Figures obtained by BBC Sport under the Freedom of Information Act covered the 2016-17 season in the men’s game, which did not run parallel with the women’s football calendar.
The time period covers half of the 2016 WSL season, including the latter stages of both the Women’s FA Cup and League Cup, and the entire 2017 WSL Spring Series – a one-off competition which bridged the gap to a winter league season.
From the 20 clubs to feature in WSL 1 and 2 during that time, 81 samples were collected – 47 in the top flight and 34 in the second tier.
In comparison, in the German women’s Bundesliga in 2016 a total of 135 samples (85 out of competition and 50 in competition) were collected, according to information provided by Germany’s National Anti-Doping Agency.
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