The A-League was formed in 2008 as a replacement of the Women’s National Soccer League. Back then the competition was known as the W-League. The clubs that entered the new league were already established via the existing A-League clubs, except for Canberra United.
The league started with eight team, briefly reducing to seven after the Central Coast Mariners had to pull out due to financial reasons. In the 2012/2013 season the Western Sydney Wanderers joined the competition and three years later Melbourne City joined. By 2022/2023 the number of clubs grew to twelve.
Future expansion is planned for the 2025/2026 season. An Auckland based team is awaiting the license for a men and women’s team in the A-League.
When is the A-League Women?
The seasons start in November and ends in April. It’s one of the few competitions with a fairly short break over Christmas and New Years. The competition follows the same format as the men’s: The team at the top of the table at the end of the season wins the Premiership and the Champions have to win the play-off tournament and Grand Final match. Being the “Premiers” earns you a ticket to the AFC Women’s Champions League starting in 2024/2025.
There are a total of 23 game per team: 22 home and away games + the Unite Round match. The top six teams go to the knock-outs to fight for a place in the Grand Final.
History: The Women’s National Soccer League
The Women’s National Soccer League was the predecessor of the A-League Women. The competition was the top league in Australia from 1996 until 2004. That is when both the men’s and women’s WNSL were discontinued.
At the time, Tom Sermanni was the head coach of Australia’s women’s football team. He thought it was vital to have a professional football league in the country for the development of the players. The Football Federation Australia established the W-League a year later. The federation gave the operational control of the league to the clubs in 2019, so the league is now represented by the Australian Professional Leagues.
Since the Women’s World Cup 2023 attendance has improved immensely. On the 14th of October 2023 the record for an A-League crowd was set with 11,471 in attendance. The next year the league became the most attended season of any women’s sport in Australia in history with a total attendance of 312,199.
A-League Women Salary
Salaries in women’s football are often discussed as the women earn nothing in some cases, like in the A-League women. In 2015 teams had a salary cap of A$150.000. It was reported that some players earned nothing while other got around A$10.000. Salary developments in the following season’s:
- In 2017/2018 a minimum salary was introduced of A$10.000 and a salary cap of A$300.000.
- The total salary floor is supposed to rise to A$390.000 in the 2025/2026 season. A deal is in place to improve training venues, travel and accommodation as well.
- In 2023 the minimum annual wage was A$25.000.
- In 2024 players are contracted for 35 weeks for a regular season of 22 rounds, including four extra weeks for the play-offs.
Most players in the A-League women have an extra job or study part-time, having to supplement their income. The PFA says players are earning close to the minimum but 60% is working second jobs. Only 15% of the men is working a second job. The successful of the Women’s World Cup encouraged to make the competition full-time.
