Brighton announced plans to build England's first purpose-built women's football stadium, a £75 million to £80 million project projected to open by the 2030/31 WSL season.

The Brighton women's stadium will sit on Bennett's Field, directly next to the men's team's Amex Stadium. The venue will hold a minimum capacity of 10,000, while connecting to the Amex via a bridge walkway.

Chairman Tony Bloom is funding the project, though the club remains open to government contributions. Brighton is targeting a 2030/31 WSL season opening, pending approval.

The facility becomes just the third purpose-built women's stadium globally, following the NWSL's Kansas City and Braga's Amélia Morais Stadium in Portugal. No English has a newly built dedicated women's football stadium, while teams like Chelsea and Arsenal opted to move games to their men's stadiums.

Brighton designed every aspect through a women's football lens — from pitch surfaces that could prevent certain injuries to dressing room configurations and family-friendly amenities. The club currently draws 2,000 to 3,000 fans per match.

"It will help us push forward our ambitions to compete consistently both domestically in the Women's Super League and also in European club competition, while helping us to attract key staff and grow a passionate fan base," managing director Zoe Johnson said in a team statement.

Former Chelsea and current Brighton star Fran Kirby called the stadium a "big attraction" for retaining and recruiting elite talent.

"We strongly believe it will strengthen our ability to attract elite talent, help develop our younger players for the future, support the growth of our fan base and create a genuine sense of belonging around the women's game," Brighton chairman Tony Bloom said.

The club plans to still shift bigger matchups to the 33,000-capacity Amex, while also building long-term fan engagement at its dedicated women's venue.

Bristol City Women have been relegated from the Women’s Super League for the first time. 

The Vixens first made the English top-flight and became fully professional in 2018. Since then, they’ve seen themselves finish 6th and 10th respectively in the standings. 

Bristol City narrowly avoided relegation last season, finishing a mere three points ahead of relegated Liverpool, with the season shortened due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This season the club held higher aspirations but have won just two league games in total. They’ve struggled to attack offensively, scoring just 18 goals in 22 games. Six draws and a mix of heavy losses, including a 9-0 loss to Chelsea, have made it hard for interim manager Matt Beard to get his team going. 

It all came to a head on the final day of the 2020-21 campaign, as Bristol City lost 3-1 to Brighton. After going down 2-0, an Abi Harrison goal in the second half brought them back within one, but it wasn’t enough. 

Moving up to replace them? Leicester City, who will be playing in the FAWSL for the first time next season after winning the second-tier Championship.