2024 was a huge year for women’s football, two years after the Lionesses’ monumental Euros win. Fans got to see some amazing games, and twists and turns in both domestic and international tournaments, as well as highly documented transfers, broadcasting announcements, and so much more off the pitch. As we look ahead to what 2025 has in store, we can take a look back at 2024 as a whole for women’s football, considering both the momentous occasions as well as some of the challenges and notable conversations which were of interest to fans throughout the year.
January:
The WSL restarts:
The WSL recommenced after the winter break, on 27th January, with Brighton, Manchester United, Arsenal and Manchester City, all winning their first games of 2024.
The January Transfer Window:
In the meantime, the transfer window remained open until February. Some notable transfers included: Arsenal’s Jen Beattie moving to Bay FC, and Kristie Mewis moved to West Ham United from NYC Gotham, after winning the NWSL title. West Ham also signed Katrina Gorry from Vittsjö GIK in the January window, as well as Shelina Zadorsky on loan from Tottenham. Tottenham signed Charlotte Grant, the Australian defender and Leicester City were able to make two signings in the window, with the Japanese defender, Saori Takarada, joining them from Linköping, as well as Yuka Momiki.
February:
Nations League and Olympic Qualification:
In February, the inaugural Nations League concluded, with Spain and France hosting the Netherlands and Germany respectively. Previously, qualification for the Olympics was decided by World Cup finishings, but the 2023-24 season saw a change to the qualification system, with reliance instead on the Nations League results. France had already qualified, being the hosts of the 2024 Olympic Games. Spain won their semi-final against the Netherlands on 23rd February to secure their spot, and Germany went on to beat the Netherlands 2-0 in the third-place play-off on 28th February to obtain the final European spot. The USWNT won their place after beating the previous Olympic Gold medallists, Canada, in the CONCACAF W Championship in July 2022. Canada also qualified in a two-legged 4-1 victory over Jamaica in their Olympic Concacaf play-off match. Brazil and Colombia had previously already secured Olympic qualification.
March:
Continental Tyres League Cup Final:
As the season continued, March saw the first domestic cup final of 2024, as the FA Women’s Continental Tyres League Cup Final took place on 31st March 2024. The final saw Arsenal and Chelsea face each other at the Molineux Stadium, home of Wolverhampton Wanderers, and Arsenal were able to take home the trophy for the second season in a row. Notably, the final also featured the use of a Video Assistant Referee (VAR) and Goal Line Technology (GLT) for the first time.
April:
European qualification for Euro 2025 begins:
April 2024 saw the start of the Women’s European Qualifiers, for the finals in Switzerland in 2025. Qualification involved a league phase, in which eight teams qualified to directly join the hosts, Switzerland (who had already secured qualification as the hosts). At the end of 2024, the nations that qualified were: Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, Finland, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Italy, Germany, Poland, Denmark, Sweden, France, England, Wales, and the Netherlands.
Crystal Palace win the Women’s Championship:
A 0-0 draw with Sunderland at Selhurst Park on the final day of the Women’s Championship season saw Crystal Palace win the league, with a total of 46 points. They finished one point ahead of Charlton Athletic, after a gripping title race, and they secured themselves a place in the WSL for the 2024/25 season.
May:
End of the WSL season:
May saw the end of the WSL season on Saturday 18th May, with Chelsea winning their 7th title. Hence, they secured a place in the Champions League for the following season, with Arsenal and Manchester City playing in qualifying competitions for their places in the competition. Bristol City were relegated at the end of the season. This was also Emma Hayes’ last season as the manager of Chelsea after 12 years, before she moved on to coach the USWNT. The end of the WSL season also saw former England Captain, Steph Houghton, play her last game for Manchester City before retirement.
Manchester United also won the FA Cup for the first time on 12th May 2024. They took on Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley Stadium, beating them 4-0.
Champions League final:
The Champions League final took place on Saturday 25th May, in the San Mamés Stadium in Bilbao. The final saw Barcelona face Lyon, with Barcelona winning the final and their fourth title of the season. According to UEFA, more than 50,000 fans packed into the famous San Mamés stadium, and the final generated an economic impact of 23 million Euros.
2023/24: a record-breaking season
The 2023/24 season was a record-breaking one for the WSL, in which Aston Villa’s Jordan Nobbs maintained her record of being the only player to score in all 14 seasons of the WSL, including the Spring Series. In terms of attendances, over one million people cumulatively attended a WSL and a Women’s Championship fixture. The divisions’ season average attendance was 41% up on the previous season, and the television viewing figures across both of the league’s broadcast partners at an all-time high.
June:
Summer transfer window opens:
June saw some memorable transfers following the end of the WSL season, including Esme Morgan moving to Washington Spirit, signing a deal until 2027. Ewa Pajor also moved from Wolfsburg to Barcelona, after 136 goals in 196 appearances for Wolfsburg. Ellie Roebuck also moved to Barcelona, and Lucia Garcia, who scored twice when Manchester United won the FA Cup in May, moved to Monterrey in Mexico.
The start of Beyond the Pitch:
As more of a personal highlight of 2024, June also saw the start of something very special: the start of Beyond the Pitch. Beyond the Pitch launched in June 2024, with the aim to cover every league and every level of women’s football and tackle important issues within women’s football. Since then, Beyond the Pitch has grown so much, and we cannot wait to see what 2025 has in store.
July:
Olympics:
The headline international tournament of 2024 for women’s football was the Paris Olympics, and the group stages of the competition took place in July. France, the hosts, were the winners of Group A, with Canada and Columbia also advancing to the knockout stage. Group B saw the United States and Germany advance to the knockout stage, after finishing first and second respectively, with Spain, Japan, and Brazil all advancing from Group C.
More summer transfers:
As the summer transfer window remained open, Mary Earps moved to Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer, and Filippa Angeldahl left Manchester City, also on a free transfer, to play for Real Madrid. July also saw Arsenal sign Mariona Caldentey from Barcelona, and Brighton sign Fran Kirby from Chelsea. Two highly speculated transfers in July were Vivianne Miedema, who holds the record for the all-time WSL goals, who left Arsenal to move to Manchester City, as well as Lucy Bronze, who moved to Chelsea from Barcelona, on a two-year deal.
Progress, but also controversy:
In July 2024, Nottingham Forest announced that they were transitioning towards full-time professionalism for their women’s team. They are set to become a full-time professional outfit from the 2025-26 season. Whilst this was a very positive announcement, during the break between seasons, women’s football fans also saw announcements from other clubs that signified steps backwards, rather than progress. An example of this was Blackburn Women, who announced that in the 2024/25 season they would be paying their women’s team minimum wage on 16-hour-a-week contracts, when all their players are semi-professional and are competing in the Championship. Reading also withdrew their women’s team from the Championship, due to financial difficulties within the club leading to cuts in many areas.
August:
Olympics:
On 3rd August, the knockout stages of the Olympic tournament began, with France taking on Brazil, Spain playing Colombia, the USA playing Japan and Canada up against Germany. The semi-finals, which saw Brazil play Spain, and the USA play Germany, took place on 6th August. Finally, the gold medal match, saw the USA beat Brazil 1-0 on 10th August, with Emma Hayes winning her first major international tournament as the Head Coach of the USWNT. Germany finished in 3rd place, after beating Spain 1-0 in their bronze medal match.
August in the transfer window:
In August, Hayley Raso moved to Tottenham from Real Madrid, and Katie Zelem, who had been captain at Manchester United and been at the club since it was formed in 2018, announced she was moving to Angel City. August also saw Maren Mjelde leave Chelsea, after winning over 10 titles with the club.
September:
Transfers continue:
As the transfer window drew to a close, Manchester United were able to sign forward Celin Bizet, from Tottenham. Nikita Parris, who had scored 25 goals for Manchester United, left the club and started a new chapter at Brighton.
The start of the 2024/25 season:
On the weekend of 7th and 8th September, the 2024/25 Women’s Championship season started, with newly-promoted Newcastle United facing London City Lionesses, and fellow newcomers Portsmouth faced Charlton Athletic. The WSL got underway two weeks later, with Manchester City visiting the Emirates Stadium to play Arsenal, which ended 2-2 and Sonia Bompastor’s first match with Chelsea taking place against Aston Villa, where Chelsea won 1-0.
The start of the new season also saw the broadcasting transition away from the FA player, with non-Sky Sports or BBC broadcasted WSL and selected Women’s Championship games being streamed live globally on YouTube.
October:
The FA’s new girls’ football academy system:
In October 2024, the FA released the 2024-28 strategy for women’s and girl’s football. This strategy outlined the governing body’s priorities over the next four years, and included four strategic priorities: to build and protect the uniqueness of the women’s game, to win a major tournament, to build robust, high-quality competition, and to deliver equal opportunities for women and girls to play. The full Reaching Higher strategy can be viewed in full on the FA website.
WSL Coverage:
October 2024 also saw a significant broadcasting announcement, with BBC Sport securing WSL coverage until 2030. It was announced that the BBC will broadcast live coverage of 21 matches every season, with digital clips of every key moment and continued audio commentary on 5 Live and BBC Sounds.
2024 Ballon d’Or:
In 2024’s Ballon d’Or ceremony, Aitana Bonmati was announced as this year’s winner of the Women’s Golden Ball. She was a standout performer for Barcelona, who won all four trophies available to them in the 2023/24 season. Her Barcelona teammates, Caroline Graham Hansen and Salma Paralluelo, ranked second and third respectively.
November/December:
How the leagues look:
At the end of 2024, Chelsea sit at the top of the WSL, six points ahead of Manchester City on 28 points, with Arsenal in third. Currently, newly promoted Crystal Palace are in the relegation zone, but only one point behind Leicester. All of the teams have played 10 games. Bompastor was on a winning streak with Chelsea, having not dropped any points in the WSL, until 14th December, when Chelsea drew 1-1 away at Leicester.
Looking ahead to 2025:
Looking back, 2024 was another hugely successful year in women’s football, and statistics and broadcasting announcements show this. However, it is important to acknowledge that there are still many challenges that women’s football faces as a sport experiencing a lot of growth, such as financial cuts, like Blackburn Women and Reading experienced in the summer. There is also still a lack of funding, particularly in leagues apart from the WSL, which arguably increases the disparity between the top-flight leagues in women’s football, and the leagues below it. However, 2024 was still a very successful year for women’s football both off the pitch, and for many clubs, on the pitch too.
2025 is set to be another very exciting year- fans will be able to see how the WSL and the Championship progress, the domestic cup competitions, such as the FA Cup, as well as the January transfer window. At the end of the 2024/25 season, fans can also look forward to Euro 2025, which takes place in Switzerland. UEFA have also announced the start of a second European women’s club football competition, which will commence in the 2026/26 season, alongside the Women’s Champions League.
