of the Women’s League Cup semi-final between Manchester City and Chelsea
Three of those four teams remain in the Champions League this season, with Manchester City failing to qualify after finishing fourth last term.
Chelsea are the current holders and will defend against Manchester United in the final on March 15 at Ashton Gate, with Mark Skinner’s side reaching their first League Cup final.
The League Cup will adopt the ‘Swiss model’ and other proposed changes
VSL Football has also confirmed other changes that will shake up the League Cup from next season.
It will now take over the ‘Swiss model’ of the league stage leading to the knockout rounds, similar to how the Champions League is currently played. However, due to lack of time, there will be no playoff stage.
This will give teams more games, increasing from a minimum of three or four to a guaranteed six games, which VSL Football says will “create more narrative and more consistency from a player and performance perspective.”
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Highlights of the Women’s League Cup semi-final between Arsenal and Manchester United
The league stage will remain regional – like the current League Cup group stages – to help clubs with travel time and costs.
The name of the competition will probably be changed from League Cup to. Given that it doesn’t now include every team in the league, the title would be ‘misleading’, but there’s no indication yet of what it might be called.
The prize money on offer is also yet to be decided, with VSL Football adding that it will depend on the competition’s commercial partners, who fund the winnings. Subway is the current sponsor of the League Cup.
A VSL Football spokesperson added: “It’s too early to give any indication but the interest has been great. Subway has been a fantastic partner and we’d love to continue working with them. There’s huge interest in partnering with our sport so we’re positively optimistic.”
VSL football: We questioned the clarity of purpose of the League Cup
Speaking about the plans, a spokesperson for VSL Football said: “The calendar is one of the biggest constraints on women’s football globally. There is only so much space available – on weekends – that we as a domestic league can operate with.”
“As we worked on what was a secondary competition, it was clear to us that clarity of purpose was needed.
“We’ve listened to the fans, we’ve listened to the media, we’ve listened to our clubs and we felt there was no complete purpose when our Champions League teams got into the quarter-finals.
“We spoke at length with the FSA (Football Supporters’ Association) and the supporters’ group there, as well as our clubs about what they wanted to see and what they wanted from the competition.
“We even put on the table ‘don’t we have a secondary competition’. We are one of the few who have the FA Cup and the League Cup in women’s football.
“But the challenge we have today is that top players at top clubs are getting loads of minutes and matches … there’s a real disparity and we wanted to close that gap.”
“We’ve spoken to clubs about what they use secondary competitions for and you see it being used to rotate squads, fringe players getting opportunities and injured players dropping out.
“We felt it was so important to continue with that secondary competition. Because of the calendar, the only place we can run it is in the middle of the week when European football is happening. That then puts a restriction on clubs that qualify in Europe being part of that competition.”
“We are now continuing to discuss the details with the fans and our commercial partners. This will now continue through the chain, which then ends with the FA as the national governing body to make sure we can collectively launch ahead of the new season.”