Barclays and the Football Association have announced a multi-million pound title sponsorship of the FA Women’s Super League from the 2019-20 season.
The top tier of English Women’s football will be renamed the Barclays FA Women’s Super League.
The partnership will run until July 2022 and will see record levels of investment introduced into the women’s game in England.
There will be a £500,000 prize fund for the WSL, starting with the 2019-20 season, distributed according to final league position.
In the past, WSL winners have to been awarded any prize money.
The FA and Barclays will also work together to drive the growth of the women’s game at grassroots level, with Barclays becoming the lead partner of the FA Girl’s Football School Partnerships, a nationwide scheme to help develop girls’ access to football at school.
Barclays will collaborate with the FA and Youth Sport Trust to support the development and delivery of 100 Girls’ Football School Partnerships.
Kelly Simmons, The FA’s director of women’s professional game said: “We are delighted to announce our landmark partnership with Barclays and are looking forward to them joining us on a journey to transform the future of women’s football.
“Their record, multimillion-pound commitment will impact all levels of the game and will support our ambition to make the Barclays FA Women’s Super League the world’s most successful league, on and off the pitch.
“Of equal importance is the support this provides to The FA Girls’ Football School Partnerships, a cornerstone to our ambition to double participation within The FA’s Gameplan for Growth strategy and will see girls across the country given the opportunity to begin a relationship with football, which we hope will last a lifetime.”
Barclays will now be supporting both men’s and women’s football at the top tier as it has also renewed its official Banking Partner agreement with the Premier League for a further three years.