|
The W-League is the top-division women's soccer league in Australia, run by Football Federation Australia (FFA). The W-League was established in 2008 and was composed of eight teams of which seven had an affiliation with an A-League clubs. The eighth team was a new entity based in Canberra. The league is currently contested by nine teams. The competition is known as the Westfield W-League through a sponsorship arrangement with the Westfield Group. Seasons typically run from November to February and include a 12-round regular season and an end-of-season finals series playoff tournament involving the highest-placed teams, culminating in a grand final match. The winner of the regular season tournament is dubbed 'premier' and the winner of the grand final is 'champion'. Since the league's inaugural season, a total of four clubs have been crowned W-League Premiers and four clubs have been crowned W-League Champions. Since 2012, successful W-League clubs have gained qualification into the international competition, the International Women's Club Championship. The current premier is Perth Glory, who finished first in 2014. The current champion is Canberra United, who won the 2014 W-League Grand Final. ==History== After Australia qualified for the quarter-finals of the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup, head coach Tom Sermanni felt the establishment of a professional league was vital for continuing the development of players. Football Federation Australia established the league the following year.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Women in a league of their own )〕 The W-League was initially composed of eight teams: Adelaide United, Brisbane Roar, Central Coast Mariners, Melbourne Victory, Newcastle Jets, Perth Glory, and Sydney FC. Seven of the eight teams were affiliated with A-League clubs, and shared their names and colours to promote their brands. The eighth club was the Canberra-based Canberra United. The W-League's inaugural season commenced on 25 October 2008, with Perth Glory hosting Sydney FC at Members Equity Stadium. After ten rounds, the regular season finished with Queensland Roar as the top-placed team, becoming the first W-League premiers, and advancing to the semi-finals along with the second-, third- and fourth-placed teams. Brisbane faced Canberra United in the 2009 W-League Grand Final, defeating them 2–0 to take the champions trophy. Central Coast Mariners were forced to withdraw from the 2010–11 season due to a lack of funding and have yet to return. When Western Sydney Wanderers joined the A-League for the 2012–13 season, they also entered a team into the W-League, returning the competition to eight teams. On 13 May 2015, Melbourne City were confirmed to compete in the W-League from the 2015–16 season. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「W-League (Australia)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|