2015–16 FA Women's Premier League

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The 2015–16 season of the FA Women's Premier League is the 24th season of the competition, which began in 1992. Formerly the top flight of women's football in England, this season it sits at the third and fourth levels of the women's football pyramid, below the two divisions of the FA Women's Super League and above the eight regional football leagues.[1]

The league features six regional divisions: the Northern and Southern divisions at level three of the pyramid, and below those Northern Division 1, Midlands Division 1, South East Division 1, and South West Division 1.[1] 72 teams were members of the league at the beginning of the 2015–16 season, divided equally into six divisions of twelve teams.[2] At the end of the season the champions of the Northern and Southern divisions will both qualify for a playoff match against each other which will decide the overall league champion, who subject to meeting league requirements will be promoted to FA WSL 2.[3]

Premier Division[edit]

Northern Division[edit]

Changes from last season:

Team Home ground 2014–15 position
Blackburn Rovers Anchor Ground, Darwen 3rd
Bradford City Plumpton Park, Bradford 4th
Derby County Anderson Electrical Arena, Derby 6th
Guiseley Vixens Nethermoor Park, Guiseley 1st in Northern Division One (promoted)
Huddersfield Town Storthes Hall Park, Kirkburton 5th
Loughborough Foxes Loughborough University Stadium, Loughborough 1st in Midlands Division One (promoted)
Newcastle United Sport Northumbria, Newcastle upon Tyne 11th
Nottingham Forest Greenwich Avenue, Nottingham 9th
Nuneaton Town Liberty Way, Nuneaton 8th in Southern Division (swapped divisions with Coventry United)
Preston North End Sir Tom Finney Stadium, Bamber Bridge 8th
Sporting Club Albion The Grove, Halesowen 10th
Stoke City Wellbeing Park, Stone 7th

League table[edit]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion, qualification or relegation
1 Sporting Club Albion 22 17 2 3 55 22 +33 53 Playoff with Southern Division champion
2 Preston North End 22 15 4 3 71 20 +51 49
3 Blackburn Rovers 22 14 4 4 39 20 +19 46
4 Stoke City 22 14 2 6 59 28 +31 44
5 Bradford City 22 12 2 8 48 31 +17 38
6 Nottingham Forest 22 11 4 7 37 27 +10 37
7 Derby County 22 9 1 12 37 47 −10 28
8 Huddersfield Town 22 7 4 11 47 56 −9 25
9 Newcastle United 22 7 1 14 33 57 −24 22
10 Nuneaton Town 22 4 2 16 26 67 −41 14
11 Guiseley Vixens (R) 22 3 4 15 26 71 −45 13 Relegation to FA Women's Premier League Division One regions
12 Loughborough Foxes (R) 22 3 2 17 26 58 −32 11
Source: The Football Association
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored
(R) Relegated

Results[edit]

Home \ Away BLB BRA DER GUI HUD LOU NEW NOT NUN PNE SCA STK
Blackburn Rovers 1–0 3–1 5–0 4–2 1–0 2–1 0–0 2–0 0–0 2–0 2–1
Bradford City 2–2 3–2 5–1 2–0 2–0 3–0 3–0 1–1 1–2 2–3 1–4
Derby County 4–3 2–1 2–1 0–1 0–0 1–0 2–0 0–1 0–4 1–2 0–3
Guiseley Vixens 0–1 1–5 0–6 0–7 3–2 2–2 1–2 2–2 1–1 0–2 1–5
Huddersfield Town 0–2 0–5 2–6 0–2 7–0 4–3 3–3 3–1 1–4 1–1 3–3
Loughborough Foxes 0–2 1–2 3–4 2–2 1–2 2–1 1–5 6–3 1–2 0–1 2–1
Newcastle United 2–1 3–1 2–0 1–6 2–7 4–2 1–0 6–1 0–5 1–4 0–2
Nottingham Forest 2–1 0–2 2–0 3–0 3–1 1–0 4–0 2–0 2–2 0–2 3–0
Nuneaton Town 0–3 1–2 1–4 4–2 3–1 4–2 1–2 0–2 0–1 2–3 0–2
Preston North End 0–1 2–1 7–1 4–1 6–0 5–1 4–0 2–2 13–0 3–0 0–3
Sporting Club Albion 4–0 4–1 3–0 5–0 0–0 4–0 2–1 2–0 5–1 3–2 3–1
Stoke City 1–1 1–3 5–1 5–0 5–2 2–0 3–1 4–1 3–0 1–2 4–2
Source: The Football Association
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Southern Division[edit]

Changes from last season:

Team Home ground 2014–15 position
Brighton & Hove Albion Culver Road, Lancing 2nd
C & K Basildon The Prospect Stadium, Canvey Island 1st South East Division One (promoted)
Cardiff City CCB Centre for Sporting Excellence, Ystrad Mynach 4th
Charlton Athletic Bayliss Avenue, Thamesmead, London 3rd
Coventry United The Oval Ground, Bedworth 2nd in Northern Division (swapped divisions with Nuneaton Town)
Forest Green Rovers Wisloe Road, Cambridge, Gloucestershire 1st in South West Division One (promoted)
Lewes The Dripping Pan, Lewes 7th
Plymouth Argyle Haye Road, Plymouth 10th
Portsmouth Privett Park, Gosport 1st
Queens Park Rangers Honeycroft, West Drayton, London 9th
Tottenham Hotspur Cheshunt Stadium, Cheshunt 5th
West Ham United Hornchurch Stadium, Upminster, London 6th

League table[edit]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion, qualification or relegation
1 Brighton & Hove Albion (O, P) 22 17 3 2 58 18 +40 54 Playoff with Northern Division champion
2 Charlton Athletic 22 16 4 2 68 20 +48 52
3 Cardiff City 22 15 2 5 66 27 +39 47
4 Coventry United 22 13 5 4 64 18 +46 44
5 Portsmouth 22 14 2 6 61 27 +34 44
6 Tottenham Hotspur 22 11 1 10 34 30 +4 34
7 Lewes 22 8 1 13 30 42 −12 25
8 C & K Basildon 22 7 4 11 38 55 −17 25
9 Queens Park Rangers 22 6 3 13 25 45 −20 21
10 West Ham United 22 5 4 13 21 60 −39 19
11 Forest Green Rovers 22 2 2 18 19 76 −57 8
12 Plymouth Argyle (R) 22 1 3 18 23 89 −66 6 Relegation to FA Women's Premier League Division One regions
Source: The Football Association
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored
(O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated

Results[edit]

Home \ Away B&HA C&KB CAR CHA CVU FGR LEW PLY POR QPR TOT WHU
Brighton & Hove Albion 6–1 1–2 2–0 2–1 4–0 2–0 3–0 3–1 2–0 4–1 1–0
C & K Basildon 1–6 4–7 1–1 0–0 3–1 2–3 2–1 4–3 3–3 1–4 2–3
Cardiff City 1–2 4–2 3–1 0–3 8–2 5–0 9–1 0–1 7–1 4–0 2–2
Charlton Athletic 0–0 4–1 0–0 1–1 9–1 2–1 5–1 2–1 2–1 1–0 8–1
Coventry United 2–2 2–1 2–0 2–3 4–0 5–0 11–0 1–1 3–0 1–2 5–0
Forest Green Rovers 1–4 0–1 1–2 0–6 1–3 0–6 3–3 0–3 1–2 0–5 1–0
Lewes 0–2 2–1 1–3 0–1 0–4 3–1 4–1 0–2 1–2 0–2 2–2
Plymouth Argyle 0–4 2–4 1–3 1–6 0–4 1–1 1–3 2–5 2–2 2–4 0–2
Portsmouth 2–3 2–2 2–1 1–4 5–1 3–0 0–1 6–0 3–0 3–2 7–0
Queens Park Rangers 2–1 1–0 0–2 1–2 0–5 4–1 1–3 1–2 0–1 0–1 3–1
Tottenham Hotspur 1–2 0–1 0–1 1–2 0–0 2–1 2–0 3–0 0–4 2–1 2–1
West Ham United 2–2 0–1 0–2 0–8 0–4 0–3 1–0 4–2 1–5 0–0 1–0
Source: The Football Association
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Championship play-off[edit]

The overall FA WPL champion was decided by a play-off match held at Wycombe Wanderers' Adams Park stadium on 29 May 2016,[5] which resulted in a 4–2 victory for Southern Division Brighton & Hove Albion over Northern Division Sporting Club Albion.[6] Brighton won promotion to FA WSL 2 a few days after the match, having met The Football Association's licensing requirements for entry to the Women's Super League.[7]

Sporting Club Albion (N)2–4Brighton & Hove Albion (S)
Leigh Dugmore 15'
Karen Clough 88'
Report Kate Natkiel 39' 68'
Sophie Perry 72'
Amy Taylor 75'
Attendance: 648
Referee: Anthony Tankard

Division One[edit]

Northern Division One[edit]

The teams competing this season are:[8]

Team Home ground 2014–15 position
Blackpool Wren Rovers Brews Park, Blackpool
Chester-le-Street Moor Park, Chester Moor 6th
Chorley Jim Fowler Memorial Fields, Leyland 5th
Hull City Hamworth Park, Hull
Leeds Ladies Wheatley Park, Garforth 3rd
Liverpool Marshall Feds I.M. Marsh Campus, Liverpool 2nd
Middlesbrough Teesdale Park, Thornaby-on-Tees 4th
Morecambe Lancaster & Morecambe College, Lancaster 10th
Mossley Hill Mossley Hill Athletic Club, Liverpool 7th
Norton & Stockton Ancients Norton Sports Complex, Norton 11th
Stockport County Stockport Sports Village, Woodley 8th
Tranmere Rovers Cross Lane, Wallasey 9th

League table[edit]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
1 Middlesbrough (C, P) 22 17 3 2 90 22 +68 54 Promotion to Northern Division
2 Liverpool Marshall Feds 22 15 1 6 79 39 +40 46
3 Chorley 22 13 3 6 60 46 +14 42
4 Hull City 22 10 7 5 47 39 +8 37
5 Leeds Ladies 22 11 2 9 35 41 −6 35
6 Mossley Hill 22 11 1 10 46 37 +9 34
7 Morecambe 22 9 2 11 50 59 −9 29
8 Blackpool Wren Rovers 22 9 1 12 42 68 −26 28
9 Chester-le-Street 22 7 6 9 39 47 −8 27
10 Tranmere Rovers 22 5 4 13 38 52 −14 19
11 Stockport County[a] (R) 22 5 4 13 46 65 −19 16 Relegated from FA Women's Premier League.
12 Norton & Stockton Ancients (R) 22 2 2 18 20 77 −57 8
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. ^ Stockport had three points deducted[9]

Midlands Division One[edit]

Changes from last season:

The teams competing this season are:[14]

Team Home ground 2014–15 position
Birmingham & West Midlands Shenley Lane Community Sports Centre, Birmingham 1st in West Midlands Regional League (promoted)
Leafield Athletic Triplex Sports Club 3rd
Leicester City L.F.C. Linwood Playing Fields, Leicester 9th
Leicester City W.F.C. Riverside Pavilion, Leicester 2nd
Loughborough Students Holywell Park, Loughborough 5th
Peterborough Northern Star Mick George Arena, Peterborough 1st in East Midlands Regional League (promoted)
Radcliffe Olympic Wharf Lane Recreation Ground, Radcliffe-on-Trent 4th
Rotherham United Roundwood Sports Complex, Rotherham 6th
Solihull Field Lane, Solihull 7th
Sporting Khalsa Aspray Arena, Willenhall 8th
Steel City Wanderers Park Road, Worsbrough 10th
Wolverhampton Wanderers Keys Park, Hednesford 12th in Northern Division (relegated)

League table[edit]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
1 Leicester City W.F.C. (C, P) 22 22 0 0 93 19 +74 66 Promotion to Northern Division
2 Wolverhampton Wanderers 22 14 3 5 62 30 +32 45
3 Radcliffe Olympic 22 11 5 6 52 29 +23 38
4 Solihull 22 11 2 9 43 47 −4 35
5 Birmingham & West Midlands 22 10 3 9 39 42 −3 33
6 Loughborough Students 22 9 1 12 44 54 −10 28
7 Steel City Wanderers 22 8 3 11 35 58 −23 27
8 Leicester City L.F.C. 22 7 5 10 46 55 −9 26
9 Rotherham United 22 7 3 12 42 53 −11 24
10 Sporting Khalsa 22 6 2 14 27 53 −26 20
11 Peterborough Northern Star (R) 22 5 4 13 37 44 −7 19 Relegated from FA Women's Premier League.
12 Leafield Athletic (R) 22 6 1 15 30 66 −36 19
Source: The Football Association
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated

South East Division One[edit]

Changes from last season:

The teams competing this season are:[19]

Team Home ground 2014–15 position
Bedford Weston Park, Wootton 8th
Cambridge United Unwin Sports Ground, Ely 7th
Crystal Palace Hayes Lane, Bromley 3rd
Denham United The Middlesex Stadium, Ruislip 6th
Enfield Town Queen Elizabeth II Stadium, Enfield 5th
Gillingham The Sports Ground, Chatham 11th in Southern Division (relegated)
Ipswich Town Humber Doucy Lane, Rushmere, Ipswich 9th
Lowestoft Town Crown Meadow, Lowestoft 1st in Eastern Region League (promoted)
Luton Town Stockwood Park Athletics Stadium, Luton 4th
Milton Keynes Dons Willen Road, Newport Pagnell 2nd
Norwich City Plantation Park, Blofield 10th
Old Actonians Berkeley Fields, Greenford, London 1st in London & South Eastern League (promoted)

League table[edit]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
1 Crystal Palace (C, P) 22 20 2 0 90 17 +73 62 Promotion to Southern Division
2 Gillingham 22 16 3 3 84 20 +64 51
3 Milton Keynes Dons 22 13 5 4 63 26 +37 44
4 Luton Town 22 12 4 6 45 32 +13 40
5 Ipswich Town 22 11 3 8 52 44 +8 36
6 Cambridge United 22 10 5 7 54 24 +30 35
7 Enfield Town 22 7 5 10 34 29 +5 26
8 Norwich City 22 8 2 12 43 53 −10 26
9 Denham United 22 6 5 11 26 35 −9 23
10 Old Actonians 22 5 2 15 25 63 −38 17
11 Lowestoft Town 22 2 3 17 17 97 −80 9
12 Bedford (R) 22 2 1 19 16 109 −93 7 Relegated from FA Women's Premier League.
Source: The Football Association
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated

South West Division One[edit]

Changes from last season:

The teams competing this season are:[23]

Team Home ground 2014–15 position
Cheltenham Town Petersfield Park, Cheltenham 8th
Chichester City Oaklands Park, Chichester 7th
Exeter City Minster Park, Exminster 2nd
Gloucester City[note] Fairmile Gardens, Longford 1st in South West Region League (promoted)
Keynsham Town Crown Field, Keynsham 12th in Southern Division (relegated)
Larkhall Athletic Plain Ham, Larkhall 5th
Maidenhead United York Road, Maidenhead 1st in Southern Region League (promoted)
Shanklin County Ground, Shanklin 6th
Southampton Saints Silverlake Arena, Sholing 4th
St Nicholas Lodge Road, Yate 9th
Swindon Spitfires[note] The Elms, Highworth 2nd in South West Region League (promoted)
Swindon Town Barrington Park, Shrivenham 3rd

^note Gloucester City and Swindon Spitfires both withdrew from the league during the season. All results involving them were expunged.[24][25]

League table[edit]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
1 Swindon Town (C, P) 18 15 2 1 49 12 +37 47 Promotion to Southern Division
2 Chichester City 18 14 2 2 44 8 +36 44
3 Keynsham Town 18 12 3 3 45 19 +26 39
4 Larkhall Athletic 18 11 3 4 43 23 +20 36
5 Exeter City 18 8 1 9 36 37 −1 25
6 Southampton Saints 18 7 2 9 29 35 −6 23
7 Maidenhead United 18 7 1 10 28 37 −9 22
8 Cheltenham Town 18 4 0 14 17 49 −32 12
9 Shanklin 18 3 0 15 16 54 −38 9
10 St Nicholas 18 2 0 16 19 52 −33 6
11 Gloucester City (X) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Resigned from league. Record expunged.
12 Swindon Spitfires (X) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Source: The Football Association
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (X) Resigned

Results[edit]

Home \ Away CHE CHI EXE KEY LAR MAI SHA SOS STN SWT
Cheltenham Town 0–4 3–0 0–5 0–4 2–3 1–0 0–1 2–1 0–4
Chichester City 3–1 2–1 2–0 1–0 6–0 3–0 2–1 8–0 1–1
Exeter City 3–1 0–0 1–4 0–2 4–0 7–0 3–0 2–0 1–2
Keynsham Town 1–2 1–3 4–1 3–3 1–0 5–0 3–2 5–0 2–0
Larkhall Athletic 4–1 0–1 4–0 1–1 4–1 4–3 5–2 3–2 1–2
Maidenhead United 3–0 1–2 7–3 0–1 2–3 3–1 1–0 3–1 0–3
Shanklin 3–2 0–3 1–2 0–1 1–2 3–2 0–5 2–0 0–2
Southampton Saints 3–0 1–0 2–3 0–3 2–2 1–1 2–1 2–0 1–4
St Nicholas 3–1 0–3 2–5 3–4 0–1 0–1 2–1 2–3 2–3
Swindon Town 4–1 1–0 3–0 1–1 1–0 2–0 8–0 5–1 3–1
Source: The Football Association
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "About the FA WPL". The Football Association. Archived from the original on 29 November 2015. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  2. ^ "Premier League constitution". Women's Soccer Scene. 22 June 2015. Archived from the original on 16 February 2016. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
  3. ^ "The FA Women's Premier League Handbook season 2015–16" (PDF). 22 December 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 February 2016. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  4. ^ a b "Ryan excited at Nuneaton move". Women's Soccer Scene. 16 July 2015. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
  5. ^ "FA WPL Finals Venues Announced". She Kicks. 8 March 2016. Archived from the original on 10 March 2016. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
  6. ^ "Women's Premier League: Brighton beat Sporting Club Albion in play-off". BBC Sport. 29 May 2016. Retrieved 6 June 2016.
  7. ^ "Brighton & Hove Albion Women promotion to Women's Super League approved". BBC Sport. 2 June 2016. Retrieved 6 June 2016.
  8. ^ "FA Women's Premier League Northern Division One". The Football Association. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
  9. ^ "Premier League Midweek Round-Up". She Kicks. 5 May 2016. Archived from the original on 12 August 2016. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
  10. ^ Richard Rush (19 July 2015). "Loughborough Foxes relishing new challenge". Loughborough Echo. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
  11. ^ "Latest From Wolves Women". Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club. 27 April 2015. Archived from the original on 5 September 2015. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
  12. ^ "New Name, New Beginnings!". Birmingham & West Midlands Ladies Football Club. 24 June 2015. Archived from the original on 30 June 2016. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
  13. ^ a b "Regional Leagues round-up". Women's Soccer Scene. 8 May 2015. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
  14. ^ "FA Women's Premier League Midlands Division One". Full Time. The Football Association. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
  15. ^ "Gillingham Ladies part company with Simon Ratcliffe following relegation". Kentish Football. 4 June 2015. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
  16. ^ "Regional Leagues round-up". Women's Soccer Scene. 17 April 2015. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
  17. ^ "Carshalton pay for administrative error with their Premier League place". Sent Her Forward. 19 June 2015. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
  18. ^ Matthew Critchell (19 June 2015). "The man behind the ladies at C&K Basildon". Braintree & Witham Times. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
  19. ^ "FA Women's Premier League South East Division One". The Football Association. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
  20. ^ "Maidenhead United Ladies confirm promotion to FA Women's Premier League". Maidenhead United Football Club. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
  21. ^ "Gloucester City benefit from team effort". Women's Soccer Scene. 24 April 2015. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
  22. ^ Matthew Edwards (27 June 2015). "Spitfires are aiming to build on World Cup fervour". Swindon Advertiser. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
  23. ^ "FA Women's Premier League South West Division One". The Football Association. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
  24. ^ "Gloucester City withdraw from league". Women's Soccer Scene. 15 September 2015. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
  25. ^ Tom Bassam (19 October 2015). "Spitfires make reluctant withdrawal". Swindon Advertiser. Retrieved 3 February 2016.

External links[edit]