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.
| Founded | 2014 |
|---|---|
| Country | Australia |
| Divisions | ACT NSW Northern NSW Queensland South Australia Victoria WA |
| Number of teams | 63 clubs (from 7 federations) |
| Level on pyramid | 2 |
With the addition of Northern NSW in 2022,[1] 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.[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, the ACT (Capital Football) in 2017, Western Australia in 2020,[4] 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.
| Federation | Number of Clubs | Current Season | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Automatic Relegation | Relegation Playoffs | ||
| ACT | none | 2023 NPL ACT Women's | |
| NSW | none | 2023 NPL NSW Women's | |
| NNSW | not known | 2023 NPL Women's Northern NSW | |
| Queensland | 1 | 0 | 2023 Women's NPL Queensland |
| SA | 1 | 0 | 2023 Women's NPL SA |
| Victoria | none | 2023 NPL VIC Women | |
| WA | none | 2023 Women's NPL WA | |
Current Clubs
Below are listed the National Premier Leagues clubs in each competing member federation announced for the 2023 season.
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Honours
Premiers by season
Federations commenced under the WNPL Structure in different years.
| Season | ACT | New South Wales | Northern NSW | 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 | —[a] | —[b] |
| 2021 | Canberra Croatia | —[c] | — | Lions FC | Salisbury Inter | —[d] | Murdoch University Melville |
| 2022 | Sydney University | West Adelaide | Perth RedStar |
Champions by season
Federations commenced under the WNPL Structure in different years.
| Season | ACT | New South Wales | Northern NSW | 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 | — [a] | Murdoch University Melville |
| 2021 | —[e] | —[c] | — | Salisbury Inter | —[d] | Murdoch University Melville | |
| 2022 | Macarthur Rams | West Adelaide | Perth RedStar |
