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The 2022–23 Women's Championship season (also known as the Barclays Women's Championship for sponsorship reasons) was the fifth season of the rebranded Women's Championship, the second tier of women's football in England.[1]
| Season | 2022–23 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Bristol City |
| Relegated | Coventry United |
| Matches played | 132 |
| Goals scored | 355 (2.69 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Melissa Johnson (12 goals) |
| Biggest home win | London City Lionesses 9–0 Coventry United 30 April 2023 |
| Biggest away win | Coventry United 0–5 London City Lionesses 16 October 2022 Coventry United 0–5 Sunderland 4 December 2022 Crystal Palace 0–5 London City Lionesses 15 January 2023 Sunderland 0–5 Bristol City 16 April 2023 |
| Highest scoring | London City Lionesses 9–0 Coventry United 30 April 2023 |
| Longest winning run | 7 matches Birmingham City |
| Longest unbeaten run | 11 matches London City Lionesses |
| Longest winless run | 12 matches Blackburn Rovers |
| Longest losing run | 11 matches Coventry United |
← 2021–22 2023–24 → | |
Ahead of the season the top two tiers unveiled a new visual identity, dropping "The FA" from the league names as part of the long term strategy for the leagues to be under new ownership in the future.[2] Having sponsored the first tier since the 2019–20 season, it marks the first season of Barclays as the title partner of the Women's Championship.[3]
On 2 April 2023, Coventry United were mathematically confirmed as relegated from the Championship after four seasons in the second division. They sat 10 points adrift from safety with three games remaining.[4] On 23 April 2023, Bristol City were confirmed as champions with one game remaining, holding a four point lead ahead of final day opponents Birmingham City. They earned promotion back to the WSL after two seasons in the Championship.[5]
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Location of clubs for the 2022–23 season
Twelve teams will compete in the Championship for the 2022–23 season, the same number as the previous season. Liverpool were promoted to the FA WSL as 2021–22 FA Women's Championship winners.[6] They were replaced by Birmingham City who finished bottom of the FA WSL in the 2021–22 season and were relegated after 20 years in the top flight.[7] Watford were relegated to the FA Women's National League after just one season in the Championship.[8] They were replaced by Southern Premier Division winners Southampton who beat Northern Premier Division winners Wolverhampton Wanderers in the 2021–22 FA Women's National League playoff to earn promotion.[9]
| Team | Location | Ground | Capacity | 2021–22 season |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Birmingham City | Birmingham | St Andrew's | 29,902 | WSL, 12th |
| Blackburn Rovers | Bamber Bridge | Sir Tom Finney Stadium | 3,000 | 10th |
| Bristol City | Failand | Robins High Performance Centre | 3rd | |
| Charlton Athletic | Bexley | The Oakwood | 1,180 | 5th |
| Coventry United | Coventry | Butts Park Arena | 4,000 | 11th |
| Crystal Palace | Bromley | Hayes Lane | 5,000 | 4th |
| Durham | Durham | Maiden Castle | 1,700 | 6th |
| Lewes | Lewes | The Dripping Pan | 3,000 | 8th |
| London City Lionesses | Dartford | Princes Park | 4,100 | 2nd |
| Sheffield United | Sheffield | Bramall Lane | 32,050 | 7th |
| Southampton | Southampton | St Mary's Stadium | 32,384 | WNL, 1st |
| Sunderland | Hetton-le-Hole | Eppleton CW | 2,500 | 9th |
Managerial changes
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lewes |  Craig Gill (interim) |
End of interim period | 12 May 2022[10] | End of season (8th) |  Scott Booth |
12 May 2022[10] |
| Coventry United |  Jay Bradford |
Resigned | 28 May 2022 | End of season (11th) | Lee Burch |
18 July 2022[11] |
| Sheffield United | Neil Redfearn |
Resigned | 25 November 2022[12] | 10th | Zoe Johnson (interim) |
25 November 2022 |
| London City Lionesses |  Melissa Phillips |
Signed by Angel City FC | 23 January 2023[13] | 1st | Nikita Runnacles (interim) |
23 January 2023 |
| Sheffield United | Zoe Johnson (interim) |
End of interim period | 14 February 2023[14] | 11th | Jonathan Morgan |
14 February 2023 |
| Crystal Palace | Dean Davenport |
Suspended[a] | 12 March 2023[16] | 6th | Mike Lowne (interim) |
12 March 2023 |
| Blackburn Rovers | Gemma Donnelly |
Mutual consent | 4 April 2023[17] | 11th | Matt Bee (interim) |
4 April 2023 |
- Davenport was initially suspended pending an internal investigation on 12 March 2023. His permanent departure was confirmed on 15 May 2023.[15]
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| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bristol City (C, P) | 22 | 15 | 3 | 4 | 39 | 12 | +27 | 48 | Promotion to the WSL[a] |
| 2 | Birmingham City | 22 | 15 | 2 | 5 | 39 | 22 | +17 | 47 | |
| 3 | London City Lionesses | 22 | 14 | 3 | 5 | 49 | 20 | +29 | 45 | |
| 4 | Charlton Athletic | 22 | 11 | 5 | 6 | 34 | 27 | +7 | 38 | |
| 5 | Crystal Palace | 22 | 11 | 1 | 10 | 28 | 34 | −6 | 34 | |
| 6 | Southampton | 22 | 9 | 6 | 7 | 22 | 15 | +7 | 33 | |
| 7 | Durham | 22 | 8 | 4 | 10 | 30 | 29 | +1 | 28 | |
| 8 | Sheffield United | 22 | 8 | 3 | 11 | 32 | 25 | +7 | 27 | |
| 9 | Lewes | 22 | 7 | 5 | 10 | 20 | 29 | −9 | 26 | |
| 10 | Blackburn Rovers | 22 | 5 | 8 | 9 | 20 | 29 | −9 | 23 | |
| 11 | Sunderland | 22 | 5 | 3 | 14 | 26 | 38 | −12 | 18 | |
| 12 | Coventry United (R) | 22 | 2 | 1 | 19 | 16 | 75 | −59 | 7 | Relegation to the National League |
Source: [citation needed]
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Notes:
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Notes:
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| Home \ Away | BLB | BRI | BIR | CHA | COV | CRY | DUR | LEW | LCL | SHU | SOU | SUN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blackburn Rovers | — | 0–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 2–3 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 |
| Bristol City | 2–0 | — | 0–1 | 4–0 | 3–2 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 |
| Birmingham City | 2–1 | 2–0 | — | 2–2 | 3–2 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–3 |
| Charlton Athletic | 2–2 | 0–2 | 3–0 | — | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 3–4 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–2 |
| Coventry United | 3–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–4 | — | 3–2 | 1–5 | 0–1 | 0–5 | 0–4 | 0–4 | 0–5 |
| Crystal Palace | 1–0 | 0–3 | 2–4 | 1–2 | 3–0 | — | 1–0 | 4–1 | 0–5 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 0–2 |
| Durham | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 5–1 | 0–1 | — | 2–1 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 |
| Lewes | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–4 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | — | 0–0 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2–0 |
| London City Lionesses | 0–0 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 9–0 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 3–1 | — | 1–2 | 1–1 | 3–1 |
| Sheffield United | 1–1 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 8–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 2–3 | 0–2 | — | 0–1 | 4–2 |
| Southampton | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | — | 1–0 |
| Sunderland | 0–1 | 0–5 | 0–4 | 2–3 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | — |
As of 30 April 2023
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Melissa Johnson |
Charlton Athletic | 12 |
| 2 | Sarah Ewens |
London City Lionesses | 11 |
 Shania Hayles |
Bristol City | ||
| Jade Pennock |
Birmingham City | ||
| 5 | Saffron Jordan |
Blackburn Rovers | 10 |
| 6 | Courtney Sweetman-Kirk |
Sheffield United | 9 |
| 7 | Atlanta Primus |
London City Lionesses | 8 |
| Emily Scarr |
Sunderland | ||
| 9 | Grace Clinton |
Bristol City | 7 |
| Mia Enderby |
Sheffield United | ||
| Rio Hardy |
Durham | ||
| Katie Wilkinson |
Southampton |
Annual awards
| Award | Winner | Club |
|---|---|---|
| Player of the Season | Jade Pennock |
Birmingham City |
| Golden Boot | Melissa Johnson |
Charlton Athletic |
| Golden Glove | Fran Bentley |
Bristol City |
- 2022–23 FA Women's League Cup
- 2022–23 Women's Super League (tier 1)
- 2022–23 FA Women's National League (tier 3 & 4)
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