W-League (Australia)
 | |
| Founded | 25 October 2008 (25 October 2008) |
|---|---|
| First season | 2008–09 |
| Country |  Australia |
| Confederation | AFC (Asia) |
| Number of teams | 9 |
| Level on pyramid | 1 |
| Current champions | Sydney FC (3rd title) |
| Current premiers | Melbourne Victory (1st title) |
| Most championships | Melbourne City (3 titles) Sydney FC (3 titles) |
| Most premierships | Brisbane Roar Canberra United (3 titles) |
| TV partners | Fox Sports; SBS |
| Website | w-league.com.au |
 2018–19 W-League | |
The W-League is the top-division women's soccer league in Australia, run by Football Federation Australia (FFA). The W-League was established in 2008 and was composed of eight teams of which seven had an affiliation with an A-League club, and the other was a new entity based in Canberra. The league is currently contested by nine teams. The competition is known as the Westfield W-League through a sponsorship arrangement with the Westfield Group.
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 W-League Premiers and five clubs have been crowned W-League Champions.
From 2012 to 2014, the W-League champion team qualified into an international competition, the International Women's Club Championship.
Melbourne Victory are the current Premiers, while Sydney FC are the current Champion, having won a record-equalling three Grand Finals.
Contents
1 History
2 Competition format
3 Clubs
4 Organisation
4.1 Squad formation and salaries
4.2 Broadcasting
4.3 Referees
5 Honours
6 Records
6.1 Most Appearances
6.2 Top Scorers
7 See also
8 References
9 External links
History
Between 1996–2004 the Women's National Soccer League (WNSL) was Australia's top women's association football 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.[1]Football Federation Australia established the league the following year.[2] 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.[3]
The W-League's inaugural season commenced on 25 October 2008, with Perth hosting Sydney at Members Equity Stadium.[4] 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.[5]
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.
On 13 May 2015, Melbourne City were confirmed to compete in the W-League from the 2015–16 season.[6] The club had a remarkable inaugural season, winning all 12 of its regular season games and winning the Grand Final.[7]
Competition format
The W-League 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".[8] The top four teams in the regular season then advance to the single-game knockout semifinals, with the Champion determined by the victor of the Grand Final.[9]
Clubs
| Current clubs | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity | Founded | Joined | Head coach | Captain |
Adelaide United | Adelaide, South Australia | Adelaide Shores Football Centre Marden Sports Complex | 3,000 6,000 | 2008 | 2008 | Ivan Karlovic | Emma Checker |
Brisbane Roar | Brisbane, Queensland | Perry Park Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre A.J. Kelly Park Suncorp Stadium | 5,000 48,500 1,500 52,500 | 2008 | 2008 | Mel Andreatta | Clare Polkinghorne |
Canberra United | Canberra, ACT | McKellar Park Deakin Stadium | 3,500 1,500 | 2008 | 2008 | Heather Garriock | Ellie Brush |
Melbourne City | Melbourne | CB Smith Reserve AAMI Park | 2,000 30,050 | 2015 | 2015 | Rado Vidošić | Stephanie Catley |
Melbourne Victory | Melbourne | Lakeside Stadium Kingston Heath Soccer Complex Broadmeadows Valley Park Marvel Stadium | 10,000 5,000 5,000 53,300 | 2008 | 2008 |  Jeff Hopkins |  Natasha Dowie |
Newcastle Jets | Newcastle, New South Wales | Wanderers Oval Adamstown Oval | 2,000 2,000 | 2008 | 2008 | Craig Deans | Gema Simon |
Perth Glory | Perth, Western Australia | nib Stadium (now HBF Park) Dorrien Gardens | 20,500 4,000 | 2008 | 2008 | Bobby Despotovski | Samantha Kerr |
Sydney FC | Sydney | Jubilee Stadium Leichhardt Oval Seymour Shaw Park Cromer Park | 20,505 20,000 5,000 5,000 | 2008 | 2008 | Ante Juric | Teresa Polias |
Western Sydney Wanderers | Sydney | Marconi Stadium Campbelltown Stadium | 11,000 21,000 | 2012 | 2012 | Dan Barrett | Erica Halloway |
| Former clubs | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity | Founded | Joined | Dissolved | Last head coach | Last captain |
Central Coast Mariners | Gosford, NSW | Central Coast Stadium | 20,059 | 2008 | 2008 | 2009 | Stephen Roche | Caitlin Cooper |
Organisation
Squad formation and salaries
A W-League 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 W-League's off-season. Due to the W-League's season running during the off-season of several leagues around the world, many foreign players have played for teams in the W-League and vice versa.
In 2015, teams in the W-League had a salary cap of A$150,000.[10] Individual player salaries vary, with one player reporting to The Sydney Morning Herald in 2012 that whilst some players earn $10,000, others earn nothing.[11] In 2014, it was reported that Sydney FC players were paid salaries ranging from $1,000 to $6,000.[12] Players can also earn money playing overseas and may therefore be considered by Professional Footballers Australia (PFA) as professional.[13]
Some clubs are owned by their state football 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.[14]
Broadcasting
The 2018-19 season marked the first time that fans would be able to watch every W-League game. All matches will be 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.[15] 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.[16] For the first time ever W-League games would be broadcast on Youtube and Twitter in territories without a traditional broadcast partner.[17]
Referees
The W-League features Women Referees and Assistant Referees from Australia. Current referees include:
Kate Jacewicz, who has refereed nine of the first eleven Finals.[18]
- Katie Patterson
Honours
| 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 |
Queensland Roar changed their name to Brisbane Roar for the 2009 season.
Records
Most Appearances
As of 16 February 2019 (end of 2018-19 post-season).[19]
Players listed in bold are still active.
| Rank | Player | Appearances |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Teresa Polias | 130 |
| 2 | Clare Polkinghorne | 128 |
| 3 | Tameka Butt | 118 |
| 4 | Laura Alleway | 117 |
| 5 | Marianna Tabain | 116 |
| 6 | Caitlin Cooper | 115 |
| Michelle Heyman | ||
| Gema Simon | ||
| 9 | Ellie Brush | 113 |
| Stephanie Catley |
Top Scorers
As of 16 February 2019 (end of 2018-19 post-season).[20]
Players listed in bold are still active.
| Rank | Player | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Samantha Kerr | 70 |
| 2 | Michelle Heyman | 63 |
| 3 | Tameka Butt | 52 |
| 4 | Kyah Simon | 44 |
| 5 | Kate Gill | 42 |
| 6 | Ashleigh Sykes | 41 |
| 7 | Leena Khamis | 40 |
| 8 | Lisa De Vanna | 39 |
| 9 | Emily Gielnik | 33 |
| 10 | Caitlin Foord | 32 |
See also
- W-League records and statistics
- Women's soccer in Australia
- Australia women's national soccer team
Women's National Soccer League (WNSL) – defunct Australian women's national league
References
^ Grainey, Tim (26 November 2013). "Grainey: A closer look at the Westfield W-League". Equalizer Soccer. Retrieved 14 December 2013..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
^ "Women in a league of their own". Football Federation Australia. 28 July 2008.
^ "W-League to debut in October". Fox Sports. 28 July 2008. Archived from the original on 6 August 2008. Retrieved 28 July 2008.
^ "Girls shop to the top". FourFourTwo. 28 July 2008. Retrieved 28 July 2008.
^ "Statement regarding Westfield W-League". Central Coast Mariners. 29 July 2010. Archived from the original on 28 February 2011. Retrieved 29 July 2010.
^ Hytner, Mike (13 May 2015). "Melbourne City FC to field a W-League side next season". The Guardian.
^ "Melbourne City crown perfect season with W-League grand final win over Sydney FC". The Age. 31 January 2016.
^ "W-LEAGUE". Soccer Way. Retrieved 30 November 2013.
^ "Westfield W-League fixtures and results". Football Federation Australia. Archived from the original on 14 December 2013. Retrieved 30 November 2013.
^ "Fairer wages for women to dominate CBA talks". theworldgame.sbs.com.au. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
^ "W-League 2013: Melissa Barbieri has to sell possessions to play". smh.com.au. Retrieved 12 July 2015.
^ "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.
^ 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.
^ "W-League players to get huge pay increase for new season". espnfc.com. 11 September 2017. Retrieved 12 September 2017.
^ "Fans able to watch every match of the Westfield W-League 2018/19 Season". September 5, 2018. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
^ "ESPN+ Acquires Broadcast Rights to Westfield W-League in the United States". August 10, 2018. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
^ "Fans in more corners of the globe set to watch Australian football this season". October 18, 2018. Retrieved October 18, 2018.
^ "Kate Jacewicz to referee the Westfield W-League 2019 Grand Final". Football Federation Australia. 13 February 2019. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
^ "Australia W-League Women All-time appearances 1-50". www.worldfootball.net. Retrieved 17 February 2019.
^ "Australia W-League Women All-time Topscorers Rank 1-50". www.worldfootball.net. Retrieved 17 February 2019.
External links
- Official website
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