In addition to Sunderland, other WPL clubs that joined WSL 2 in 2014 were Watford and Aston Villa.

[5] For the 2024–25 season, the league was reduced to eleven teams, due to Reading’s withdrawal from the Championship, citing financial issues.

Doncaster Rovers Belles were relegated to WSL 2, with nine new licences awarded to London Bees, Durham, Aston Villa, Millwall Lionesses, Yeovil Town, Reading, Sunderland, Watford, and Oxford United.

[14][15] Also, for the first time, a team would earn promotion to WSL 2 from the Women's Premier League (now National League), effectively connecting the WSL to the rest of the English women's football pyramid.

[14] In addition to being able to prove their financial solvency, clubs applying for entry to the WSL had to show they would attract an average of 350 spectators in 2016, increasing to at least 400 in 2017.

[18] In 2022 the league was renamed to simply the Women's Championship, with the FA part being dropped.

set a new attendance record of 15,387 for the Women's Championship in their first meeting in the league, a Wear–Tyne derby match played at the Stadium of Light in Sunderland.