| FA Women's Championship 2020–21 | ||
| ||
| Season information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Winners | Leicester City | |
| Relegated | London Bees | |
| Season statistics | ||
| Matches played | 116 | |
| Goals scored | 295 | |
| Top goalscorer | 19 goals Katie Wilkinson (Sheffield United) | |
| Biggest home win | Durham 7–1 Coventry United (2 May 2021) | |
| Biggest away win | Coventry United 1–9 Leicester City (15 November 2020) | |
| Highest scoring | Coventry United 1–9 Leicester City (15 November 2020) | |
← 2019–20
|
2021–22 →
| |
The 2020–21 FA Women's Championship was the third season of the rebranded FA Women's Championship, the second tier of women's football in England. It was renamed from the FA WSL 2 which was founded in 2014. The season began on 5 September 2020.
On 4 April 2021, Leicester City clinched the league title with a 2–0 win over London City Lionesses, their twelfth consecutive league victory dating back to 4–1 defeat at the hands of the same opposition on 1 November 2020. The result earned Leicester their first ever promotion to the top-flight FA WSL.
On the same day, London Bees' defeat away at Charlton Athletic coupled with a win for Coventry United against Blackburn Rovers sealed London Bees' relegation to the National League. It marked the first time since the 2012–13 FA Women's Premier League a club had been relegated from the second-tier on sporting merit. However, a licensing application process implemented by The FA in order to aid stability and growth within the pyramid following a second consecutive National League season unable to be completed may offer London Bees a chance to reapply for their place.
Teams[]
Twelve teams were originally scheduled to compete in the Championship for the 2020–21 season, an increase of one team from the previous season. This was a planned progression of the restructuring of the English women's game, a move prompted to provide for a fully professional Women's Super League (WSL) starting with the 2018–19 season. Membership of both the first and second tier is subject to a license, based on a series of off-the-field criteria.
However, while the movement between the WSL and Championship was honoured with Aston Villa earning promotion and Liverpool taking their place, there was no relegation or promotion between the Championship and National League after the seasons from tier three and below were null and voided and results had been expunged. One team was scheduled to be relegated and replaced by the winners of both the National League North and South divisions. The season will therefore be contested by eleven teams.
| Team | Location | Ground | Capacity | 2019–20 season |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blackburn Rovers | Bamber Bridge | Irongate | 3,000 | 7th |
| Charlton Athletic | Bexley | The Oakwood | 1,180 | 11th |
| Coventry United | Coventry | Butts Park Arena | 4,000 | 10th |
| Crystal Palace | Bromley | Hayes Lane | 5,000 | 9th |
| Durham | Durham | New Ferens Park | 3,000 | 3rd |
| Leicester City | Quorn | Farley Way Stadium | 1,400 | 6th |
| Lewes | Lewes | The Dripping Pan | 3,000 | 8th |
| Liverpool | Birkenhead | Prenton Park | 16,587 | WSL, 12th |
| London Bees | Canons Park | The Hive Stadium | 5,176 | 5th |
| London City Lionesses | Dartford | Princes Park | 4,100 | 4th |
| Sheffield United | Chesterfield | Proact Stadium | 10,504 | 2nd |
Managerial changes[]
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| London City Lionesses |  John Bayer
|
End of interim period | 27 May 2020 | End of season (4th) |  Lisa Fallon
|
27 May 2020 |
| Sheffield United | Carla Ward
|
Mutual separation | 7 July 2020 | End of season (2nd) | Neil Redfearn
|
28 August 2020 |
| London City Lionesses | Lisa Fallon
|
Personal reasons | 9 October 2020 | 10th |  Melissa Phillips
|
9 October 2020 |
| Liverpool | Vicky Jepson
|
Mutual consent | 12 January 2021 | 3rd | Amber Whiteley (interim)
|
12 January 2021 |
| London Bees | Lee Burch
|
Sacked | 10 February 2021 | 9th | Sian Osmond (interim)
|
12 February 2021 |
| Charlton Athletic | Riteesh Mishra
|
Retained coaching role | 16 March 2021 | 9th | Karen Hills
|
16 March 2021 |
League table[]
| Pos |
Team | Pld |
W |
D |
L |
GF |
GA |
GD |
Pts |
Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leicester City | 20 | 16 | 2 | 2 | 54 | 16 | +38 | 50 | Promotion to the WSL |
| 2 | Durham | 20 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 34 | 15 | +19 | 42 | |
| 3 | Liverpool | 20 | 11 | 6 | 3 | 37 | 15 | +22 | 39 | |
| 4 | Sheffield United | 20 | 11 | 5 | 4 | 37 | 15 | +22 | 38 | |
| 5 | Lewes | 20 | 8 | 4 | 8 | 19 | 22 | −3 | 28 | |
| 6 | London Bees | 20 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 19 | 19 | 0 | 24 | |
| 7 | Crystal Palace | 20 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 27 | 36 | −9 | 20 | |
| 8 | Charlton Athletic | 20 | 4 | 7 | 9 | 19 | 29 | −10 | 19 | |
| 9 | Blackburn Rovers | 20 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 20 | 31 | −11 | 18 | |
| 10 | Coventry United | 20 | 5 | 1 | 14 | 21 | 51 | −30 | 16 | |
| 11 | London City Lionesses | 20 | 3 | 2 | 15 | 14 | 52 | −38 | 11 | Relegation to the National League |
Source: FA WSL
Rules for classification: 1st points; 2nd goal difference; 3rd number of goals scored.
(C) = Champion; (R) = Relegated; (P) = Promoted; (O) = Play-off winner; (A) = Advances to a further round; (Q) = Qualified to the phase of tournament
Top goalscorers[]
- As of 2 May 2021
| Rank | Player | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Katie Wilkinson
|
Sheffield United | 19 |
| 2 | Natasha Flint
|
Leicester City | 17 |
| 3 | Beth Hepple
|
Durham | 10 |
| 4 | Bianca Baptiste
|
Crystal Palace | 8 |
| 5 | Lachante Paul
|
Leicester City | 7 |
| 6 | Jess King
|
Charlton Athletic | 6 |
| Emily Roberts
|
Durham | ||
| 8 | 12 players | 5 | |
See also[]
- 2020–21 FA Women's League Cup
- 2020–21 FA WSL (tier 1)
- 2020–21 FA Women's National League (tier 3 & 4)
External links[]
| FA Women's Championship seasons |
|
2018–19 · 2019–20 · 2020–21 · 2021–22 · 2022–23 · 2023–24 · 2024–25 · |
| 2020–21 in English women's football
|
| League competitions |
|
Super League · Championship · FA Women's National League Premier Division (North, South) · FA Women's National League Division One (North, Midlands, South East, South West) |
| Cup competitions |
|
FA Cup (Final) · Community Shield · League Cup (Final) · National League Cup · National League Plate · UEFA Champions League |
| National teams |
|
Senior · U23 · U21 (defunct) · U20 (defunct) · U19 · U17 · U15 |
| 2020–21 in European football (UEFA) |
| Domestic leagues |
|
Albania · Belgium · Croatia · Cyprus · Czech Republic · Denmark · England · Faroe Islands '20 '21 · Finland '20 '21 · France · Germany · Gibraltar · Iceland '20 '21 · Italy · Lithuania '20 '21 · Moldova · Netherlands · Northern Ireland '20 '21 · Norway '20 '21 · Poland · Portugal · Republic of Ireland '20 '21 · Romania · Russia '20 '21 · Scotland '20 '20–21 · Slovakia · Spain · Sweden '20 '21 · Turkey · Ukraine · Wales |
| Domestic cups |
|
Croatia · England · Germany · Iceland '20 '21 · Moldova · Norway '20 '21 · Portugal · Spain · Sweden · Wales |
| League cups |
|
England · Portugal · Scotland |
| UEFA competitions |
|
Women's Champions League (qualifying rounds, knockout phase, Final) |
| International competitions |
|
UEFA Women's Euro 2022 (qualification) 2021 Women's Euro Under-19 (qualification) 2021 Women's Euro Under-17 (qualification) |
|
2019–20 2021–22 |
| England
|
