Subway Players Cup
A very interesting update from Clare McEwen on the All New Subway Players Cup
Thanks, ma’am!
Last season’s Subway Women’s League Cup will now be the Subway Players Cup for 2026-27. And the format has been tweaked too.
Oh yeah, and last year’s winners – Chelsea – won’t be part of the competition this season.
The League Cup has had a major overhaul for 2026-27.
Here’s what you need to know.
How does it work from 2026-27
From this season, the three teams competing in the UEFA Women’s Champions League will not take part.
That means no Manchester City, Chelsea or Arsenal.
Rather than a group phase and a knockout phase, there will now be a league phase and knockout phase. The league phase will see all 23 participating teams from the WSL and WSL2 playing in a single league.
Each team will play three home and three away games against teams who are geographically nearby. This new regionalised league phase aims to cut down on travelling time, reducing the burden on players.
There will be 69 games played between September and December. Winners get three points but there will be no draw. Which can only mean one thing: penalties.
If scores are level after 90 minutes, it goes straight to penalties. Two points will be awarded to the winner, and one point to the loser.
It’s exciting from a fan perspective because now every game feels like a knockout game. But it’s also exciting from a development point of view because all the teams involved get a chance to feel that excitement and pressure and revel in it. That can only be a good thing for the future of the game.
After the league fixtures, the top eight teams will go on to the knockout phase, culminating in the final, which will be played sometime during the weekend of the 13th/14th March 2027.
Benefits
As well as plenty of games and extra excitement, there are multiple benefits to the restyled competition.
The three Champions League teams are relieved of some of their playing load – it’s either the Champions League or the Players Cup, no more having to juggle both.
For the rest of the WSL and WSL2 there are multiple benefits: more meaningful game time, a better chance of silverware, and a chance to develop players and make the leagues even more competitive.
It could also help reduce injury risk.
The reduction in playing load for the top teams is an obvious benefit when it comes to managing injury risk. But did you know that not playing enough games can also increase injury risk?
A FIFPRO study in 2025 found that players who were “underloaded” with playing time – rather than “overloaded” – also had an increased injury risk.
The disparity in playing time between the top and the bottom teams in the WSL is stark. In the 2024-25 season, the average Arsenal first-team player played the equivalent of 13 more matches than the average Crystal Palace player (across club and international football). Many players either played too many minutes or too few – both increasing injury risk.
The new format of the Players Cup will help to reduce this playing time gap.
And this leads us nicely into the new name.
Why the name change?
So the Women’s League Cup has now become the Players Cup – without an apostrophe, which is giving me a nervous tic as a type, but I’ll adjust (Champions League does the same to me, btw).
The name change is essentially to reflect that the changes to the format have been built around player welfare and put the players at the heart of the competition.
There is now no “women’s” qualifier, which maybe shows WSL Football’s intent to steer away from the men’s model and build something fresh for the women’s game. The name change obviously helps make it distinct from any men’s competition too.
After talking with clubs, players, and fans, WSL Football recognised there was an opportunity to rewrite the rules for the secondary cup competition.
The player-centric focus addresses calendar congestion and player welfare, creates more opportunity for player development, and ultimately gives different teams a chance to win a major trophy.
In turn, that can strengthen player pathways, deepen the pool of homegrown talent, and perhaps give more opportunities for international call-ups.
Because the players are at the heart of the redesign, the Players Cup seems like the perfect name. I wonder how long the discussions were about whether to include an apostrophe…
Just me?
My thoughts
I think this is a really good change. Taking the top three from the WSL out of the equation gives other teams a better chance for silverware, as well as opportunities to develop players more quickly. For the majority, who rely on funding from the wider club, this could generate more interest in their women’s team and maybe, just maybe, lead to more investment.
For the players, it means more chances to develop, experience what it feels like to regularly go deep into a Cup competition, and have something realistic to fight for every season.
For managers, it means more opportunities to develop players, test ideas, and build their vision more quickly. And of course, a better chance of putting something in the trophy cabinet.
For fans, it’s no longer another game to worry about player welfare but a chance to celebrate our teams in more exciting matches. A chance to embrace a new format – where every game produces a winner and there’s no playing for a draw. A chance to see more competitive matches and watch players grow and develop. A chance for a different set of supports to celebrate what it feels like to win silverware.
I’m excited to see what it brings.
Are you?
If you enjoyed this article, you can support my research and writing with a virtual tea on Ko-fi. Or Subscribe here for free, leave a comment below, or share the article. All help and are greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Editor’s note. I see nothing but positives. I especially like regionalising as many matches as possible. In the men’s game, I have for many years pleaded for League One and Two to be split North and South. A radical thought is to add the National League and have a North, Central and South. Gillingham would be going to Orient and Wimbledon instead of Fleetwood and York. Dream on, Steve!