THE Women’s Super League (WSL) will move from a summer to a winter schedule, with manager England Mark Sampson praising yesterday’s announcement.

The Football Association believe that the shift will ease the problems with fixture scheduling and the need to take a break during major tournament football.

The new WSL will run from September to May, similar to the men’s schedule, starting after Euro 2017.

There will be a winter break from mid-December to mid-January, something many in the men’s game has called for, and the season will end with the FA Cup final at Wembley.

Sampson, who led England to third place in last year’s World Cup in Canada, believes the national side will also benefit from the shift.

“Fundamentally, the reason we made the changes is that we have to make bold, courageous calls to take the game forward,” he said.

“Since I have come on board we have been willing to make these courageous calls, in this case a massive change to the women’s game structurally.

“When I look at it the positives far outweigh the negatives, certainly from an England point of view. The objective is to make sure we do as well as we can.

“We need the best players we can, the best support and with a fixture list that helps them develop and grow.”

The current season ends in November, which leaves a huge gap until the start of next season.

To prevent a 10-month break ahead of the new league, and to give players meaningful games ahead of the Euros, a one-off spring series will be played — a condensed tournament where each WSL side will face each other once and run alongside the FA Cup.

FA director of football participation and development Kelly Simmons believes that is a “really exciting time for the women’s game.”

She said: “When we launched the WSL in 2011 it was the right decision to play it as a summer league, which has been demonstrated by the competitive, exciting football, growing attendances and player development.

“However, there are still a number of issues holding the league back, such as fixture scheduling and ground availability.

We want to keep building on the momentum and growth of the league and we believe now is the right time to change the calendar.

“The move is designed to bring many benefits to the women’s game and we’ve worked closely with our clubs and other stakeholders in making this decision.

“The FA is committed to investing in women’s football and aims to double participation and attendances by 2020, as well as creating the right environment for England to have the best chance of winning the 2023 World Cup and we believe that these changes will help us to further achieve these aims.”