The competitions format has changed through the years, with some seasons having previously also included a preceding group stage prior to the knockout rounds. After the league restructuring of the Women's Premier League in 2015 up to 72 teams are eligible to participate. At first all teams are drawn against each other in the determining round. The winning teams then are drawn into either a preliminary round or directly into the first round of the cup. Thus 32 teams then play the first round. The losers of the determining round play a preliminary round and then a round of 32 onwards for the
FA Women's National League Plate, first played out in 2015–16. The 2025–26 season saw a change to the format of the League Cup, with the introduction of a group stage and entry of Professional Game Academy sides for the first time. Teams were initially drawn into 22 groups of four teams, from which the 22 group winners and 10 best runners-up advanced to the Cup knockout stages. The other 12 runners-up, and 20 best third-placed teams advanced to the National League Plate knockout stages. From there, both the Cup and the Plate held four knockout rounds before the finals of each competition. ==1993 Wembley final==