FA Women's National League
Season2021–22
ChampionsSouthampton F.C.
PromotedSouthampton F.C.

The 2021–22 FA Women's National League was the 30th season of the competition, and the fourth since a restructure and rebranding of the top four tiers of English football by The Football Association. Starting in 1991, it was previously known as the FA Women's Premier League. It sits at the third and fourth levels of the women's football pyramid, below the FA Women's Championship and above the eight regional football leagues.[1]

The league featured six regional divisions: the Northern and Southern Premier divisions at level three of the pyramid, and Division One North, Division One Midlands, Division One South East, and Division One South West at the fourth level. The league consisted of 76 teams, divided into six divisions of 13 teams apart from the Southern Premier Division which contains 14 teams, Division One North which contains 12 teams, and Division One South West which contains 11 teams. At the end of the season the winners of the Northern and Southern Premier divisions qualified for a play-off match to decide the overall National League champion. Southampton F.C. beat Wolverhampton Wanderers in the final and were promoted to the FA Women's Championship.[2]

Premier Division

Northern Division

Changes from last season:

  • Following the second consecutive curtailment of the season amid the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2021, it was decided that upward club movement within the women's football pyramid would be done via application. All clubs from tiers 3 to 6 were eligible to apply to move into the league immediately one tier above where they currently played with applications marked against a criterion weighted 75% on-field and 25% off-field.[3]
  • Sunderland were promoted to FA Women's Championship via application.[4]
  • Brighouse Town were promoted from Division One North via application.[5]
  • Wolverhampton Wanderers were promoted from Division One Midlands via application.[6]
  • Loughborough Foxes merged with Loughborough University's performance team to become Loughborough Lightning.[7]

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Wolverhampton Wanderers (C) 24 18 5 1 61 16 +45 59 Championship play-off
2 Derby County 24 16 3 5 48 19 +29 51
3 Fylde 24 14 5 5 47 28 +19 47
4 Burnley 24 14 4 6 70 27 +43 46
5 Nottingham Forest 24 13 5 6 40 17 +23 44
6 Huddersfield Town 24 13 4 7 54 28 +26 43
7 Brighouse Town 24 11 7 6 51 31 +20 40
8 West Bromwich Albion 24 7 7 10 29 44 −15 28
9 Stoke City 24 8 1 15 36 54 −18 25
10 Loughborough Lightning 24 6 5 13 35 63 −28 23
11 Middlesbrough (R) 24 5 3 16 27 67 −40 18 Relegation to FA WNL Division One
12 Hull City (R) 24 2 3 19 18 72 −54 9
13 Sheffield F.C. (R) 24 2 2 20 13 63 −50 8
Source: The Football Association
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated

Results

Home \ Away BHT BUR DER FYL HUD HUL LOU MID NOT SHE STO WBA WOL
Brighouse Town — 3–1 2–3 0–1 1–0 5–0 2–1 4–1 0–1 1–0 2–3 1–1 1–1
Burnley 0–1 — 1–0 2–2 4–0 7–0 3–0 6–1 1–4 6–1 3–1 3–4 3–0
Derby County 1–3 2–1 — 0–0 3–0 3–1 1–1 4–0 1–0 4–0 5–0 0–0 0–1
Fylde 5–2 2–0 0–2 — 1–5 3–0 2–0 6–1 2–1 4–1 2–1 4–0 1–1
Huddersfield Town 1–1 0–0 1–3 3–0 — 1–2 2–2 2–0 2–1 2–0 5–1 3–0 2–3
Hull City 1–5 0–3 1–2 0–1 0–5 — 1–3 0–0 0–6 4–0 1–4 0–0 0–5
Loughborough Lightning 5–4 2–6 0–3 4–1 1–5 2–2 — 1–2 1–1 3–0 1–5 2–1 0–3
Middlesbrough 0–5 1–3 0–2 0–3 1–3 2–1 1–3 — 0–7 2–1 1–2 4–1 0–4
Nottingham Forest 0–0 1–1 0–2 1–0 0–0 1–0 4–0 3–2 — 3–1 2–1 1–0 0–3
Sheffield F.C. 0–3 0–4 0–2 0–2 0–6 4–0 1–1 1–1 0–2 — 1–0 0–2 0–5
Stoke City 1–1 0–2 2–3 2–3 1–2 3–0 4–2 2–6 0–1 2–1 — 2–0 0–4
West Bromwich Albion 2–2 0–8 2–0 2–2 1–3 4–2 5–0 1–1 0–0 2–1 1–0 — 0–3
Wolverhampton Wanderers 2–2 2–2 3–2 0–0 2–1 3–2 4–0 2–0 1–0 2–0 5–0 2–0 —
Source: The Football Association
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Southern Division

Changes from last season:

  • Following the second consecutive curtailment of the season amid the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2021, it was decided that upward club movement within the women's football pyramid would be done via application. All clubs from tiers 3 to 6 were eligible to apply to move into the league immediately one tier above where they currently played with applications marked against a criterion weighted 75% on-field and 25% off-field.[3]
  • Watford were promoted to FA Women's Championship via application.[4]
  • London Bees were relegated from FA Women's Championship on sporting merit.
  • Ipswich Town were promoted from Division One South East via application.[8]
  • Southampton F.C. were promoted from Division One South West via application.[9]
  • Yeovil United became Bridgwater United W.F.C. after merging with men's club Bridgwater Town.[10]

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Southampton F.C. (C, O, P) 26 22 3 1 99 13 +86 69 Championship play-off
2 Oxford United 26 19 3 4 71 15 +56 60
3 Ipswich Town 26 18 4 4 69 14 +55 58
4 Bridgwater United 26 15 5 6 48 16 +32 50
5 Crawley Wasps 26 15 0 11 57 40 +17 45
6 Gillingham 26 13 6 7 37 33 +4 45
7 Portsmouth 26 13 4 9 51 29 +22 43
8 London Bees 26 9 3 14 46 51 −5 30
9 Milton Keynes Dons 26 8 5 13 34 42 −8 29
10 Plymouth Argyle 26 9 2 15 46 61 −15 29
11 Cardiff City Ladies (R) 26 8 2 16 33 52 −19 24[lower-alpha 1] Relegation to FA WNL Division One
12 Chichester & Selsey (R) 26 7 3 16 31 60 −29 24
13 Keynsham Town (R) 26 6 0 20 31 110 −79 18
14 Hounslow (R) 26 0 0 26 5 122 −117 0
Source: The Football Association
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. ↑ Cardiff City were deducted one point for failing to fulfil a fixture against Southampton on 9 October 2021. Deducted further one point for failing to fulfil another fixture

Results

Home \ Away BWU CAR CHI CRA GIL HOU IPS KEY LON MKD OXF PLY POR SOU
Bridgwater United — 4–1 4–0 3–1 0–0 5–0 0–1 9–0 1–0 2–0 1–0 3–0 0–2 0–2
Cardiff City Ladies 0–1 — 3–2 1–3 0–1 4–0 0–3 2–1 4–1 3–2 0–3 1–5 0–1 0–4
Chichester & Selsey 1–0 1–2 — 2–1 1–1 3–0 0–4 3–1 0–5 1–3 1–0 2–1 0–1 0–2
Crawley Wasps 1–2 3–0 5–0 — 4–2 4–1 0–2 4–2 1–2 1–0 1–0 2–0 3–2 0–3
Gillingham 0–0 2–1 4–1 1–0 — 2–0 0–3 H-W 2–1 0–0 0–1 3–2 3–0 0–2
Hounslow 0–3 0–5 1–7 1–7 0–3 — 0–6 0–1 0–1 0–1 0–3 0–2 0–11 0–9
Ipswich Town 1–0 1–0 1–1 1–0 0–0 9–0 — 11–2 3–0 3–0 0–1 2–0 1–1 1–2
Keynsham Town 0–2 0–2 2–1 3–1 0–8 6–2 2–5 — 2–0 2–1 0–3 1–5 2–3 1–9
London Bees 0–3 5–1 1–1 1–5 4–0 5–0 1–3 5–1 — 1–1 1–2 2–2 0–4 1–2
Milton Keynes Dons 1–1 1–1 2–1 0–2 1–2 5–0 0–0 5–1 1–5 — 1–0 3–1 0–1 0–1
Oxford United 3–0 2–0 3–0 3–1 2–0 7–0 3–1 9–0 5–1 5–1 — 3–0 3–1 1–1
Plymouth Argyle 1–1 2–1 2–1 3–4 1–3 5–0 0–5 5–0 0–3 5–1 0–5 — 2–1 0–3
Portsmouth 0–2 0–0 3–1 2–3 0–0 3–0 1–0 6–1 2–0 0–3 1–1 5–1 — 0–1
Southampton F.C. 1–1 4–1 8–0 3–0 9–0 5–0 0–2 9–0 5–0 3–1 3–3 6–1 2–0 —
Source: The Football Association
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Championship play-off

The overall FA WNL champion was decided by a play-off match held at the end of the season between the Northern Division and Southern Division winners. The play-off match winner also earned promotion to the FA Women's Championship subject to meeting licensing requirements. The game was broadcast live on BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website.[11]

Southampton F.C.1–0Wolverhampton Wanderers
  • Pharoah 21'
 Report
Attendance: 1,354

Division One

Division One North

Changes from last season:

  • Following the second consecutive curtailment of the season amid the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2021, it was decided that upward club movement within the women's football pyramid would be done via application. All clubs from tiers 3 to 6 were eligible to apply to move into the league immediately one tier above where they currently played with applications marked against a criterion weighted 75% on-field and 25% off-field.[3]
  • Brighouse Town were promoted to Northern Premier Division via application.[5]
  • Alnwick Town were promoted from North East Regional Women's Football League via application.[3]
  • F.C. United of Manchester were promoted from North West Women's Regional Football League via application.[12]
  • Bolton Ladies folded and withdrew from the league prior to the start of the 2021–22 season.
Club Home ground Position 2020–21
Alnwick Town St James Park, Alnwick NEWRFL, N/A
Barnsley Barnsley FC Academy, Barnsley N/A
Bradford City Plumpton Park, Wrose N/A
Chester-le-Street Moor Park, Chester Moor N/A
Chorley Blainscough Park, Coppull N/A
Durham Cestria The Graham Sports Centre, Durham N/A
F.C. United of Manchester Broadhurst Park, Moston NWWRFL, N/A
Leeds United Ings Lane, Tadcaster N/A
Liverpool Feds Jericho Lane, Liverpool N/A
Newcastle United Druid Park, Woolsington N/A
Norton & Stockton Ancients Station Road, Norton, County Durham N/A
Stockport County Stockport Sports Village, Stockport N/A

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Liverpool Feds (C, P) 22 19 2 1 60 11 +49 59 Promotion to FA WNL Premier Division
2 Newcastle United 22 18 2 2 85 16 +69 56
3 Durham Cestria 22 13 2 7 65 35 +30 41
4 Leeds United 22 12 4 6 51 34 +17 40
5 Chorley 22 8 10 4 39 34 +5 34
6 Stockport County 22 7 6 9 44 42 +2 27
7 Bradford City 22 7 5 10 39 48 −9 26
8 Norton & Stockton Ancients 22 7 5 10 35 45 −10 26
9 Barnsley 22 8 2 12 41 51 −10 23[lower-alpha 1]
10 F.C. United of Manchester (R) 22 6 3 13 34 72 −38 21 Relegation to regional league level
11 Chester-le-Street (R) 22 3 5 14 28 62 −34 14
12 Alnwick Town (R) 22 0 2 20 24 95 −71 2
Source: The Football Association
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. ↑ Barnsley were deducted three points

Division One Midlands

Changes from last season:

  • Following the second consecutive curtailment of the season amid the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2021, it was decided that upward club movement within the women's football pyramid would be done via application. All clubs from tiers 3 to 6 were eligible to apply to move into the league immediately one tier above where they currently played with applications marked against a criterion weighted 75% on-field and 25% off-field.[3]
  • Wolverhampton Wanderers were promoted to Northern Premier Division via application.[6]
  • Leek Town were promoted from West Midlands Regional Women's Football League via application.[3]
  • Peterborough United were promoted from East Midlands Regional Women's Football League via application.[13]
  • Holwell Sports folded on 3 January 2022 and their results were removed from the league table.[14]
Club Home ground Position 2020–21
Bedworth United The Oval, Bedworth N/A
Boldmere St. Michaels Trevor Brown Memorial Ground, Sutton Coldfield N/A
Burton Albion Hillsfield, Rocester N/A
Doncaster Rovers Belles Oxford Street, Rossington N/A
Holwell Sports Welby Road, Asfordby Hill N/A
Leafield Athletic Dickens Heath Sports Club, Solihull N/A
Leek Town Harrison Park, Leek WMRWFL, N/A
Lincoln City Moorlands Sports Ground, Lincoln N/A
Long Eaton United Grange Park, Long Eaton N/A
Peterborough United Mick George Training Academy, Orton EMRWFL, N/A
Solihull Moors Damson Park, Solihull N/A
Sporting Khalsa Aspray Arena, Willenhall N/A
Wem Town Butler Sports Centre, Wem N/A

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Boldmere St. Michaels (C, P) 22 16 3 3 59 20 +39 51 Promotion to FA WNL Premier Division
2 Doncaster Rovers Belles 22 15 4 3 55 21 +34 49
3 Lincoln City 22 15 3 4 68 30 +38 48
4 Long Eaton United 22 11 5 6 44 27 +17 38
5 Leek Town 22 10 3 9 51 52 −1 33
6 Sporting Khalsa 22 9 5 8 37 37 0 32
7 Solihull Moors 22 9 3 10 55 47 +8 30
8 Peterborough United 22 8 5 9 45 50 −5 29
9 Leafield Athletic 22 7 5 10 35 45 −10 26
10 Wem Town (N) 22 3 6 13 24 47 −23 15 Relegation to regional league level
11 Burton Albion (R) 22 4 3 15 26 63 −37 15
12 Bedworth United (R) 22 2 1 19 23 83 −60 7
13 Holwell Sports (W) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Club withdrew
Source: The Football Association
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored
(C) Champions; (N) Not relegated; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated; (W) Withdrew from the league

Division One South East

Changes from last season:

  • Following the second consecutive curtailment of the season amid the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2021, it was decided that upward club movement within the women's football pyramid would be done via application. All clubs from tiers 3 to 6 were eligible to apply to move into the league immediately one tier above where they currently played with applications marked against a criterion weighted 75% on-field and 25% off-field.[3]
  • Ipswich Town were promoted to Southern Premier Division via application.[8]
  • Harlow Town were promoted from Eastern Region Women's Football League via application.[15]
  • Queens Park Rangers were promoted from London and South East Women's Regional Football League via application.[16]
  • Leyton Orient were rebranded London Seaward after Leyton Orient severed ties with the club.[17]
Club Home ground Position 2020–21
Actonians Rectory Park, Northolt N/A
AFC Wimbledon New Plough Lane, Wimbledon N/A
Billericay Town New Lodge, Billericay N/A
Cambridge City The Demcom Stadium, Ely N/A
Cambridge United Rowley Park, St Neots N/A
Enfield Town Queen Elizabeth II Stadium, Enfield N/A
Harlow Town The Harlow Arena, Harlow ERWFL, N/A
Hashtag United Park Lane, Canvey Island N/A
Kent Football United Glentworth Sports Club, Kent N/A
London Seaward Hornchurch Stadium, Upminster N/A (as Leyton Orient)
Norwich City The Nest, Horsford N/A
Queens Park Rangers Powerday Stadium, Perivale LSEWRFL, N/A
Stevenage Hertingfordbury Park, Hertford N/A

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Billericay Town (C, P) 24 20 3 1 77 15 +62 63 Promotion to FA WNL Premier Division
2 Hashtag United 24 20 2 2 83 14 +69 62
3 AFC Wimbledon 24 16 5 3 62 15 +47 53
4 Queens Park Rangers 24 12 5 7 46 40 +6 41
5 Actonians 24 11 7 6 52 26 +26 40
6 London Seaward 24 7 8 9 31 43 −12 29
7 Cambridge City 24 7 5 12 36 48 −12 26
8 Norwich City 24 8 2 14 33 56 −23 26
9 Cambridge United 24 8 2 14 29 60 −31 26
10 Enfield Town (R) 24 6 6 12 36 37 −1 24 Relegation to regional league level
11 Stevenage (R) 24 6 4 14 19 61 −42 22
12 Harlow Town (R) 24 5 2 17 27 73 −46 17
13 Kent Football United (R) 24 3 3 18 19 62 −43 12
Source: The Football Association
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated

Division One South West

Changes from last season:

  • Following the second consecutive curtailment of the season amid the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2021, it was decided that upward club movement within the women's football pyramid would be done via application. All clubs from tiers 3 to 6 were eligible to apply to move into the league immediately one tier above where they currently played with applications marked against a criterion weighted 75% on-field and 25% off-field.[3]
  • Southampton F.C. were promoted to Southern Premier Division via application.[9]
  • Brislington took voluntary relegation to South West Regional Women's Football League.
  • Bournemouth were promoted from Southern Region Women's Football League via application.[18]
  • Portishead Town were promoted from South West Regional Women's Football League via application.[3]
  • Buckland Athletic withdrew from the league on 7 December 2021 and their results were removed from the league table.[19]
Club Home ground Position 2020–21
Bournemouth Potterne Park, Verwood SRWFL, N/A
Buckland Athletic Homers Heath, Newton Abbot N/A
Cheltenham Town Corinum Stadium, Cirencester N/A
Chesham United The Meadow, Chesham N/A
Exeter City Cullompton Cricket Club, Cullompton N/A
Larkhall Athletic Larkhall Sports Club, Larkhall N/A
Maidenhead United York Road, Maidenhead N/A
Poole Town Dorset County Ground, Poole N/A
Portishead Town Bristol Road, Portishead SWRWFL, N/A
Southampton Women's F.C. Arlebury Park, New Alresford N/A
Swindon Town Cinder Lane, Fairford N/A

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Cheltenham Town (C, P) 18 14 3 1 44 12 +32 45 Promotion to FA WNL Premier Division
2 AFC Bournemouth 18 12 4 2 52 14 +38 40
3 Exeter City 18 12 2 4 52 19 +33 38
4 Southampton Women's 18 11 4 3 47 14 +33 37
5 Chesham United 18 8 2 8 31 32 −1 26
6 Maidenhead United 18 6 4 8 26 32 −6 22
7 Swindon Town 18 5 4 9 30 31 −1 19
8 Portishead Town 18 4 4 10 23 44 −21 15[lower-alpha 1]
9 Larkhall Athletic 18 2 4 12 20 52 −32 10
10 Poole Town (R) 18 0 1 17 3 78 −75 1 Relegation to regional league level
11 Buckland Athletic (W) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Club withdrew
Source: The Football Association
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated; (W) Withdrew from the league
Notes:
  1. ↑ Portishead Town were deducted one point

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Naming of restructured women's league pyramid confirmed". thefa.com. The Football Association. 26 February 2018. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
  2. ↑ "Saints win play-off to reach Women's Championship". BBC Sport.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Upward club movement within the women's football pyramid confirmed for 2021-22". www.thefa.com.
  4. 1 2 "Sunderland and Watford promoted to FA Women's Championship after successful bids". Sky Sports.
  5. 1 2 "Brighouse boss backs side to succeed as promotion finally secured". Bradford Telegraph and Argus.
  6. 1 2 "Wolves Women heading up the leagues". www.wolves.co.uk.
  7. ↑ "Loughborough football merger creates new Lightning team". Loughborough University.
  8. 1 2 "Tractor Girls learn of promotion". Suffolk News.
  9. 1 2 "Southampton FC Women granted promotion". Southampton FC.
  10. ↑ "Football clubs united under new name". Somerset County Gazette.
  11. ↑ "National League Championship play-off final on BBC". BBC Sport.
  12. ↑ "FC United's women's team accepted into National League Division One North". www.fc-utd.co.uk.
  13. ↑ "Women's Team Secure Deserved Promotion". Peterborough United.
  14. ↑ "'A sad day' as Holwell Sports Women fold". Melton Times.
  15. ↑ "The Hawks are going up". Harlow Town.
  16. ↑ "QPR FC Women are going up". Queens Park Rangers.
  17. ↑ "Leyton Orient sever ties with women's team". BBC.
  18. ↑ "Women's team promoted to National League". AFC Bournemouth.
  19. ↑ "Buckland Athletic "regretfully withdrawnW From FAWNL". Since 71. 8 December 2021.
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