Brighton to open WSL 2026-27 at Crawley on September 6 against Renée Slegers’s side
Brighton begin their Women’s Super League 2026-27 campaign at Crawley on 6 September when they host Renée Slegers’s side, with the club arriving after reaching their first FA Cup final last season. The campaign preview places Brighton 6th in the Guardian writers’ collective predictions.
Dario Vidosic enters his third season in charge, making him the WSL’s second-longest serving manager and a source of stability on the south coast after a summer of relative calm. The Seagulls have signed seven new players while allowing four to depart, and last season’s run to the FA Cup final — ending in defeat to Manchester City at Wembley — is cited as evidence of progress.
Midfield addition Lia Wälti and defender Gabby George are among the arrivals intended to add experience and defensive solidity, while the Republic of Ireland’s Emily Murphy and Poland’s Nadia Krezyman arrive as young attacking prospects. Wälti, 33, returns to England after a year with Juventus and brings a WSL title and a Champions League winners’ medal from seven years at Arsenal; she also captained Switzerland to the quarter-finals at Euro 2025.
Brighton’s lack of a recognised centre-forward last season, exacerbated by the anterior cruciate ligament injury to Arsenal loanee Michelle Agyemang, is highlighted as a key shortfall going into the new campaign. Kiko Seike finished as Brighton’s highest scorer in the league with eight goals and was the club’s only representative in the Women’s Super League’s top 20 for goals and assists; the club will seek a solution in the remainder of the transfer window.
The team’s shooting data presents a paradox: no other side had as strong a shot accuracy, yet only three teams converted a lower proportion of their on-target efforts. Tactical development under Vidosic has included an aggressive pressing and possession-based approach complemented by an out-of-possession plan designed to help against larger clubs.
Sophie Peskett is another summer recruit, joining Brighton after seven years at Ipswich where, aged 18 in 2021, she became the club’s first professional player and went on to make 127 appearances and help Ipswich earn promotion to WSL 2 twice; now 23, she is described as a nifty winger with an eye for goal who will add to Brighton’s attacking options. Lia Wälti said: “Brighton is not a team that has to hide. In the last couple of years, they’ve been able to hurt the big teams in many moments, and they reached the FA Cup final last season as well. We’re not going to be favourites in every single game, but that’s a nice position to be in.”
Off the pitch, Pinterest has become the women’s team’s first solo sponsor on a four-year deal built around the concept of “matchday style,” and the club continues plans for a purpose-built women’s stadium next to the Amex, with the hope it will open for the start of the 2030-2031 campaign. Brighton will keep most home matches at Crawley’s Broadfield Stadium while four of their first six home fixtures are scheduled for the Amex; the club has added an Amex 4-Match Pack priced at £45 for adults and launched a “Built For Her” women’s membership.
Brighton’s season opener at Crawley on 6 September represents the first test of whether summer recruitment and tactical evolution can convert last season’s cup progress into greater league consistency.