Everything You Need to Know as the European Women’s Soccer Leagues Start
You can feel it in the air—it’s almost time for soccer. Leagues, both domestic and international, are getting ready to start their 2022-2023 seasons, and we can’t wait! Across the pond, there are a dozen European Women’s Soccer Leagues getting ready to kick off their seasons.
We’re about to be inundated with the amount available this fall. So we have devised a little cheat sheet for five of the top European Women’s Soccer Leagues.
If you’re interested in keeping track of the European leagues, check out Forza Football. Forza provides live scores, game info, highlights, news, and more. It can help you keep tabs on all of your favorite European teams as well as domestic leagues and teams!
FA Women’s Super League – England
England’s Women’s Super League will kick off on September 10 with a match between Man United and Tottenham. The current league champs, Chelsea, will face off the following day against West Ham.
There have been several change-ups and trades coming to the FA that we’re excited to see. Man United has just signed Nikita Parris on for a two-season contract, having wooed her away from rival team Arsenal. In addition, 2022 Euro winner Rachel Daly will be saying goodbye to the NWSL and plying her trade in Aston Villa.
Chelsea is the winningest team in this league and has some of the top players in the world, including Sam Kerr, but we’re looking forward to seeing if Arsenal will be able to get the brass ring this year.
D1 Arkema – France
D1 Arkema, the French women’s pro league, will begin its 22-match season on September 10. Lyon will play against Stade Reims in one of the opening games and face Paris St-Germain on day 21, which is sure to be a grudge match between the league’s top two teams.
These two teams are always fun to watch, no matter the match-up, but we’re also looking forward to seeing what Paris FC has in store. They have been making their way steadily up the table year after year, finishing third in the 21-22 season.
Between veteran players like Annaïg Butel, who has been with Paris FC since 2008, and fresh legs like forward Margaux Le Mouël, Paris Fnaturals has some real talent to work with.
Serie A – Italy
The Italian Serie A started a little earlier than France and England. The first games took place at the end of August. Juventus has been at the top of the league since its inaugural season in 2017-2018. And having just brought on 19-year-old Evelina Duljan, after her several years in Sweden, it’s unlikely we’ll see them unseated this year.
Roma and Milan have been dancing around each other for the last few seasons, fighting it out for second place. Forward Lindsey Thomas is entering her second season with Milan after being traded by Milan in 2021. Between Thomas and Martina Piemonte, also in her second season with Milan after an inter-league trade, we’ve got our eyes on them for the silver.
Primera Division – Spain
You can pretty much sum up Spain’s Primera Division with one word: Barcelona. In the last 11 years, Barcelona has finished the league in first place seven times and second place four times.
Sixteen teams will play once a week starting on September 11. On day one of the league, three of the top teams from last season will be playing; among others, we’ll see: Barcelona vs. Levante Las Planas, Atl. Madrid vs. Sociedad, and Real Madrid vs. Villarreal.
There are several teams who are tied as far as wins go; with four each, we have Atl. Madrid and Levante. Atl. Madrid was on a hot streak from 2017 to 2019 before Barcelona took over again. But if they can pick it back up, they will be tied for second with Athletic Club in overall league wins.
Frauen Bundesliga – Germany
Much like the rest of these leagues, there are a few teams that dominate year after year. For the Frauen Bundesliga, that’s Wolfsburg with four first-place finishes in the last five seasons. Bayern has been a close second for four of those years and a usurper for the fifth.
But what we’re really looking at is Hoffenheim. After being promoted to the Bundesliga in 2013-2014, they held steady toward the bottom of the league. But, apart from a slight fall from grace last season, they have moved all the way up to third in the previous four years. A big part of their success can be credited to Gabor Gallai, Assistant Coach from 2015 until becoming head coach last season.
Each of these twelve teams will play once a week starting September 16.
Featured image via @fcbfememni on Instagram
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