FA Women's National League Plate

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FA Women's National League Plate
Founded2014; 10 years ago (2014)
RegionEngland
Number of teams36
Current championsLeeds United (1st title)
Most successful club(s)Coventry United, Leeds United, Lewes, Nottingham Forest, Preston North End, West Bromwich Albion, & West Ham United (1 title each)
2023–24

The FA Women's National League Plate is an association football tournament organised by the FA Women's National League (WNL). It is the WNL's second league cup competition, played alongside the National League Cup, and is a single-elimination knock-out tournament.

History[edit]

The WPL Plate was introduced in 2014 following a restructuring of women's football in England. Historically the WPL had consisted of three divisions: a National Division at the top, with two regional divisions, North and South, below. The WPL was the top level of women's football in England until the introduction of the Women's Super League in 2011, then in 2014 WSL 2 was also inserted above the WPL in the league structure. This led to the National Division being abolished and the former Combination Leagues, which had been below the WPL in the pyramid, were incorporated as four regional divisions one level below the North and South. This meant the number of divisions in the Women's National League had doubled from three to six, so a second cup competition was added to complement the existing National League Cup.[1]

Structure[edit]

The teams competing in each season's Women's National League Plate is decided by the first round of the WPL Cup, which is known as the Determining Round. All 72 WPL teams are drawn in this round, with the winners of each match continuing in the Cup and the losers being entered into the Plate.[2]

As there are 36 losing teams in the determining round, a preliminary round of the Plate is held between a small number of teams to bring the number of participants down to 32, allowing a normal knock-out tournament to be held. The winners of each game proceed to the next stage, while the losers are eliminated from the tournament. All games are played over a single leg, with draws being settled by extra time and penalty kicks where required, and the final is held at a neutral venue.

List of finals[edit]

Season Winner Score Runner-up Venue Notes
2014–15 Preston North End (N) 3–0 Huddersfield Town (N) Nethermoor Park, Guiseley [3]
2015–16 Coventry United (S) 5–1 Enfield Town (SE1) Keys Park, Hednesford [4]
2016–17 Lewes (S) 4–0 Huddersfield Town (N) St James Park, Brackley [5]
2017–18 West Ham United (S) 5–0 Luton Town (SE1) Keys Park, Hednesford [6]
2018–19 West Bromwich Albion (M1) 5–1 Liverpool Feds (N1) Butlin Road, Rugby [7]
2019–20 Watford (S) and West Bromwich Albion (N) qualified for the final, before it was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [8][9]
2020–21 Competition cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
2021–22 Nottingham Forest (N) 2–1 AFC Wimbledon (SE1) Damson Park, Solihull [10]
2022–23 Leeds United (N1) 3–1 Stourbridge (M1) Damson Park, Solihull [11]
(N)=Team played in Northern Division, (S)=Played in Southern Division, (M1)=Played in Midlands Division One, (N1)=Played in Northern Division One, (SE1)=Played in South East Division One

References[edit]

  1. ^ "About the FA WPL". The Football Association. Archived from the original on 29 November 2015. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
  2. ^ "Premier League Cup Round-Up". She Kicks. 31 August 2014. Archived from the original on 31 May 2016. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
  3. ^ "Preston win inaugural Plate". Women's Soccer Scene. 30 April 2015. Archived from the original on 2 June 2016. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
  4. ^ "Coventry and Blackburn Take Trophies". She Kicks. 24 April 2016. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
  5. ^ "Lewes Hound Terriers to Take National Title". Lewes FC. 23 April 2017. Archived from the original on 26 April 2017. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
  6. ^ "West Ham United Ladies win WPL Plate with Luton victory". West Ham United. 15 April 2018. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
  7. ^ "Full Time". The Football Association. 14 April 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  8. ^ "Stafford Rangers to host Womens National League Plate Final (Posted 13 March 2020)". Staffordshire FA. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
  9. ^ FA Staff (26 March 2020). "An Update on Non-League, Women's and Grassroots Football Seasons". The FA. Retrieved 24 April 2022. The FA and the leagues within tiers three to seven have reached a consensus to bring the season to an immediate end…
  10. ^ "AFC Wimbledon 1–2 Nottingham Forest". The Football Association. 24 April 2022. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  11. ^ "Leeds United are crowned FA WNL Plate champions". The Football Association. 26 March 2023. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
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