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Former England international Izzy Christiansen and commentator Pien Meulensteen will join Sky Sports for the 2023/24 Barclays Women’s Super League season.

Sky Sports’ WSL season kicks-off on Sunday October 1 when champions Chelsea host London rivals Tottenham at Stamford Bridge at 5.30pm.

Christiansen joins the on-screen WSL team having announced her retirement on Sky Sports’ Three Players and a Podcast at the end of the last season after a successful 14-year career with Everton, Birmingham City, Manchester City and Lyon, as well as England.

Fresh out of the dressing room, football fans will benefit from his knowledge and insight gained from playing with and against the current stars of the game.

Christiansen said: “I’m thrilled to be joining Sky Sports and working on their unrivaled coverage across men’s and women’s football and that was key in my decision to join. The 2023/24 WSL season will be fascinating coming off the back of one of the tightest title races for many years and a World Cup.”

Meulensteen has a wealth of experience as a commentator, reporter and presenter and made history of the last season as the first lead female Sky Sports commentator for a Premier League match. Meulensteen also commented on World Cup games and has a coveted Sports Journalism Association award for her work. She will bring WSL viewers added insight through her in-depth knowledge of the game as well as a strong on-air presence.

Both Christiansen and Meulensteen complement the existing on-screen Sky Sports WSL team including former England legend Karen Carney and presenter Caroline Barker. The pair will also play a wider role across Sky Sports’ football portfolio, including Premier League and EFL.

Meulensteen said: “I’m privileged and excited to continue working with the incredible team of broadcasters at Sky Sports and to bring the best coverage for an exciting season ahead, in both the men’s and women’s game.”

Sky Sports’ Director of Football, Gary Hughes, added: “We are very fortunate to be able to add two extremely talented names to our already stellar WSL cast. Izzy’s recent experience of playing in the WSL will bring great relevance and insight to our coverage, while Pien has proven ability of commenting on the men’s and women’s game.”

Aided by a title race that went down to the wire, last season’s average viewership of the Women’s Super League was up by 53 per cent, highlighting the ever-increasing popularity of the women’s game. WSL fans can expect another season of nail-biting action, with 35 games exclusively live on Sky Sports for the 2023/24 season.

All games will continue to be shown on Sky Showcaseavailable in all Sky homes, even without a Sky Sports package, giving the competition greater visibility.

Sky Sports Newsdigital and social media channels will continue to shine a light on all the news and scores from across the division, while fans can keep up to date with everything on and off the pitch with the return of Three Players and a Podcasthosted by Caroline Barker.

For those unable to wait until the new season for their fill of top-level women’s football, it was recently announced that the award-winning football podcast The Offside Rule will join forces with Sky Sports for the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023.

Your club’s Women’s Super League fixture list

Arsenal fixtures

Aston Villa fixtures

Brighton fixtures

Bristol City fixtures

Chelsea fixtures

Everton fixtures

Leicester fixtures

Liverpool fixtures

Manchester City fixtures

Manchester United fixtures

Tottenham fixtures

West Ham fixtures

Key dates for the 2023/24 season

• Barclays Women’s Super League opening weekend: sunday october 1
• Barclays Women’s Championship opening weekend: Aug 26 – Aug 27
• FA Women’s Continental League Cup final: March 30/31
• Barclays Women’s Championship final weekend: sunday april 28
• Vitality Women’s FA Cup final: May 11/12
• Barclays Women’s Super League final weekend: Sunday-May 18