2025-26 Subway® Women’s League Cup group stage draw details confirmed

Details of the 2025-26 Subway® Women’s League Cup group stage draw have now been confirmed.

Former Barclays Women’s Super League forward and ex-England international Toni Duggan will conduct the draw live on BBC Radio 5Live Breakfast on Thursday 31 July from approximately 8.30am. The first domestic trophy up for grabs each season, Chelsea are the current holders having overcome the challenge of Manchester City at Derby County’s Pride Park Stadium back in March to lift the cup. The fifteenth season of the competition will see 21 teams from across the Barclays WSL – including last season’s finalists Manchester City – and Barclays WSL2 enter at the group stage which is split into a northern and southern section.

The northern section will include the following teams and ball numbers:

1. Liverpool
2. Durham
3. Nottingham Forest
4. Manchester City
5. Sunderland
6. Everton
7. Newcastle United
8. Sheffield United

The first four numbers out of the bag will be placed in Group A. The remaining and last four numbers out of the bag will be placed in Group B. There will then be a southern draw involving the following teams and ball numbers:

1. Leicester City
2. Portsmouth
3. Tottenham Hotspur
4. London City Lionesses
5. Aston Villa
6. Charlton Athletic
7. Brighton & Hove Albion
8. Ipswich Town
9. Birmingham City
10. West Ham United
11. Southampton
12. Bristol City
13. Crystal Palace

The first five numbers out of the bag will be placed in Group C. The next four numbers drawn out of the bag will be placed in Group D. The remaining and final four numbers drawn out of the bag will be placed in Group E.

The dates for the group stage matches meanwhile are as follows:

• 24/25 September 2025
• 8/9 October 2025 (Group C matches only)
• 18/19 October 2025
• 12/13 November 2025 (Group C matches only)
• 22/23 November 2025

Following the completion of the group stages, the first placed team from each group will progress to the quarter finals which will be held across December 20 and 21, before the semi-finals that will take place over January 21 and 22, 2026. The final itself will be contested on the weekend of March 15 and 16, 2026, with details including the date, kick-off time and venue to be confirmed in due course. Arsenal and Chelsea will enter the competition at the quarter final stage due to their involvement in the UEFA Women’s Champions League (UWCL). Additionally, should Manchester United exit the UWCL and fail to qualify for the UEFA Women’s Europa League, they will enter the Subway® Women’s League Cup at the group stage with an additional draw required to determine if they will join Group A or Group B.