Barclays FA Women's Super League fans are days away from engulfing themselves in proper English women's football as the 2020-21 season is set to start on Saturday, Sept. 5. The likes of Vivianne Miedema, Sam Kerr, Chloe Kelly and Beth England will return to your screens, while a mass of new high-profile players in Pernille Harder, Rachel Daly, Rose Lavelle, Sam Mewis and others will look to adapt and impress. Chelsea was crowned FA WSL champion in June when league officials decided to end the campaign prematurely due to the COVID-19 outbreak, which stopped the season in March.
The Blues, who defeated Manchester City for the Community Shield on Saturday, will aim to win consecutive FA WSL titles, having done some terrific business in the offseason. Chelsea reached contract extension agreements with German midfielder Guro Reiten, English defender Millie Bright, Scottish winger Erin Cuthbert and English forward Beth England, while also bringing in Canada's top youth talent Jessie Fleming and UEFA Women's Champions League finalist Pernille Harder for a reported record transfer fee of $400,000. Chelsea owner Roman Abramovic is providing the funds needed for manager Emma Hayes to rule England once again.
Unlike Chelsea, North London club rivals Arsenal remained relatively quiet during the transfer window. In early July, Arsenal acquired Swiss internationals Malin Gut and Noelle Maritz, and Australian goalkeeper Lydia Williams. However, Williams underwent ankle surgery after suffering an injury during pre-season training. Anyway, manager Joe Montemurro announced that Arsenal will not be making any more signings. He will be relieved that captain Kim Little will make her return after suffering a foot injury in January that kept her sidelined for the rest of the 2019/20 season.
As for Manchester clubs, both City and United have been loud this transfer season. Last year's FA WSL runner up Manchester City is looking to take down Chelsea after making some serious business over the break. The addition of English forward Chloe Kelley and USWNT star midfielders Sam Mewis and Rose Lavelle on loan deals might give the Citizens that extra push needed to surpass Chelsea. There have also been talks of ex-Manchester United captain Alex Greenwood and Lyon teammate Lucy Bronze joining Manchester City. On the other hand, Casey Stoney's Manchester United will aim to finish in a Women's Champions League qualification spot. To do so, they extended the contracts of forward Ella Toone, Jessica Sigsworth, Millie Turner and Kirsty Hanson. In terms of transfers, they have bolstered their squad with the arrival of Spanish full-back Ona Batlle, young German forward Ivana Fuso and English midfielder Lucy Staniforth. There is still a long way to go for Man Utd as they finished 13 points away from third place Arsenal last season. Like Man City, the Red Devils might also bring two USWNT stars in the coming days after reports of Manchester United being close to reaching deals with Christen Press and Tobin Heath.
Special mentions for Tottenham West Ham, and Everton, which have been active this summer in efforts to challenge with the top teams. Tottenham finished seventh in their first FA WSL season and have made strides forward signing players like Australia's Alanna Kennedy, Canada's Shelina Zadorsky, and extending numerous contracts. West Ham has brought Houston Dash's Rachel Daly, Australian duo Emily Van Egmond and MacKenzie Arnold, France's Hawa Cissoko and Czech player of the year Katerina Svitkova on board after finishing in eighth place last season. And Everton, who finished sixth last season, have made room for French forward Valerie Gauvin, Danish duo of forward Nicoline Sorensen and defender Rikke Sevecke, Norwegian defender Ingrid Moe Wold and Scottish winger Claire Emslie.
What is the opening schedule set to look like?
The competition will kick off on Saturday, Sept. 5, at 9:30 a.m. ET, when newly promoted Aston Villa host giants Manchester City.
Sunday will feature the remaining five matches of the matchweek. Arsenal and Reading will restart the action at 7:30 a.m. At 9:00 a.m., Brighton will host Birmingham, Bristol will take on Everton at home and Tottenham will host London rivals, West Ham, making this the game to watch at this hour.
The game to watch will be the last of the weekend when Manchester United face Chelsea at Leigh Sports Village beginning at 9:30 a.m.
The league has only revealed the first two matchweeks.The game to watch on matchweek 2 is West Ham hosting Arsenal on Saturday, Sept. 12, at 12:20 p.m.
When is the Season expected to conclude?
The FA WSL will conclude on Sunday, May 9, 2021, if everything goes as planned. Many games were canceled last season due to poor pitch conditions and the COVID-19 pandemic.
What broadcasters will be showing the games if I live in the US, Canada or the UK?
The Barclays FA WSL will be more accessible worldwide than ever before after the league sealed a deal with Atalanta Media on Wednesday. Now, NBC, DAZN Germany and DAZN Italy will screen Women's Super League matches in the United States, Germany and Italy.
Audiences in the United States will be able to enjoy a minimum of 50 matches across the NBC Sports Network, app and NBCSports.com, which will potentially reach 85 million homes.
Global sports streaming service DAZN will offer 44 fixtures in Germany and Italy, live and on-demand throughout the season.
Games in the United Kingdom will be available on BT Sport 2, BT Sport App and BTSport.com.
Select games will be available worldwide through the FA Player.
Make sure to head to our Barclays FA Women's Super League competition page for broadcast and information updates on a weekly basis.
