Credit: Imago

Richie Mills

Wed 25 February 2026 18:10, UK

England captain Leah Williamson said she would “never rule out” strike action over playing schedule concerns.

Ahead of the Lionesses’ game against Ukraine on 3 March, the Arsenal defender – who returned to action in December after five months out with a knee injury – was asked if players would be willing to strike to get governing bodies’ attention.

She told BBC Sport on Tuesday: “We’ll never know for sure but I don’t think people argue against the scheduling for fun. There’s reasons behind it.

“If you listen to the players’ group, of course we want to play all the time, but the more successful you are – and this team has been very successful – then the less rest you have and the higher risk of injury there is.

“It’s an accumulation. The players, I’m sure, would love to just turn up and play football, but we use our voice and we try to get involved in conversations with the hierarchy so that they at least have our perspective. Whether they listen to it or not, is out of our control.”

While Williamson’s Arsenal have a busier schedule this season, Tottenham and other Women’s Super League teams are not in the same position.

• Read more: WSL break: Everything Tottenham fans need to know as European race heats up

Why striking over scheduling of women’s game is premature

Last November, players’ union FIFPRO released a report stating that the top 15 women’s players in the world had all played 50 games or more in a season in 2025.

England midfielder Keira Walsh previously told governing bodies to “listen to the players” about the congested schedule but that isn’t such a big concern for, arguably, the majority of others in the sport.

For instance, Martin Ho‘s Tottenham side played two pre-season games, whereas the men’s team had six warm-up fixtures over the summer.

Tottenham have played 16 WSL games in a 12-team league, have advanced two rounds in the FA Cup, and chalked up four matches in the League Cup.

Many players will add a handful of games by going on international duty, but many women’s footballers are likely to play under 40 matches a season, some less.

In the men’s game, Manchester City’s Rodri has complained about playing more than 60 times a season in the past.

While that is, arguably, unacceptable, men’s players are seemingly not prepared to take pay cuts to facilitate a reduction in fixtures. More games certainly line the pockets of UEFA and FIFA.

Sharp turnarounds need to be avoided where possible between encounters, both in the men’s and women’s game, but it seems a strike would only make some sort of sense for sides going deep in European competitions.

The majority of clubs aren’t in Europe, so this argument appears to fall flat for now.

Williamson said this is not an urgent issue but would “never take it off the table”. Moreover, she said the sport was in a place where we can “collaborate, listen and educate”.

The timing of her comments comes at a time when the WSL – which will expand to 14 teams from the 2026-27 season – has taken a break for nearly a month, which may not have helped her cause, either.

• Read more: Everything you need to know as Tottenham Women draw Chelsea in FA Cup – Dates, prize money and more

Tottenham have plenty to play for this season

Tottenham are having an excellent season, with Spurs level on points with Champions League holders Arsenal – although the Gunners have two games in hand.

A European spot may be beyond their reach, with only the top three teams in the WSL having a chance of playing in the Champions League.

They are a whopping 10 points ahead of sixth-placed London City Lionesses, a team they dramatically beat on penalties in the FA Cup fifth round on Monday.

Credit: Breaking Media

So barring a late-season collapse, Tottenham are likely to finish fifth in the table – a far cry from coming second from bottom last term.

Outside of the league, they take on Chelsea, who are four points ahead of them in the league, on 5 April in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup – a competition they finished runners-up in back in 2024.

They face an uphill task to win that one but going by their performances this season, it isn’t beyond the realms of possibility.

Check out Football Insider for the latest updates and insight into what is going on at Tottenham.