We are excited to bring back our popular FA Women’s National League (WNL) Teams of the Season!
The idea was originally inspired by the NBA’s Eastern and Western Conference All-Star teams; we initially thought it would be fun to create our own WNL North and South All-Star lineups. This evolved to include a team for each division from the fourth tier.
To keep things interesting and to make sure that no one team dominated, we added a rule that only two players from any single club are eligible for the starting XI, but a third player may be included among the substitutes – similarly to how you would select your Fantasy Football team.
There have been just shy of 800 matches in the WNL this season, and it is, of course, impossible for anyone to stay on top of all of them, especially with publicly available footage being limited. So we’ve enlisted fans, players and coaches to have their say and make this as representative as possible.
Northern Premier Division
Champions Burnley have the first name on the list is their Golden Glove winner Kirstie Levell, the keeper recording a staggering eighteen clean sheets. While her teammate, joint Golden Boot winner, Millie Ravening, deadly from the spot, is at the heart of the defence.
FA WNL Player of the Year: Shannon Stamps (Stoke City) leads the line alongside Hope Knight (Hull City) and Amber Hughes, who, like Ravening, scored 19 goals.
Rugby Borough’s Ebony Wiseman and Mille Ravening are the only returning players from 2024/25, however, for Ravening it was in the red and white of Stoke City.
Southern Premier Division
Plymouth Argyle goalkeeper Hermoine Cull enjoyed an outstanding campaign. Although Argyle narrowly missed out on promotion after defeat to Wolves in the play-off and also finished runners-up in the WNL Cup to AFC Bournemouth, Cull’s 13 clean sheets provided the defensive foundation for another highly successful season at Home Park.
After a couple of injury-hit seasons, it’s good to see Naomi Bedeau back playing regularly and injury-free, and she has consistently demonstrated her ability for Oxford this season, earning her a place in the team of the Year.
Described by some as a “cheat code”, AFC Bournemouth forward Sophie Quirk was named FA Women’s National League Player of the Year after another outstanding campaign. While the Cherries ultimately fell short of the promotion their supporters had hoped for, Quirk’s influence on the team was undeniable, none more so than when she scored the decisive goal in Bournemouth’s 1-0 victory over Plymouth Argyle in the WNL Cup final.
Watford’s Megan Chandler, Exeter City’s Sophie Gillies and Layla Proctor, then of Lewes, are the only returning players from 2024/25.
Division One North
Compiling this team serves as a reminder of what a loss the disbanding of Cheadle Town Stingers is to the women’s game, with several of their players in contention for selection. Ultimately, they are represented by Sophie Donald and FA WNL Player of the Year Imogen Porteus-Williams, who claimed the Golden Glove and Player of the Year awards respectively.
Donald’s impressive tally of 15 clean sheets was matched by Huddersfield Town’s Bethan Davies, with Davies edging the vote to earn the goalkeeper spot in this team. Up front, Norton & Stockton Ancients striker Bianca Owens takes the number nine shirt after a prolific campaign that saw her score 18 goals and secure the Golden Boot.
Laura Elford returns after being named in last season’s Northern Premier team while at Burnley. Porteus-Williams and Owens both return with their respective clubs.
Division One Midlands
After back-to-back third-place finishes, Peterborough United took the division by storm this season, dropping points in just two matches and completing the entire league campaign unbeaten. Unsurprisingly, a number of their players were strong contenders for selection, though our rules mean that some deserving candidates inevitably miss out.
Golden Glove winner Neive Corry was a unanimous choice between the posts, while Kayleigh Hines earns her place after another dominant season in midfield, playing a key role in Peterborough’s title-winning campaign.
This will be Anna Wilcox‘s last appearance as the experienced defender hangs up her playing boots following a successful league season that secured promotion to Tier 3. Anna has been a stalwart of Midlands Women’s football and will be missed from the pitch, but we are sure that she will be in a dugout sharing her knowledge soon enough.
Up front, FA WNL Player of the Year, Worcester City’s Maia Clarke claims the division’s Golden Boot after an outstanding return of 20 goals. The prolific forward was also announced this week as one of manager Karl Henry’s new signings at Boldmere St Michaels as they prepare for life in the Northern Premier Division.
This team boasts three familiar faces Anna Wilcox (Boldmere St Michaels) and Abi Cowie (Leafield Athletic) are back, while Ocean Rolandsen (Barnsley) was previously named in the Division One North team for York City.
Division One South East
Fulham began the season as favourites for the title and duly lived up to expectations, matching Peterborough United’s achievement of going unbeaten throughout the league campaign while dropping points in just two draws against Queens Park Rangers and Dulwich Hamlet. The champions are represented in this team by Stella Gandee Morgan, midfielder Leeta Rutherford, and prolific forward Ellie Olds.
Norwich City defender Grace Riglar earns her place after producing one of the most remarkable individual campaigns in the entire FA Women’s National League, scoring an astonishing 18 goals from defence.
FA WNL Player of the Year: Emily Hill (Queens Park Rangers)
This division is a whole new team with not one player returning from last season.
Division One South West
This forward line is arguably the most formidable across all six WNL divisions, combining for an incredible 93 goals between Annie Colston (29 for Swindon Town), Shannon Albuery (28 for Moneyfields), Megan Jarvis (24 across spells with Bristol Rovers and Bridgwater United), and Molly Lygo-Jackson (12 for Abingdon United).
Colston’s goals proved decisive in Swindon Town’s title-winning campaign, helping them edge out Moneyfields for promotion to the Southern Premier Division in a race that went down to the final day at the John Jenkins Stadium, a match which they won 1-2. The prolific striker also played a key role in Town’s impressive run to the Fourth Round of the Adobe Women’s FA Cup.
Despite claiming the division’s Golden Glove award, George Hunt narrowly misses out on a starting berth, with Bristol Rovers duo Layah Douglas and Ruby Scahill earning the nod instead. Scahill’s inclusion caps a standout season in which she was recognised as both the club’s Player of the Season and Players’ Player of the Season.
FA WNL Player of the Year: Annie Colston (Swindon Town) shared with Mimi Hodges (Abingdon United)
Returning from last season’s line up are Annie Colston, Shannon Albuery and Megan Jarvis.
A massive thank you to everyone who nominated a player/s. Your input has made this possible, and we appreciate you. If you’re not happy that someone has been missed, then please do not hesitate to get involved next year.
