W-League (Australia)

W-League

Country	Australia
Confederation	AFC (Asia)
Founded	25 October 2008
Number of teams	8
Levels on pyramid	1
Current champions	Canberra United (2nd title) (2014)
Current premiers	Perth Glory (1st title) (2014)
Most championships	Brisbane Roar Sydney FC Canberra United (2 titles)
Most premierships	Brisbane Roar Sydney FC Canberra United (2 titles)
Website	w-league.com.au

The W-League (currently known as the Westfield W-League for sponsorship reasons) is the top division of women's association football in Australia. Established in 2008, the league is composed of eight teams of which seven are affiliated with clubs in the A-League and their respective state federations. The eighth team is based in Canberra.

Competition format

The W-League's season typically runs from November to February and consists of 12 rounds. The top four teams in the regular season advance to the semi-finals with the champion determined by the victor of the Grand Final.

History

Establishment

After the Australia women's national football team qualified for the quarterfinals of the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup in China for the first time, head coach Tom Sermanni felt the establishment of a professional league was vital for continuing the development of players. The 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 the inaugural Australian A-League clubs, and shared their names and colours to promote their brands. The eighth club was the Canberra-based Canberra United.

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

W-League Major Trophy Winners

Season	Premiers (regular season winners)	Champions (Grand Final winners)
2014	Perth Glory	Canberra United
2013–14	Canberra United	Melbourne Victory
2012–13	Brisbane Roar	Sydney FC
2011–12	Canberra United	Canberra United
2010–11	Sydney FC	Brisbane Roar
2009	Sydney FC	Sydney FC
2008–09	Queensland Roar	Queensland Roar

Inaugural season, 2008

Main article: W-League 2008–09

The W-League's inaugural season commenced on 25 October 2008, with Perth Glory hosting Sydney FC at Members Equity Stadium. After ten rounds, Queensland Roar were 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. They faced Canberra United in the W-League Grand Final 2009, defeating them 2–0 to take the champions trophy.

One game per week (the 3:00 pm Saturday game) was broadcast live nationwide on ABC1. The teams in the W-League have a salary cap of A$150,000 for the entire squad. By comparison, the salary cap for clubs in the corresponding men's competition, the A-League, is A$2.35 million.

Expansion

When the 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.

Overall Standings

Position	Team	Played	Wins	Draws	Losses	Win %
1	Sydney FC	76	43	13	20	65.1%
2	Canberra United	76	40	16	20	63.2%
3	Brisbane Roar	76	39	13	14	59.9%
4	Central Coast Mariners	20	11	1	8	57.5%
5	Melbourne Victory	76	37	13	26	57.2%
6	Perth Glory	76	35	7	34	50.7%
7	Newcastle Jets	75	18	11	47	30.9%
8	Western Sydney Wanderers	35	8	6	22	30.6%
9	Adelaide United	75	11	9	56	20.4%

These results do not include the finals. Updated at the end of the 2014 season (draws count as half a win)

Organisation

Current clubs

Adelaide United Location: Adelaide, South Australia Period: 2008-09 — present Ground: Hindmarsh Stadium (16,500) Coach: Ross Aloisi Captain: Kristy Moore	Brisbane Roar Location: Brisbane, Queensland Period: 2008-09 — present Ground: Perry Park, Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre & A.J. Kelly Park (24,000) Coach: Belinda Wilson Captain: Clare Polkinghorne	Canberra United Location: Canberra, A.C.T. Period: 2008-09 — present Ground: Belconnen Soccer Centre (2,000) Coach: Liesbeth Migchelsen Captain: Nicole Begg	Melbourne Victory Location: Melbourne, Victoria Period: 2008-09 — present Ground: various Coach: Joe Montemurro Captain: Stephanie Catley
Newcastle Jets Location: Newcastle, New South Wales Period: 2008-09 — present Ground: Wanderers Oval (2,000) & EnergyAustralia Stadium (26,164) Coach: Peter McGuiness Captain: Emily Van Egmond	Perth Glory Location: Perth, Western Australia Period: 2008-09 — present Ground: Percy Doyle Reserve (5,000) Coach: Jamie Harnwell Captain: Collette McCallum	Sydney FC Location: Sydney, New South Wales Period: 2008-09 — present Ground: Sydney Football Stadium (45,500) Coach: Alen Stajcic Captain: Teresa Polias	Western Sydney Wanderers FC Location: Sydney, New South Wales Period: 2012-13 — present Ground: Campbelltown Stadium (20,000) Coach: Norm Boardman Captain: Caitlin Cooper

Broadcasting

Live matches are broadcast nationwide on ABC each Sunday at 3:00pm. Beginning in the 2013-14 season, Fox Sports will also broadcast two matches during the season. The matches will be part of W-League / A-League doubleheaders. During the 2012-13 season, several W-League matches were aired on community radio station, 98.9 North West, and online via the station's website and iPhone app.

Stadiums

Perth

Adelaide

Melbourne

Brisbane

Newcastle

Canberra

Sydney

W. Sydney

Locations of the 2013–14 teams

Primary venues currently used in the W-League:

Stadium	Capacity	Club
Burton Park	1,200	Adelaide United
The Shores	1,000	Adelaide United
Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre	49,000	Brisbane Roar
Perry Park	5,000	Brisbane Roar
A.J. Kelly Park	1,500	Brisbane Roar
McKellar Park	2,460	Canberra United
Deakin Stadium	1,500	Canberra United
Kingston Heath	5,000	Melbourne Victory
Broadmeadows Valley Park	5,000	Melbourne Victory
Etihad Stadium	53,347 (rectangular configuration)	Melbourne Victory
Lakeside Stadium	15,000	Melbourne Victory
Wanderers Oval	2,000	Newcastle Jets
Adamstown Oval	2,000	Newcastle Jets
Ashfield Reserve	2,000	Perth Glory
nib Stadium	20,500	Perth Glory
Allianz Stadium	45,500	Sydney FC
WIN Stadium	18,484	Sydney FC
WIN Jubilee Oval	22,000	Sydney FC
Marconi Stadium	11,500	Western Sydney Wanderers
Campbelltown Stadium	21,000	Western Sydney Wanderers
Centrebet Stadium	22,500	Western Sydney Wanderers

Other venues previously used by W-League clubs include:

Stadium	Capacity	Details
Bluetongue Stadium	20,119	Central Coast Mariners
Canberra Stadium	25,011	Used by Central Coast Mariners in the 2009 season during round 5.1
Leichhardt Oval	22,000	Used by Sydney FC and Central Coast Mariners in the 2009 season during round 8 as a double-header.2|-
Wembley Park	2,500	Used by Melbourne Victory in the 2013-2014 season.

¹Central Coast Mariners played this fixture as a home game against Canberra United. ²Sydney FC played this fixture as a home game against Perth Glory. It is also a 'curtain raiser' to the second game, to be played by the Mariners. Central Coast Mariners played this fixture as a home game against Melbourne Victory.

Referees

The W-League features Women Referees and Assistant Referees from Australia. Referees include:

• Sara Hodson
• Lee Corey
• Kirralee Gardener
• Jacqui Melksham
• Pru Donohoe
• Amelia Morris
• Catherine Hoffman
• Kate Jacewicz, who refereed the inaugural W-League final.
• Casey Reibelt

Champions and premiers

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

Season	Regular season			Grand final
	Premiers	Points	Runners-up	Champions	Score	Runners-up
2008–09 Details	Queensland Roar	25–17 Ladder	Newcastle Jets	Queensland Roar	2–0 Grand Final	Canberra United
2009 Details	Sydney FC	23–22 Ladder	Central Coast Mariners	Sydney FC	3–2 Grand Final	Brisbane Roar
2010–11 Details	Sydney FC	24–21 Ladder	Brisbane Roar	Brisbane Roar	2–1 Grand Final	Sydney FC
2011–12 Details	Canberra United	24–21 Ladder	Brisbane Roar	Canberra United	3–2 Grand Final	Brisbane Roar
2012–13 Details	Brisbane Roar	26–24 Ladder	Perth Glory	Sydney FC	3–1 Grand Final	Melbourne Victory
2013–14 Details	Canberra United	27–26 Ladder	Sydney FC	Melbourne Victory	2–0 Grand Final	Brisbane Roar
2014 Details	Perth Glory	30–20 Ladder	Melbourne Victory	Canberra United	3–1 Grand Final	Perth Glory

Individual honours

League awards

The league presents annual awards for outstanding achievements including:

1. Julie Dolan Medal
2. Young Player of the Year
3. Player's Player of the Year
4. Goalkeeper of the Year (Golden Glove)
5. Golden Boot
6. Goal of the Year
7. Coach of the Year
8. Referee of the Year
9. Fair Play Award

W-League all-time top scorers

See also: W-League (Australia) all-time records

Goals
Regular Season and Finals

Rank	Player	Team	Goals
1	Michelle Heyman *	Canberra United	49
2	Kate Gill *	Perth Glory	42
3	Tameka Butt	Brisbane Roar	40
4	Leena Khamis	Sydney FC	32
5	Lisa De Vanna *	Melbourne Victory	30
6	Samantha Kerr *	Perth Glory	29
	Kyah Simon *	Sydney FC	29
8	Emily Gielnik	Brisbane Roar	24
9	Tara Andrews	Newcastle Jets	23
10	Jodie Taylor *	Sydney FC	22

Shows players at current club or last club played for.

(*) Denotes players who have played for more than one W-League team.

Last updated 21 December 2014

Current and past foreign players in the league

See also: List of foreign players in the W-League (Australia)

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 league. Many players from countries such as Canada, England, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, the United States, and Wales have participated throughout the history of the league.

See also

• W-League (Australia) all-time records
• Women's soccer in Australia
• Australia women's national association football team
• Women’s National Soccer League (WNSL) - defunct Australian women's national league

External links

• Official website