Women's football: Record breaking TV for Women's Super League

The Women's Super League is to be shown on BBC TV for the first time, with other games being shown on Sky.

The Football Association (FA) which runs the WSL announced the "landmark" multimillion pound deal, which is thought to be the biggest broadcast deal of any professional women's football league in the world.

Former Arsenal player Alex Scott said it will "inspire girls and women to play the sport", while Kelly Simmons from the FA expects the deal will give the WSL a massive audience boost.

It will also provide money - around £8 million a season - some of it will go to the clubs and can be used to help further develop women's football, as well as to help train referees and improve the quality of pitches.

From the money available, 75 percent of investment revenue to go to WSL clubs, and 25 percent to the Women's Championship.

This the first time that the rights to the WSL have been sold separately from the men's game.

The number of people wanting to watch women's football has been increasing, with a record-breaking 1.12 billion viewers watched the 2019 Women's World Cup, according to Fifa, and 28.1 million people watched BBC coverage of the tournament on television and online.

What impact will this deal have?

England and Manchester City captain Steph Houghton told BBC Sport it was an "amazing step forward" for women's football and the players can't wait to "show the world what an unbelievable league we have".

"The way this sport has developed in this country over the last few years has been unbelievable," she added.

"I think this will really push our league to be the best in Europe, if not the world."

Presenter Alex Scott who used to play for Arsenal and England said: "It's really going to help us grow and engage our fan bases across the country, from young girls in London council estates like I was, all the way up to the very tip of England.

"It will also bring in vital revenue into our league, the clubs and the grassroots football pyramid at the beating heart of the beautiful game.

"Most importantly, it's providing a fantastic platform to inspire girls and women to play the sport which is something I feel very passionate about."

Where can I watch the games?

The BBC will broadcast 22 live matches, with a minimum of 18 shown on BBC One or BBC Two.

Sky Sports will provide coverage of up to 44 matches screened across the Main Event, Premier League and Sky Sports Football channels.

The agreements with both broadcasters will run until the summer of 2024.

Any other matches not selected for broadcast by the BBC or Sky will be shown live on FA Player.

Different time slots are being considered, with 12.30pm on Sunday, 11.30am on Saturday, 6.30pm on Sunday, and 6.30pm on Friday all being considered.