2024/2025 Women’s Super League: The story of newcomers Crystal Palace
One of the founding members of the FA Women's Championship, Crystal Palace secured promotion to the WSL at the fifth time of asking.
Football
For the first time in their history, Crystal Palace will play in the Women’s Super League this season.
Following their promotion from the Championship last term, it is set to be their first taste of top-flight football.
It will be their biggest test since their inception in 1992, coming up against some of the best teams – and players – in the world.
Read on to find out more about the London outfit, and the story behind their promotion-winning campaign.
Crystal Palace head coach Laura Kaminski.
Crystal Palace’s journey to the top
Crystal Palace are one of the clubs that have risen through the ranks of English football, founded in 1992 and going from strength to strength.
Three promotions in different national leagues – all coming as champions – served as the cornerstone of their growth, with cup success on the side, too.
Winners of the Surrey County Cup in 10/11 and 15/16, they have thrice been runners-up in the same competition and were also in a similar position for the Capital Women’s Senior Cup in 17/18, narrowly missing out on more silverware.
After being granted their semi-professional status in 2018, the Eagles became one of the founding members of the FA Women’s Championship, which serves as the second tier of football in England.
Since then, making it to the Women's Super League had been the ultimate goal for Palace.
They came very close in 21/22, before eventually settling in fourth. On either side of that run would be ninth, seventh, and more recently fifth-placed finishes.
But the real turning point came in 2023 when the club announced it would become fully professional in a bid to secure a historic rise to the top flight for the first time in its history.
Winning the Championship title was far from smooth sailing, pushed until the very end by the likes of Charlton and Sunderland, the former finishing within one point.
In the end, 14 victories, four draws, and four defeats were enough to seal their fate.
Palace were also by far the most dominant side in front of goal, netting 55 on their way to a goal difference of 35. For context, the second-best goal difference stood at 15, from second-placed Charlton.
Their professional status was not the only thing that spurred on that title-winning team, though.
In the same summer, they announced the appointment of head coach Laura Kaminski who has valuable WSL coaching experience with the likes of Arsenal, Brighton, and Chelsea.
Her exciting, full-throttle style of play has been the backbone of success so far, but she will know all too well the kind of challenges that await them this season.
Revamping their squad
Knowing the mammoth task ahead of them, and hoping to avoid going straight back down come the end of the campaign, Palace have revamped their squad significantly.
13 players out paved the way for 13 additions, many of who bring a wealth of experience with them both domestically and internationally. Arguably their most important move ahead of a big season has been the signing of Danish defender Katrine Veje from Everton.
Bringing in a seasoned professional who knows this league and how to survive it is key for Palace, and could be the difference between staying up or finding themselves back in the Championship.
Similarly, the arrival of striker Katie Stengel to guide the forward line is a shrewd signing for the Eagles.
The last few seasons have seen her bounce between the NWSL - a robust league in itself - and the WSL, with a one-year stint at Liverpool in which she scored 17 goals in 33 appearances for the Merseyside club.
It isn’t all about the experienced stars, though.
Kaminski pulled off a real coup with the signing of Swedish midfielder My Cato. The 22-year-old captained IFK Norrköping in her final year with her hometown club. A promising talent, she brings a physical presence to the middle with the ability to contribute creatively, too.
Palace have also made use of loans, bringing in four players from other clubs to bolster the squad, including highly-regarded youngsters Brooke Aspin and Poppy Pritchard.
The WSL is going to be a tough test for Kaminski and her side, but this transfer window has put them in good stead.