Women's Super League launches first official fantasy app with a twist

The app, released online and inside the WSL app on August 19, lets users build a squad with a fixed budget, picking at most three players from any club. Scoring follows real match performance, with substitutions and transfers available as the season goes on. The WSL will run an official league table with prizes, while fans can also create private leagues.

Instead of one long campaign, the game is split into six "legs" of three to six matchweeks, timed around international breaks and Christmas. Each leg has its own mini-table and prizes, so even fans who join late or dip in and out can compete for a leg title. The format is designed to fix the retention problem that plagues fantasy sports, where missing a single week can ruin a season-long effort.

Another big change is the inclusion of WSL 2, England's second division. With the WSL expanding to 14 teams this season, the merged pool offers more competitive squads. Players from WSL 2 are generally cheaper in-game, though dynamic pricing could change that if one proves dominant. The move also addresses the issue of winning teams looking the same in unofficial fantasy games, as Joey Davidson, the WSL's head of digital products, told The Verge that by January the unofficial game lost momentum because leaderboard squads were too similar.

The WSL hopes the app will attract new fans to women's soccer. The sport's popularity spiked after England won the Euros in 2022, and with the league expanding, another World Cup next summer, and Ted Lasso returning with a focus on the women's game, Davidson calls it "perfect timing." The app's interface is designed to be intuitive for fantasy beginners, making team-building quicker and easier.