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The National Premier Leagues Women's (NPLW), also referred to as Women's National Premier Leagues (WNPL) in some states, 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 A-League Women. The WNPL consists of the highest level state league in a subset of the state-based federations within Australia, and is overseen by Football Australia (FA) in partnership with participating member federations.

With the addition of Northern NSW in 2022, the WNPL is now contested by clubs from seven member federations: Capital Football (ACT), NSW, Northern NSW, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia.

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. 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.

Queensland switched to the NPL format in 2015, followed by South Australia and Victoria in 2016, the ACT (Capital Football) in 2017, Western Australia in 2020, and Northern NSW in 2022.

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 A-League Women. 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.

Current Clubs

Below are listed the National Premier Leagues clubs in each competing member federation announced for the 2023 season.

Honours

Premiers by season

Federations commenced under the WNPL Structure in different years.

Champions by season

Federations commenced under the WNPL Structure in different years.

See also

• National Premier Leagues
• Football Australia
• Australian soccer league system

Notes

1. ^ Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia.
2. In 2020, no Premier was declared for WA.
3. ^ Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia.
4. ^ Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia.
5. Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia.

References

1. "Northern NSW Football to launch NPLW competition in 2022". Northern NSW Football. 27 August 2021. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
2. 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.
3. "2014 NPL NSW Womens 1 Draw announced". 17 February 2014. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
4. "Female football in WA moves into new era". Football West. 4 December 2019. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
5. "Grassroots football temporarily suspended". Football Federation Australia. 17 March 2020. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
6. "Football West competition return date". Football West. 29 May 2020. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
7. "Football NSW Cancel 2021 National Premier Leagues Season". Football NSW. 12 August 2021. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
8. "Metro Melbourne 2021 season status". Football Victoria. 3 September 2021. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
9. "CAPITAL FOOTBALL WINTER COMPETITION UPDATE". Capital Football. 7 September 2021. Retrieved 7 September 2021.

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