WSL and WSL2 26/27 expansion - more officials...

[MarcusSFARef]

I follow the professional women’s game in England very closely — probably more so than the Premier League.

From the 2026/27 season, both the WSL and WSL2 will expand from 12 to 14 teams. This means an extra fixture per division each matchweek.

From what I’ve seen this season (2025/26), there has been a noticeably larger proportion of male officials appointed to games in these two leagues compared to previous years. Of course, female officials still make up the majority of appointments at this level.

For example, Sam Allison (an EFL referee) will be refereeing the WSL match between Aston Villa and London City Lionesses on Sunday, 16th November. I’ve also noticed a number of SG2 and NLS officials being appointed to similar fixtures — such as Harrison Blair, Elliott Bell, Declan Brown, Zac Kennard-Kettle and Sam Lewis.

With the upcoming league expansions, I imagine the WSL and WSL2 will need a wider pool of match officials. Could this mean bringing in more experienced male referees from the men’s game if there aren’t currently enough female officials at the required standard? Just a thought.

I also wonder whether this increased pool of officials might be a step toward the possible introduction of VAR in the future.

Finally, I’m curious how male officials will adapt from predominantly officiating in the men’s game — which tends to be faster and more physical, with a higher foul threshold — to the women’s game, where the threshold is typically lower.

Just some ideas and observations — interested to hear your thoughts.

 

[socal lurker]

As to VAR, I think the critical question is whether the league finances can justify it.

 

[bester]

There was a change at the top. The previous incumbent very strongly prioritised female referees for female competitions.

 

[Russell Jones]

I follow the professional women’s game in England very closely — probably more so than the Premier League.

From the 2026/27 season, both the WSL and WSL2 will expand from 12 to 14 teams. This means an extra fixture per division each matchweek.

From what I’ve seen this season (2025/26), there has been a noticeably larger proportion of male officials appointed to games in these two leagues compared to previous years. Of course, female officials still make up the majority of appointments at this level.

For example, Sam Allison (an EFL referee) will be refereeing the WSL match between Aston Villa and London City Lionesses on Sunday, 16th November. I’ve also noticed a number of SG2 and NLS officials being appointed to similar fixtures — such as Harrison Blair, Elliott Bell, Declan Brown, Zac Kennard-Kettle and Sam Lewis.

With the upcoming league expansions, I imagine the WSL and WSL2 will need a wider pool of match officials. Could this mean bringing in more experienced male referees from the men’s game if there aren’t currently enough female officials at the required standard? Just a thought.

I also wonder whether this increased pool of officials might be a step toward the possible introduction of VAR in the future.

Finally, I’m curious how male officials will adapt from predominantly officiating in the men’s game — which tends to be faster and more physical, with a higher foul threshold — to the women’s game, where the threshold is typically lower.

Just some ideas and observations — interested to hear your thoughts.

If you go back about 5 years, the vast majority of officials on WSL games were men. I was lucky enough to have three years on the AR list, though obviously back then the quality of players, size of crowds etc were not as they are today. With recent efforts to bring through quality female officials in larger numbers, I'd imagine that the desire will remain for most appointments (especially high profile ones) to feature an all female quartet. That said, can totally understand the games being used as development opportunities for specific, up and coming, male officials.
It's certainly a challenge amending your tolerance level to the different expectations. Though not radically different to switching between say National League 'mode' and PL2 'mode'!

 

[Gabriel]

I follow the professional women’s game in England very closely — probably more so than the Premier League.

From the 2026/27 season, both the WSL and WSL2 will expand from 12 to 14 teams. This means an extra fixture per division each matchweek.

From what I’ve seen this season (2025/26), there has been a noticeably larger proportion of male officials appointed to games in these two leagues compared to previous years. Of course, female officials still make up the majority of appointments at this level.

For example, Sam Allison (an EFL referee) will be refereeing the WSL match between Aston Villa and London City Lionesses on Sunday, 16th November. I’ve also noticed a number of SG2 and NLS officials being appointed to similar fixtures — such as Harrison Blair, Elliott Bell, Declan Brown, Zac Kennard-Kettle and Sam Lewis.

With the upcoming league expansions, I imagine the WSL and WSL2 will need a wider pool of match officials. Could this mean bringing in more experienced male referees from the men’s game if there aren’t currently enough female officials at the required standard? Just a thought.

I also wonder whether this increased pool of officials might be a step toward the possible introduction of VAR in the future.

Finally, I’m curious how male officials will adapt from predominantly officiating in the men’s game — which tends to be faster and more physical, with a higher foul threshold — to the women’s game, where the threshold is typically lower.

Just some ideas and observations — interested to hear your thoughts.

It probably will mean more male officials - but even now the majority (or at least a significant proportion) are still female. One thing to note though - it's just the WSL expanding. WSL 2 is staying with 12. They are just promoting extra teams from Tier 3 to make up the numbers as if they didn't they'd only be left with 10 following the tier 1 expansion.

 

[MarcusSFARef]

Of course, female officials still make up the majority of appointments at this level.

One thing to note though - it's just the WSL expanding. WSL 2 is staying with 12.

You're right, I automatically thought the WSL2 would be expanding, but no, it seems it will remain at 12 teams.