Kicking off on Sunday (April 8), the eight-club campaign, which has a break for the Olympics, builds on a successful launch last year when The FA WSL became the country's first semi-professional league for women's football.

Although the women's game in the United Kingdom lacks profile and still lags far behind the men in popularity compared to some nations, women's football is still the third biggest team sport in the country with attendances up by 600 per cent and viewing figures of live televised matches a par with some games in the Scottish Premier League (SPL).

The FA has invested over £3 million ($5 million/€4 million) into the new league over three years in the hope of making women's football more commercially sustainable and creating bigger fan bases.

Easter Sunday sees the opening fixture between reigning champions Arsenal Ladies (pictured) and Everton Ladies.

While the women's game lacks recognition outside the major internationals, it is hoped that London 2012 will help change that.

Already, one area where the sport is outstripping the men is social networking.

According to recent research, with news about the women's game appearing largely as passing mentions, fans are turning to online social networks for their content.


As a result, the new season will see the launch of a dedicated digital ambassador programme in which each team has selected a player to be the digital face of their club, using social media to give fans a glimpse of life on and off the pitch.

"When we launched The FA WSL last year we set out to be a truly interactive league by inviting fans to have a say and to get closer to the players through social media channels," Kelly Simmons, The FA's head of the national game, told a media round table today.

"The sport rarely makes headlines except for major tournaments.

"We want to continue to interact with our fans in exciting ways and make 2012 a starting point, not an end point, for greater support for women's football."

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