If you’re a fan of Tottenham Hotspur Women, want to be, or just like English women’s football in general, then you’re going to like what I’m about to write. Beginning this upcoming season in 2024-25, the Barclay’s Women’s Super League will begin broadcasting all non-televised WSL matches on YouTube, rather than on its proprietary streaming service FA Player!
The announcement was made in a couple of throw-away lines at the bottom of a press release announcing the new fixtures for the 2024-25 season, but the news is abundantly welcome! The WSL now has its own dedicated YouTube channel and, similar to what it did on the FA Player in past seasons, promises to stream all WSL matches there that aren’t televised in the United Kingdom. YouTube will also host full match replays for viewers who can’t tune into the matches live, as well as highlight packages and behind-the-scenes content via a new partnership with DAZN, all free of charge.
According to sportindustry.biz, Sky Sports will broadcast as many as 44 WSL matches in the UK next season, with BBC broadcasting at least 22 matches. Those not selected for TV coverage will be streamed on YouTube. For viewers in the United States, those televised matches are typically streamed via Paramount+, and there are suggestions that Paramount will be broadcasting more matches this upcoming season than in years past.
The Women’s FA Cup competition is notably NOT included in this deal; all FA Cup matches this coming season will continue to be streamed on the FA Player.
This is good stuff. It should be acknowledged that the FA Player has filled a real hole over the past few years for fans who had no other real option to watch Spurs Women (or any other WSL team) play, but there have been significant headaches. The production value on FA Player streams was pretty sub-standard, and since the FA Player app is a standalone for mobile devices and not optimized for TV, it required casting a low-quality feed to your streaming box of choice in order to watch on television. I can’t tell you how many times the feed has crapped out on me while I was watching FA Player games in years past.
But this is excellent news. Moving to YouTube will make it easier for fans to find, and watch, WSL matches this coming season and will hopefully continue to boost women’s soccer in the UK.