The Women鈥檚 Super League is launching its first official fantasy sports app today, a move aimed at fixing the retention problem that plagues most fantasy leagues. The new game, called Barclays WSL and WSL2 Football Fantasy, is available online and inside the WSL app. It will feature a format that breaks the season into six shorter segments, combines two divisions into one player pool, and introduces social media-style video content. The league hopes the design will attract both seasoned fantasy players and newcomers to women鈥檚 soccer in England.
The game covers all 14 teams in the Women鈥檚 Super League plus the 12 clubs in WSL 2, England鈥檚 second division. Players will be mixed together, and users can build squads from either league or a combination of both. The decision to merge the two divisions addresses a weakness in the WSL, where only a few clubs have consistently competed for the title. In the unofficial fantasy game that is closing to make way for this official version, winning teams often relied on the same core group of players, causing the game to lose momentum by January, according to Joey Davidson, the WSL鈥檚 head of digital products.
The season-long race will still exist, but the fantasy game also splits play into six shorter legs, each covering three to six matchweeks. These legs are timed around breaks in the soccer calendar, including international fixtures and the Christmas pause. Each leg will have its own mini table with prizes, so fans who join late or drop in and out can still compete for something. The shorter commitment is designed to keep players engaged without requiring attention every single week.
The app also borrows from social media with a feature called Fantasy Stories, short vertical videos styled like Instagram content. At launch, the videos will be universal, but the goal is to personalize them based on the players in a user鈥檚 fantasy team. The interface is meant to be more intuitive than the clunkier Fantasy Premier League app, and the game offers more free transfers and wildcards, plus mid-matchweek substitutions to fix mistakes or respond to injuries.
The WSL is positioning the app to capitalize on growing interest in women鈥檚 soccer. The sport saw a popularity surge in England after the national team won the Euros in 2022, though attendance has since fluctuated, with strong numbers largely coming from Arsenal. The league鈥檚 expansion to 14 teams, an upcoming World Cup next summer, and the return of Ted Lasso with a focus on the women鈥檚 game could drive new fans, which Davidson called perfect timing.
Pricing for WSL 2 players will generally be cheaper, but the developers note that dynamic pricing could push values up if a second-division player becomes dominant. Some features, like the pricing structure and content types, will be assessed as the first season progresses. Davidson acknowledged uncertainty about how popular the fantasy league will become, but said the goal is to finish with more players than it starts with. He added that replicating existing fantasy formats would create a ceiling, and the WSL does not want to limit itself.
