January 28 – With FIFA’s inaugural Women’s Club World Cup set to kick-off in London tonight, one of the world governing bodies stakeholders, the Women’s Leagues Forum (WLF), completed three days of meetings in the city.
Hosted by England’s Women’s Super League (WSL), the group “focused on its shared mission of enhancing national league development and coordinated advocacy within the framework of international football,” said a WLF press statement.
Central to discussion was the international match calendar and the key role of national leagues as the foundation of the professional game, but also FIFA’s ambitions.
Already FIFA is facing calendar dissent with the WSL voicing concerns that the proposed dates for its expanded Women’s Club World Cup, set to run January 5 – 30, 2028, could have “catastrophic” consequences for the Women’s Super League and player welfare. The tournament would impact five weekends of the WSL’s current schedule.
While none of the World League’s regional or women’s bodies have been invited to discuss the international calendar with FIFA, the world governing body was present as an observer at the WLF meetings.
Other meeting sessions reviewed the benchmarking data collected across member leagues, identifying trends and tracking their trajectories, while
player union FIFPRO presented on player workload, highlighting the disparity where some footballers face higher workloads, while others experience underload.
The International Football Association Board (IFAB) also presented to the women’s leagues on developments in the Laws of the Game for the first time, with further input from experts from the Premier League, La Liga and the League Managers Association on promoting the game’s progress.
The WLF is co-chaired by WSL CEO Nikki Doucet, and Jessica Berman, Commissioner of the NWSL (USA). Operating under the umbrella of the World Leagues Association it embraces 19 national women’s leagues from around the world.
“We were proud to host this year’s meeting and collaborate to advance our sport,” said Doucet. “The conversations held here underscore how vital strong national leagues are — not only for player careers and competition standards, but for the long-term sustainability of women’s football worldwide.”
The meeting was attended by the following leagues: A League Women (AUS), Lotto Super League (BEL), Northern Super League (CAN), Barclays WSL and WSL2 (ENG), Liga F (ESP), Arkema Premiere Ligue (FRA), Google Pixel Frauen-Bundesliga (GER), Besta Deild Kvenna (ISL), Serie A Femminile (ITA), WE League (JPN), Liga BBVA MX Femenil (MEX), Eredivisie CV (NED), Toppserien (NOR), Liga BPI (POR), ScottishPower Women’s Premier League (SCO), OBOS Damallsvenskan (SWE), NWSL (USA).
“The Women’s Leagues Forum continues to be an essential space for collective progress,” said Berman. “By coming together to compare data, exchange experiences, and champion shared priorities, we are strengthening the global ecosystem that women’s football depends on.”
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