Women’s Super League 2026-27 preview No 3: Birmingham City
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Guardian writers’ predicted position: 12th (NB: this is not necessarily Tom Garry’s prediction but the average of our writers’ tips)
Last season’s position: 1st (WSL2)
Prospects
Founding members of the Women’s Super League when it launched in 2011, Birmingham are back in the top flight after four years in the second tier, having won promotion as WSL2 champions on the final day of last season. After a decent summer transfer window, Birmingham look to have a fighting chance of staying up, and perhaps even surprising a few teams, while off the pitch they are the best-equipped of the three promoted sides to cement themselves in the top division.
Forwards Lily Crosthwaite and Wilma Leidhammar and defender Neve Herron, are all 23-years-old and likely to continue improving. Birmingham have also added players with WSL experience, such as the former Brighton goalkeeper Sophie Baggaley and the centre-back Millie Turner.
Inconsistency was nearly their downfall last season; they won the most games in WSL2, but also lost six times. They delivered under pressure, boosted by the performances of Leidhammar after her club-record arrival in January, ensuring they avoided a repeat of the heartbreak of 12 months earlier when they missed out on promotion on the final day. Nonetheless, Birmingham are still a long way off from the days when they were runners-up in the top tier and their first two away fixtures are against Manchester City and Chelsea. They also host fellow promoted sides Crystal Palace and Charlton relatively early in the campaign and those home fixtures could be key to building confidence.
Birmingham’s women’s team were sold to the club’s ownership group in February, with Shelby Companies Limited – an affiliate of Knighthead Capital Management – owning 97%. The remaining 3% was purchased by investors including the former England midfielder Karen Carney and the four-time grand slam tennis champion Kim Clijsters. The club appear to be in a relatively healthy position with ambitious owners determined to reestablish the 2012 FA Cup winners as a regular, competitive presence in the WSL. They train at the recently renovated Knighthead Performance Centre, on the same site as the men’s team’s former Wast Hills training base, with a new gym among other extensive refurbishments.
The manager
Amy Merricks has been in charge since April 2024 She holds a Uefa Pro Licence and was 30 years old when she was appointed by Birmingham. She has previously coached within the England youth setup as well as at Gillingham, Millwall and Brighton, where was stepped up to be interim manager three times.
Star signing
Birmingham have recruited players with international experience, including the Canada defender Marie Levasseur from Montpellier, but their two most eyebrow-raising additions are Turner and Lisa Naalsund from Manchester United. They were starting members of United’s FA Cup-winning side of 2024 and played in a Women’s Champions League quarter-final as recently as April. Naalsund will be an influential force in the midfield – she has won 39 caps and was part of Norway’s squad at last year’s Euros.
Stat attack
Birmingham topped WSL2 last season despite not scoring the most goals or conceding the fewest. One stat they led was big chances, Opta’s metric for opportunities where it is reasonable to expect the attacker to score. While their tally will be much harder to repeat in the top flight, their attacking process looks in good order.
There is plenty of excitement at Birmingham about another of their new signings, the 19-year-old France youth forward Chancelle Effa Effa, who arrived from Le Havre for a fee understood to be about €120,000 (£100,000) this month. She broke into Le Havre’s first team at the age of 15 and scored 17 times in 28 games for France’s Under-17 and Under-19 teams, having helped France win 2023’s Under-17 Euros.
What they say …
“We know it’s going to be a massive challenge, but it’s a challenge that, as players, you thrive upon. As long as we can take that togetherness, that relentlessness, into the games, I’m sure we’re going to be just fine” – Chelsea Cornet.
Where are they playing their home games?
Birmingham play their home fixtures at St Andrew’s, which has been the women’s team’s home since 2021. They set a club record attendance for a women’s game there on the final day of the 2024-25 season – 8,749. Long-term, the club have announced plans to build a new women’s team stadium as part of the ‘Sports Quarter’, which also includes the proposed 62,000-seater men’s team Powerhouse Stadium as well as an indoor arena, training ground facilities and a new railway station.
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