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The 20 Best FA Women’s Super League Players of All-Time

The FA Women’s Super League kicked off in 2011 and replaced the Premier League National. These are the best WSL players in history:

20. Katie Chapman

Physically imposing central midfielder Katie Chapman enjoyed great success at Arsenal, Fulham, Millwall, Charlton Athletic and helped transform Chelsea into an elite powerhouse. Chapman won four WSL titles and is considered the David Beckham of women’s football.

19. Hedvig Lindahl

The WSL has had some top keepers but none more so than Sweden’s Hedvig Lindahl. She moved to Chelsea in 2015 conceding fewest goals in the league in her first season and helping Chelsea to their first title.

18. Gemma Davison

Davison has won four FA Women’s Super League titles with three different teams proving just how influential the winger is. Davison makes blistering runs on either edge and was part of the first ever PFA Team of the Year in 2013.

17. Ji So-yun

South Korean midfielder Ji So-yun has been one of the most important overseas signings in WSL history. Since her arrival in 2014 her technical ability and spectacular free-kicks has helped Chelsea to three titles and has been selected to the Team of the Year four times.

16. Caroline Weir

Caroline Weir is a prototypical engine room attacking midfielder who has a habit of scoring worldies. She’s dominated at Arsenal, Liverpool, Man City and Scotland, and earned three Team of the Year selections by the age of 26.

15. Nikita Parris

Prolific goalscorer Nikita Parris was the highest all-time WSL goalscorer and scored an impressive 19 goals in 19 league games before leaving for Lyon in 2019. Her goal tally was surpassed by Vivianne Miedema and she’ll be looking to regain her record after joining Arsenal in 2021.

14. Sam Kerr

Australian Sam Kerr is the “Queen of Clutch”. She joined Chelsea in 2019 and very quickly turned into one of the best WSL players of all-time. Her speed, skill and tenacity earned her the 2020/21 WSL Golden Boot and Team of the Year honours.

13. Jordan Nobbs

Central midfielder Jordan Nobbs has won three WSL titles and is one of the most influential players in league history. The phenomenal leader was the FA Player of the Year in 2016.

12. Gilly Flaherty

One of the premier WSL centre-backs, Gilly Flaherty scored the first ever WSL goal back in 2010. Flaherty earned four National Premier League titles with Arsenal and two WSL titles with Chelsea.

11. Rachel Yankey

One of the best WSL wingers in history, Rachel Yankey won six National Premier League titles with Arsenal and one with Fulham. Inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame in 2017 and was the most capped player ever for England with 129 caps when retiring in 2013.

10. Kim Little

Attacking midfielder Kim Little has had two spells with Arsenal with a stint in the U.S. and Australia in between. She has notched up 140 caps at international level for Scotland and is a three-time WSL champion with Arsenal.

9. Ellen White

Goalscoring machine Ellen White is England’s all-time greatest goalscorer and was instrumental in Arsenal’s 2011 and 2012 WSL title winning campaigns. She earned the WSL Golden Boot in 2017-18 and in 2021 overtook Vivianne Miedema briefly to become the all-time leading goalscorer in the WSL.

8. Karen Carney

Number 8 on the best Women’s Super League players of all-time is Karen Carney. One of the best midfielders of her generation, she was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame in 2021.

7. Jill Scott

Ever-present Midfielder Jill Scott leads the all-time FA Women’s Super League appearances with more than 175, and is capped more than 150 times for the Lionesses. She won a WSL title with Man City in 2016.

6. Fara Williams

Another ever-present midfielder, Fara Williams is the most capped player ever for England with 172 caps when retiring from the national team in 2019. She won back to back WSL titles with Liverpool in 2013 and 2014 and continued her career into her late 30’s despite having a kidney condition.

5. Fran Kirby

Fran Kirby is an elite forward who’s been a significant part of Chelsea’s success. She has won five WSL titles and formed one of the most deadly football partnerships with Sam Kerr up front. She earned Team of the Year honours twice and was the WSL Player of the Year in 2020-21.

4. Steph Houghton

Steph Houghton transformed herself into one of the most consistent WSL players and centre-backs of all-time. She started off as a striker at Sunderland before moving into midfielder and later into defence. At Arsenal she won the WSL twice before moving to Manchester City and winning another title in 2016. Houghton is also one of the best in the WSL at taking free-kicks.

3. Alex Scott

Inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame in 2019, former right-back Alex Scott is one of the best FA Women’s Super League Players of all-time. She won five Women’s Premier League titles and helped Arsenal win the 2012 WSL following a spell in America. She now works as a sports presenter and pundit.

2. Lucy Bronze

One of the world’s greatest players, Lucy Bronze is a three-time WSL champion, twice with Liverpool and once with Manchester City. The right-back was the first English footballer to win the UEFA Women’s Player of the Year Award in 2019. She was also awarded the Best FIFA Women’s Player in 2020.

1. Vivianne Miedema

Vivianne Miedema is the greatest FA Women’s Super League player of all-time and one of the greatest strikers ever in women’s football. After joining Arsenal in 2017 she won the WSL in 2018-19 and became the all-time leading goalscorer despite her short time in the league. She became the PFA Women’s Players’ Player of the Year in 2018-19 and the FWA Women’s Footballer of the Year in 2019-20.

Matt Ieriko

Matt Ieriko is a freelance writer who’s evolved his lifelong passion for sport into the creation of WolfgangSport.com in 2020 – an American sports blog covering the NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL, MLS and more. As an Australian, he’s always been fascinated with the cultural differences and global significance of sports in America.

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