W-League (Australia)
The W-League is the top-division women's soccer league in Australia. The W-League was established in 2008 by Football Federation Australia 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.
Melbourne City are the current Premiers and Champions, having won the Grand Final for a record fourth time.
History
Between 1996–2004 the Women's National Soccer League 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. Football Federation Australia established the league the following year. 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.
The W-League's inaugural season commenced on 25 October 2008, with Perth hosting Sydney at Members Equity Stadium. 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.
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. The club had a remarkable inaugural season, winning all 12 of its regular season games and winning the Grand Final.
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.
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". 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.Clubs
Performance record
Performance and ranking of clubs based on their best regular season result in the W-League.| 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 |
| 1 | Brisbane Roar | 1st | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| 2 | Canberra United | 1st | 3 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 8 | 6 |
| 3 | Sydney FC | 1st | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| 4 | Melbourne City | 1st | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 1 |
| 5 | Melbourne Victory | 1st | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 1 | 2 |
| 6 | Perth Glory | 1st | 7 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 7 |
| 7 | Newcastle Jets | 2nd | 2 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 7 | 9 |
| 8 | Central Coast Mariners | 2nd | 6 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | - |
| 9 | Western Sydney Wanderers | 3rd | — | — | — | — | 6 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 3 |
| 10 | Adelaide United | 5th | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 9 | 6 | 9 |
Legend:
Team names in italics indicates the club is no longer a current W-League member.
| League Premiers and Qualifier for W-League Finals | |
| Qualifier for W-League Finals | |
| — | Not part of that season's competition |
Organisation
Squad formation and salaries
A W-League squad is required to have a minimum of 20 and a maximum of 26 players. Players typically receive a one-season contract, 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. 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. In 2014, it was reported that Sydney FC players were paid salaries ranging from $1,000 to $6,000. Players can also earn money playing overseas and may therefore be considered by Professional Footballers Australia as professional.
Some clubs are owned by their state soccer associations including Adelaide United and Newcastle Jets.
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.
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. The Football Federation Australia 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. For the first time ever W-League games would be broadcast on YouTube and Twitter in territories without a traditional broadcast partner. Since July 2019, Foxtel has broadcast all matches and ABC has broadcast one match per round live on its primary channel.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.
- Katie Patterson
Honours
| Season | Premiers | Champions |
| 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 |
Queensland Roar changed their name to Brisbane Roar for the 2009 season.
Records
Most Appearances
As of 21 March 2020.Players listed in bold are still active.
| Rank | Player | Appearances |
| 1 |  Teresa Polias | 144 |
| 2 | Clare Polkinghorne | 140 |
| 3 | Tameka Yallop | 128 |
| 4 | Ellie Brush | 127 |
| 4 | Stephanie Catley | 127 |
| 4 | Gema Simon | 127 |
| 7 | Caitlin Cooper | 125 |
| 8 | Laura Brock | 123 |
| 9 | Shannon May | 120 |
| 9 | Lydia Williams | 120 |
Top Scorers
As of 21 March 2020.Players listed in bold are still actively playing in the W-League.
| Rank | Player | Goals |
| 1 | Samantha Kerr | 70 |
| 2 | Michelle Heyman | 63 |
| 3 | Tameka Yallop | 55 |
| 4 | Kyah Simon | 50 |
| 5 | Kate Gill | 42 |
| 5 | Leena Khamis | 42 |
| 7 | Ashleigh Sykes | 41 |
| 8 | Lisa De Vanna | 39 |
| 9 | Tara Andrews | 34 |
| 9 | Caitlin Foord | 34 |