National Premier Leagues Women's
The National Premier Leagues Women's (NPLW) are regional association football competitions in some states and territories in Australia, which act as the second tier of the sport in the country below the W-League. The WNPL consists of the highest level state league in a subset of the state-based federations within Australia, and is overseen by Football Federation Australia (FFA) in partnership with participating member federations.
| Founded | 2014 |
|---|---|
| Country | Australia |
| Divisions | ACT NSW Queensland South Australia Victoria WA |
| Number of teams | 61 clubs (from 6 federations) |
| Level on pyramid | 2 |
The WNPL is contested by clubs from six member federations; these are ACT, NSW, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia. Northern NSW is set to join in 2021.[1]
History
In October 2010, (FFA) commenced a National Competition Review, its main objective being to review the current structure of soccer competitions in Australia, and to monitor and improve elite player development.[2] NSW were the first federation to commence a competition, after a review on women's football in NSW in 2013, which looked at staying aligned with the FFA's pathway for women's football program.[3]
Queensland switched to the NPL format in 2015, followed by South Australia and Victoria in 2016, and the ACT (Capital Football) in 2017.
Western Australia became the sixth member federation to restructure women's competitions under the NPL banner, with the introduction of the National Premier Leagues WA Women's competition in 2020.[4]
Competition format and teams
The WNPL competitions in each state and territory are run independently by the member federations, with a similar format to the equivalent men's competition - the National Premier Leagues. Teams may be relegated from the WNPL to a third-tier league in the same state (and vice versa), but there is currently no mechanism for a team to be promoted to the first tier of Australian Football, the W-League. The number of teams promoted and relegated from third-tier leagues per state has varied over time. The table below details the number of teams relegated automatically from the WNPL at the end of the season and the number of NPL teams which go into a relegation playoff against a lower league team.
| Federation | Number of Clubs | Current Season | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Automatic Relegation | Relegation Playoffs | ||
| ACT | none | 2020 NPL ACT Women's | |
| NSW | none | 2020 NPL NSW Women's 1 | |
| Queensland | 1 | 0 | 2020 Women's NPL Queensland |
| SA | 1 | 0 | 2020 Women's NPL SA |
| Victoria | 1 | 0 | 2020 NPL VIC Women |
| WA | none | 2020 Women's NPL WA | |
Clubs (2020)
Below are listed the National Premier Leagues clubs in each competing member federation announced for the 2020 season.
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Honours
Premiers by season
| Season | ACT | New South Wales | Queensland | South Australia | Victoria | Western Australia |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | — | Macarthur Rams | — | — | — | — |
| 2015 | — | Macarthur Rams | The Gap | — | — | — |
| 2016 | — | Sydney University | The Gap | Metro United | Calder United | — |
| 2017 | Belconnen United | Macarthur Rams | Peninsula Power | West Adelaide | South Melbourne | — |
| 2018 | Belconnen United | Sydney University | The Gap | Metro United | South Melbourne | — |
| 2019 | Belconnen United | Sydney University | Lions FC | Adelaide City | Calder United | — |
| 2020 | Canberra Croatia | Sydney University | Gold Coast United | Adelaide City | — 1 | — 2 |
Champions by season
| Season | ACT | New South Wales | Queensland | South Australia | Victoria | Western Australia |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | — | Football NSW Institute | — | — | — | — |
| 2015 | — | Sydney University | The Gap | — | — | — |
| 2016 | — | Sydney University | The Gap | Metro United | Calder United | — |
| 2017 | Canberra FC | Manly United | Peninsula Power | Adelaide City | South Melbourne | — |
| 2018 | Belconnen United | Macarthur Rams | Brisbane Roar NTC | Adelaide City | Bulleen Lions | — |
| 2019 | Belconnen United | Sydney University | Lions FC | Adelaide City | Calder United | — |
| 2020 | Canberra Croatia | Manly United | Lions FC | Metro United | — 1 | Murdoch University Melville |
Notes
- Federations commenced under the WNPL Structure in different years.
- 1 Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia.[10]
- 2 In 2020, no Premier was awarded for WA.
References
- "NNSWF Premier Competitions - 2020 Draw Released". Northern NSW Football. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
- Siokos, Anthony (28 May 2012). "Analysis: Review gives FFA clear signal of how they must spread the love". Sport Business Insider. Sports Business Insider Group. Retrieved 4 May 2013.
- "2014 NPL NSW Womens 1 Draw announced". 17 February 2014. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
- "Female football in WA moves into new era". Football West. 4 December 2019. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
- "1st - NPL ACT Women's 2020 Ladder". Retrieved 16 May 2020.
- "Declaration of Leagues - 2020 FNSW Women's Competitions" (PDF). Retrieved 28 September 2019.
- "NPL Women's QLD 2020 Ladder". Retrieved 16 May 2020.
- "Women's NPL SA 2020 Ladder". Retrieved 16 May 2020.
- "NPL VIC Women Ladder". Retrieved 16 May 2020.
- "Grassroots football temporarily suspended". Football Federation Australia. 17 March 2020. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
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