A-League Women

A-League Women, formerly known as the W-League, is Australia's premier domestic women’s football league. Founded in 2008 by Football Australia, it is now administered by the Australian Professional Leagues, an independent governing body for both the men’s and women’s top flights.

A-League Women, which began with eight teams, currently consists of 12 clubs. The league operates on a spring-to-autumn schedule, with seasons typically starting in October or November and concluding by April or May.

The competition comprises two rounds: a 23-match regular season featuring 22 home-and-away fixtures plus a special Unite Round, followed by an end-of-season finals series playoff. The regular season follows a double round-robin format, where teams face every other side, both home and away. At the end of the regular season, the club with the most points is crowned the regular-season champion, known as “the premiers,” while the top six teams advance to the finals series.

The finals series consists of three rounds: the Elimination Finals, the Semi-finals, and the Grand Final. The top two teams from the regular season receive a bye to the semi-finals, while those ranked third to sixth compete in the one-legged Elimination Finals. The winners of the Elimination Finals face the regular-season champion and runner-up in two-legged semi-finals, with the semi-final victors progressing to the title-deciding Grand Final, played as a single match. The Grand Final winner is declared the A-League Women champion.

Additionally, A-League Women's clubs participate in the “Unite Round,” an annual event in which all fixtures are played in Sydney over one week, with two matches taking place per day. This initiative was developed following backlash against the decision to award the 2023, 2024, and 2025 Grand Finals to Sydney due to a deal with Destination NSW. In response, the Australian Professional Leagues reversed that arrangement and renegotiated the contract, leading to the establishment of a magic round titled the “Unite Round” in the New South Wales capital as a compromise.

Brisbane Roar, then known as Queensland Roar, won both the inaugural regular season and Grand Final in 2008-09, with Sydney FC achieving a similar feat the following season. These two clubs, along with Canberra United and Melbourne City, have seen significant success in the league. Notably, Sydney FC won three consecutive premiers from 2020 to 2023, while Melbourne City became the first team to triumph in three consecutive Grand Finals from 2016 to 2018.