WSL Hall of Fame: The candidates for the first class of inductees
The FA has announced the launch of a Women’s Super League Hall of Fame as part of tenth anniversary celebrations, with the first class of legends to be inducted later this year.
Countless individuals, from players, to coaches, club staff and league executives, have been instrumental in the development of the WSL, which will continue apace in the coming years.
An expert panel will weigh up and consider who is deserving of being inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Here’s a look at possible candidates in with a chance of being in that first class…
Gemma Bonner
Bonner started her WSL career with Chelsea in the inaugural season back in 2011 and went on to captain Liverpool to back-to-back titles in 2013 and 2014. The defender has been an important player with Manchester City since 2018 and arguably deserves more England caps.
Kim Little
Little has been instrumental in all three of Arsenal’s WSL triumphs, either side of a successful period abroad in the United States with Seattle Reign, as they were known at the time. She has a prolific goalscoring record for a midfielder and led the WSL in both goals and assists in 2012.
Rachel Williams
Few international caps with England makes Williams an often underappreciated player in the story of the WSL. The striker was top scorer in the first ever WSL season and has played in the competition for Birmingham, Chelsea, Notts County and now Tottenham.
Nick Cushing
Cushing was promoted to Manchester City manager ahead of the club’s first ever top flight season in 2013 and remains one of the most successful coaches in WSL history. His team won the 2016 title, as well as multiple domestic cups over the years.
Gilly Flaherty
Flaherty has won four WSL titles during her illustrious career, as well as the 2017 Spring Series, having spent over a decade combined in total with Arsenal and Chelsea between 2006 and 2018. She has remained an ever-present in the league and is now with West Ham.
Ellen White
White has had a prolific record in the WSL for Arsenal, Notts County, Birmingham and Manchester City over the last ten years. The England hero is among the league’s all-time top scorers and her career development has mirrored the growth of the WSL.
Laura Harvey
Harvey was manager of the Arsenal team that lifted the WSL trophy in 2011 and 2012. She was only 29 when she was put in charge in 2010 and is considered a great loss to English football as a result of working in the United States for the last nine years.
Lucy Bronze
Bronze was named the best player in the world by FIFA in 2020 and could soon lay a claim to being the best English player of all time. The right-back has been a WSL title winner with both Liverpool (twice) and Manchester City and was named PFA Player of the Year in 2014 and 2017.
Katie Chapman
Chapman, one of the real pioneers of taking women’s football in England to the next level as the WSL era beckoned, is another multiple champion. The ferocious midfielder won the new league twice with Arsenal and later also with Chelsea.
Rachel Yankey
Yankey became one of the earliest stars of English women’s football as a result of her two spells with Arsenal and a lengthy England career. Having already dominated the previous top flight, she landed two WSL titles at the start of the new era in 2011 and 2012.
Matt Beard
Beard managed Liverpool to consecutive WSL titles in 2013 and 2014, finally breaking Arsenal’s longstanding domestic dominance and ushering in a new era of competitiveness. He has also managed Chelsea, West Ham and Bristol City in the league.
Alex Scott
Scott is breaking new ground in broadcasting and presenting, but she was first and foremost a star of the all-conquering Arsenal side. The former full-back returned from a spell in the United States to re-join the Gunners for a third spell in 2012 and won the WSL title that year.
Karen Carney
Carney is another pushing the boundaries in media work. Like Scott, she is also among England’s most-capped and greatest ever players, while she played for Birmingham and Chelsea during the WSL era and won FA Cups with each club.
Jill Scott
Scott has been one of the players that has defined the growth and development of the WSL, playing in the augural season back in 2011 at the age of 24 and remaining in the league at a high level throughout. She won the title with Manchester City in 2016.
Fara Williams
Williams has played for Everton, Liverpool, Arsenal and Reading in the WSL and has made a big impact for all them. She won back-to-back titles with Liverpool, is England’s most capped player ever, male or female, and is still going strong for Reading at the age of 37.
Steph Houghton
Houghton was a two-time WSL champion with Arsenal but has really established herself as a WSL legend as captain of Manchester City, winning her third title there in 2016. The centre-back has also been England skipper since 2014.
Kelly Smith
Smith started her longstanding association with Arsenal in the 1990s and returned to north London for her third spell with the Gunners in 2012. She was England’s first modern superstar and inspired a whole generation of female players who are now forging their own paths in the WSL.
Casey Stoney
Stoney is making as much impact in the WSL as a manager as she did as a player. The former Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool player was appointed Manchester United’s first boss in 2018 and has overseen a rapid rise thanks to her meticulous approach and high standards.
Emma Hayes
Hayes has accumulated more wins than any manager in WSL history and Chelsea has become a destination for world-class players under her leadership. She has been in charge since 2012 and has guided the Blues to three titles since 2015, as well as the 2017 Spring Series.
Click here for more on the WSL's 10th anniversary and plans for future growth and development.
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