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Revision as of 08:03, 12 January 2022

This article is about the Australian premier women's association football league. For the Australian premier men's league of the same name, see A-League Men.

A-League Women
File:A-Leagues Logo Women Stacked Mono Black RGB 301121.png
Founded25 October 2008; 16 years ago (25 October 2008)
First season2008–09
CountryAustralia (9 teams)
Other club(s) fromNew Zealand (1 team)
ConfederationAsian Football Confederation
Number of teams10
Level on pyramid1
International cup(s)AFC Women's Club Championship
Current championsMelbourne Victory (2nd title)
(2020–21)
Current premiersSydney FC (3rd title)
(2020–21)
Most championshipsMelbourne City (4 titles)
Most premiershipsBrisbane Roar
Canberra United
Sydney FC
(3 titles)
TV partnersNetwork 10 (Australia)
Paramount+
(Australia)
Three (New Zealand)
Spark Sport (New Zealand)
beIN Sports (Southeast Asia)
Australia TV (Pacific Islands)
Pasifika TV (Pacific Islands)
BT Sport (Ireland and UK)
ESPN+ (USA)
YouTube (Non-Broadcast Regions)
Websitekeepup.com.au
Current: 2021–22 A-League Women

A-League Women (known as the Liberty A-League for sponsorship reasons), formerly the W-League, is the top-division women's soccer league in Australia. The W-League was established in 2008 by Football Australia (then known as Football Federation Australia) and was originally composed of eight teams of which seven had an affiliation with an existing A-League Men club. As of the 2021–22 season, the league is contested by ten teams. The men’s, women’s and youth leagues were brought together under a unified A-Leagues banner from the 2021–22 season.[1]

Seasons typically run from November to February and include a 12-round regular season and an end-of-season finals series playoff tournament involving the highest-placed teams, culminating in a Grand Final match. The winner of the regular season tournament is dubbed 'Premier' and the winner of the grand final is 'Champion'. Since the league's inaugural season, a total of five clubs have been crowned Premiers and five clubs have been crowned Champions.

Melbourne Victory are the current Champions. Sydney FC are the current premiers.

History

Club locations map

Between 1996 and 2004 the Women's National Soccer League (WNSL) was Australia's top women's soccer league. In 2004 it was discontinued alongside the men's National Soccer League.

After Australia qualified for the quarter-finals of the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup, head coach Tom Sermanni felt the establishment of a professional league was vital for continuing the development of players.[2] Football Federation Australia established the league the following year.[3] The W-League was initially composed of eight teams: Adelaide United, Brisbane Roar, Central Coast Mariners, Melbourne Victory, Newcastle Jets, Perth Glory, and Sydney FC. Seven of the eight teams were affiliated with A-League clubs, and shared their names and colours to promote their brands. The eighth club was Canberra United.[4]

The W-League's inaugural season commenced on 25 October 2008, with Perth hosting Sydney at Members Equity Stadium.[5] After ten rounds, the regular season finished with Queensland Roar as the top-placed team, becoming the first W-League premiers, and advancing to the semi-finals along with the second-, third- and fourth-placed teams. Queensland faced Canberra in the 2009 W-League Grand Final, defeating them 2–0 to take the champions trophy.

Central Coast Mariners were forced to withdraw from the 2010–11 season due to a lack of funding and have yet to return.[6]

When Western Sydney Wanderers joined the A-League for the 2012–13 season, they also entered a team into the W-League, returning the competition to eight teams. From 2012 to 2014, the W-League champion team qualified into an international competition, the International Women's Club Championship.

On 13 May 2015, Melbourne City were confirmed to compete in the W-League from the 2015–16 season.[7] The club had a remarkable inaugural season, winning all 12 of its regular season games and winning the Grand Final.[8]

From the inception of the competition the league was run by Football Federation Australia, the governing body for the sport in Australia. In July 2019, the FFA relinquished operational control of the league to each of the clubs, represented by the Australian Professional Football Clubs Association.[9]

Wellington Phoenix were announced as the expansion club for the 2021–22 A-League Women season.[10]

Central Coast Mariners and Western United will join the league for the 2022-23 A-League Women season,[11][12] upping the number to 12 teams.

Competition format

The A-League Women regular season typically runs from November to February and consists of 12 games per team, with the highest ranked team winning the title of "Premier".[13] The top four teams in the regular season then advance to the single-game knockout semi-finals, with the Champion determined by the victor of the Grand Final.[14] There are plans to expand the finals format for the 2021–22 A-League Women season.[15]

Broadcasting rights

In the 2019–20 season, ABC TV broadcast one game per weekend. Fourteen rounds of that season were broadcast at 4pm on Sundays, as well as the whole W-League 2020 Finals Series.[16] Fox Sport's contract with the A-League, which was renegotiated in June 2020 amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, concluded in July 2021.[17]

Since August 2021, as part of a five-year deal with ViacomCBS, the A-Leagues have been broadcast by Network 10 (one A-League Men match and one A-League Women match on free-to-air television) and Paramount+ (Australia) streaming service (all remaining games).[18] In New Zealand, A-League Men and A-League Women matches are broadcast on Sky Sport/beIN Sports.

Clubs

Current clubs
Team Location Stadium Capacity Founded Joined Head coach Captain Highest
finish 		Most recent
finish
Adelaide United Adelaide, South Australia Marden Sports Complex
Coopers Stadium 		6,000
17,000 		2008 2008 Australia Adrian Stenta Isabel Hodgson 5th 5th
Brisbane Roar Brisbane, Queensland Moreton Daily Stadium
Lions Stadium, Brisbane 		11,500
5,000 		2008 2008 Australia Garrath McPherson Australia Ayesha Norrie 1st 2nd
Canberra United Canberra, Australian Capital Territory Viking Park 7,000 2008 2008 Australia Vicki Linton Australia Michelle Heyman 1st 4th
Melbourne City Melbourne, Victoria Kingston Heath Soccer Complex
AAMI Park 		3,300
30,050 		2015 2015 Australia Rado Vidošić Australia Emma Checker 1st 7th
Melbourne Victory Melbourne, Victoria AAMI Park 30,050 2008 2008 Wales Jeff Hopkins United States Kayla Morrison 1st 3rd
Newcastle Jets Newcastle, New South Wales Wanderers Oval
Adamstown Oval
McDonald Jones Stadium 		2,000
2,000
33,000 		2008 2008 Australia Ash Wilson Australia Cassidy Davis
Australia Gema Simon 		2nd 8th
Perth Glory Perth, Western Australia Macedonia Park
HBF Park 		7,000
20,500 		2008 2008 Australia Alexander Epakis Australia Natasha Rigby 1st 9th
Sydney FC Sydney, New South Wales Netstrata Jubilee Stadium
Leichhardt Oval
Seymour Shaw Park
Cromer Park 		20,500
20,000
5,000
5,000 		2008 2008 Australia Ante Juric Australia Natalie Tobin 1st 1st
Wellington Phoenix Wellington, New Zealand

(temporarily Wollongong, New South Wales)

Sky Stadium
WIN Stadium 		34,500
23,000 		2021 2021 Wales Gemma Lewis New Zealand Lily Alfeld TBD TBD
Western Sydney Wanderers Sydney, New South Wales CommBank Stadium
Blacktown Football Park
Marconi Stadium 		30,000
500
9,000 		2012 2012 Australia Catherine Cannuli TBD 3rd 6th
Future clubs
Team Location Stadium Capacity Founded Joining
Central Coast Mariners Gosford, New South Wales Central Coast Stadium

Pluim Park

20,059

2,200[19]

2008 2022[20]
Western United Wyndham, Victoria GMHBA Stadium 36,000 2021 2022[21]

Performance record

Performance and ranking of clubs based on their best regular season result in the W-League and A-League Women. The 2021–22 season is Wellington Phoenix's first season.

Rank Club Best Result 08–09 09 10–11 11–12 12–13 13–14 14 15–16 16–17 17–18 18–19 19–20 20–21
1 Brisbane Roar 1st (three times) 1 3 2 2 1 4 6 4 7 1 2 5 2
2 Canberra United 1st (three times) 3 4 3 1 5 1 3 2 1 5 8 6 4
3 Sydney FC 1st (three times) 4 1 1 3 4 2 4 3 3 2 3 3 1
4 Melbourne City 1st (twice) — — — — — — — 1 4 4 5 1 7
5 Melbourne Victory 1st 5 5 4 4 3 3 2 9 9 7 1 2 3
6 Perth Glory 1st 7 6 5 6 2 5 1 8 2 6 4 7 9
7 Newcastle Jets 2nd 2 8 6 5 7 8 5 6 5 3 7 9 8
8 Central Coast Mariners 2nd 6 2 — — — — — — — — — — —
9 Western Sydney Wanderers 3rd — — — — 6 7 8 7 8 8 9 3 6
10 Adelaide United 5th (twice) 8 7 7 7 8 6 7 5 6 9 6 8 5
11 Wellington Phoenix N/A — — — — — — — — — — — — —

Organisation

Squad formation and salaries

See also: List of foreign A-League Women players

An A-League Women squad is required to have a minimum of 20 and a maximum of 26 players.[citation needed] Players typically receive a one-season contract,[citation needed] with many playing in leagues in other countries during the A-League Women off-season. Due to the A-League Women season running during the off-season of several leagues around the world, many foreign players have played for teams in A-League Women and vice versa.

In 2015, teams in what was then the W-League had a salary cap of A$150,000.[22] Individual player salaries varied, with one player reporting to The Sydney Morning Herald in 2012 that whilst some players earn $10,000, others earn nothing.[23] In 2014, it was reported that Sydney FC players were paid salaries ranging from $1,000 to $6,000.[24] Players could also earn money playing overseas and may therefore be considered by Professional Footballers Australia (PFA) as professional.[25]

Some clubs are owned by their state soccer associations including Adelaide United and Newcastle Jets.[citation needed]

For the 2017–18 season a minimum salary was introduced at A$10,000. The average salary therefore rose from A$15,500 to A$17,400. A salary cap was set at A$300,000.[26]

The total salary floor, or minimum salary spend, for the 2020-21 season rose to A$294,000, growing to A$315,000 in the 2021-22 season, with a salary cap of A$450,000, as part of a five year deal that will see the salary floor rise to A$390,000 by 2025-26.[27] The deal also included improved standards in training venues, travel and accommodation, high performance staffing, and player workloads.[27] The A-League Women minmum annual wage in 2021 is A$17,055.[28]

Broadcasting

The 2018–19 season marked the first time that fans were able to watch every W-League game. All matches were broadcast or streamed on Fox Sports, SBS Viceland and the My Football Live app. Thursday Night Football was also introduced, meaning 13 stand-alone regular season matches will be played in prime-time and broadcast live on Fox Sports.[29] The Football Federation Australia (FFA) reached a deal with ESPN+ for broadcast rights to W-League games in the United States. ESPN+ will carry at least 17 W-League matches in the 2018–19 season.[30] For the first time ever W-League games would be broadcast on YouTube and Twitter in territories without a traditional broadcast partner.[31] From July 2019 to the end of the 2020–21 season, Foxtel broadcast all matches with ABC broadcasting one match per round live on its primary channel.[32]

From the 2021–22 season onward, A-League Women will be streamed on Paramount+ with Sunday afternoon matches broadcast on 10 Bold, after Network 10 acquired the rights to both A-League Men and Women competitions.[33]

Referees

A-League Women features women referees and assistant referees from Australia. Current referees include:

Honours

Main article: A-League Women records and statistics
W-League winners
Season Premiers (regular season winners) Champions (Grand Final winners)
2008–09 Queensland Roar Queensland Roar
2009 Sydney FC Sydney FC
2010–11 Sydney FC Brisbane Roar
2011–12 Canberra United Canberra United
2012–13 Brisbane Roar Sydney FC
2013–14 Canberra United Melbourne Victory
2014 Perth Glory Canberra United
2015–16 Melbourne City Melbourne City
2016–17 Canberra United Melbourne City
2017–18 Brisbane Roar Melbourne City
2018–19 Melbourne Victory Sydney FC
2019–20 Melbourne City Melbourne City
2020–21 Sydney FC Melbourne Victory

Queensland Roar changed their name to Brisbane Roar for the 2009 season onwards.

Records

Main article: A-League Women records and statistics

Most Appearances

As of 1 December 2021 (prior to commencement of 2021–22 A-League Women season).[35] Players listed in bold are still actively playing in the A-League Women.

Rank Player Appearances
1 Australia Teresa Polias 157
2 Australia Clare Polkinghorne 152
3 Australia Tameka Yallop 139
4 Australia Gema Simon 138
5 Australia Caitlin Cooper 137
6 Australia Ellie Brush 132
7 Australia Kim Carroll 128
Australia Leena Khamis
Australia Marianna Tabain
10 Australia Stephanie Catley 127
Australia Michelle Heyman

Top scorers

As of 1 December 2021 (prior to commencement of 2021–22 A-League Women season). Players listed in bold are still actively playing in the A-League Women.

Rank Player Goals
1 Australia Michelle Heyman 73
2 Australia Samantha Kerr 70
3 Australia Tameka Yallop 58
4 Australia Kyah Simon 50
5 Australia Emily Gielnik 46
6 Australia Leena Khamis 44
7 Australia Kate Gill 42
Australia Lisa De Vanna
9 Australia Ashleigh Sykes 41
10 Australia Tara Andrews 39

See also

References

  1. ^ Official site on 30 September 2021. Retrieved 3 October 2021.
  2. ^ Grainey, Tim (26 November 2013). "Grainey: A closer look at the Westfield W-League". Equalizer Soccer. Retrieved 14 December 2013.
  3. ^ "Women in a league of their own". Football Federation Australia. 28 July 2008.
  4. ^ "W-League to debut in October". Fox Sports. 28 July 2008. Archived from the original on 6 August 2008. Retrieved 28 July 2008.
  5. ^ "Girls shop to the top". FourFourTwo. 28 July 2008. Retrieved 28 July 2008.
  6. ^ "Statement regarding Westfield W-League". Central Coast Mariners. 29 July 2010. Archived from the original on 28 February 2011. Retrieved 29 July 2010.
  7. ^ Hytner, Mike (13 May 2015). "Melbourne City FC to field a W-League side next season". The Guardian.
  8. ^ "Melbourne City crown perfect season with W-League grand final win over Sydney FC". The Age. 31 January 2016.
  9. ^ "FFA reaches in principle agreement for independent A-League". The Roar. 2 July 2019.
  10. ^ Andrew Voerman (10 September 2021). "Wellington Phoenix to field women's team in W-League with quota of Australian players". stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
  11. ^ "Central Coast Mariners welcome W-League expansion news and confirm the club's intention to enter the competition in 2022/23". Central Coast Mariners. 3 September 2021. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
  12. ^ "We're In! Western United to join W-League". Western United. 3 September 2021. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
  13. ^ "W-LEAGUE". Soccer Way. Retrieved 30 November 2013.
  14. ^ "Westfield W-League fixtures and results". Football Federation Australia. Archived from the original on 14 December 2013. Retrieved 30 November 2013.
  15. ^ "Wellington Phoenix to join W-League from this season". Football Australia. 10 September 2021. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
  16. ^ "ABC TV becomes Free-to-Air Broadcast Partner of the Hyundai A-League". A-League. 3 October 2019.
  17. ^ "Foxtel and FFA come to an agreement over A-League and W-League". Mumbrella. 22 June 2020.
  18. ^ "A-League announces Channel 10 as new broadcast partner in five-year deal". ABC News (Australia). 26 May 2021. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
  19. ^ "Pluim Park | Austadiums". www.austadiums.com. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
  20. ^ "Central Coast Mariners welcome W-League expansion news and confirm the club's intention to enter the competition in 2022/23". Central Coast Mariners. 3 September 2021. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
  21. ^ "We're In! Western United to join W-League". Western United. 3 September 2021. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
  22. ^ "Fairer wages for women to dominate CBA talks". theworldgame.sbs.com.au. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
  23. ^ "W-League 2013: Melissa Barbieri has to sell possessions to play". smh.com.au. Retrieved 12 July 2015.
  24. ^ "You can't accuse Sydney FC's W-League team of doing it for anything other than the glory". dailytelegraph.com.au. Retrieved 12 July 2015.
  25. ^ Scanlon, Jill (20 October 2015). "The W-League Will Be Looking To Follow The Matildas Pay Deal Path". Huffington Post. Retrieved 9 November 2015. While this is not a full-time professional workload wage, the women can also earn money playing overseas and are therefore considered by the PFA to be categorised as professional.
  26. ^ "W-League players to get huge pay increase for new season". espnfc.com. 11 September 2017. Retrieved 12 September 2017.
  27. ^ a b "Salary cap changes, pay boost for W-League, A-League players". thewomensgame.com. 9 September 2021. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
  28. ^ Monteverde, Marco (9 September 2021). "A-League: New agreement will allow clubs to spend extra money outside of salary cap". News.com.au. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
  29. ^ "Fans able to watch every match of the Westfield W-League 2018/19 Season". 5 September 2018. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  30. ^ "ESPN+ Acquires Broadcast Rights to Westfield W-League in the United States". 10 August 2018. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  31. ^ "Fans in more corners of the globe set to watch Australian football this season". 18 October 2018. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
  32. ^ "ABC strikes deal with FFA to become free-to-air home of football in Australia". ABC News. 3 October 2019.
  33. ^ "Network 10 and Paramount+ to deliver double the football action on Saturday nights". A-League. 27 September 2021. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  34. ^ "Kate Jacewicz to referee the Westfield W-League 2019 Grand Final". Football Federation Australia. 13 February 2019. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
  35. ^ "Australia W-League Women All-time appearances 1–50". www.worldfootball.net. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
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