The Women's National Soccer League (WNSL) was Australia's top
women's soccer league. Originally known as the Ansett Australia Summer Series for sponsorship reasons, the WNSL began in 1996 consisting of six clubs and continued through until 2004, folding alongside the
National Soccer League
The National Soccer League (NSL) was the top-level soccer league in Australia, run by Soccer Australia and later the Australian Soccer Association. The NSL, the A-League's predecessor, spanned 28 seasons from its inception in 1977 until its ...
. It was not until 2008 that a women's top flight league was re-established in Australia, named the
W-League, as of the 2021–22 season renamed A-League Women.
History
Women's soccer in Australia up until the
1974 FIFA World Cup
The 1974 FIFA World Cup was the 10th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in West Germany (and West Berlin) between 13 June and 7 July. The tournament marked the ...
where the
Australia men's team qualified for the first time, was virtually non-existent in regards to any organised competition or formalized structure. However in August of 1974, the first National Women's Championships were held in Sydney between five teams of state representation (New South Wales, Northern New South Wales, Victoria, South Queensland and Western Australia). The matches were played at
Granville,
Centennial Park, and
Bankstown
Bankstown is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located 19 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district and is part of the Canterbury-Bankstown region. Bankstown is the administrative centre ...
in
Sydney
Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
, with New South Wales winning the inaugural championship.
Following this initial tournament, representatives from the sides who had participated met and formed the Australian Womens Soccer Association (AWSA). National championships were held annually until 1993. In 1996, the AWSA established the Women's National Soccer League which gained national recognition when the competition was sponsored by
Ansett Airlines. Clubs in the league were initially representatives of the various state-based institutes of sports. The league was initially split into two conferences (North & Southern), similar to that of the men's
National Soccer League
The National Soccer League (NSL) was the top-level soccer league in Australia, run by Soccer Australia and later the Australian Soccer Association. The NSL, the A-League's predecessor, spanned 28 seasons from its inception in 1977 until its ...
. The southern conference was represented by ACT Academy of Sports (later became Canberra Eclipse), ITC Victoria (later became Victoria Vision), SA Sports Institute (later became Adelaide Sensation). The northern conference was represented by NSW Institute of Sport (later became NSW Sapphires), Queensland Academy of Sport (later became Queensland Sting) and Northern NSW ITC (later became Northern NSW Pride). Western Australia would receive representation during the final season with the introduction of the
Western Waves.
The WNSL disbanded in 2004 alongside the
National Soccer League
The National Soccer League (NSL) was the top-level soccer league in Australia, run by Soccer Australia and later the Australian Soccer Association. The NSL, the A-League's predecessor, spanned 28 seasons from its inception in 1977 until its ...
. Queensland Sting were the most successful side winning 4 championships.
Clubs
* In 2004 Western Waves was given temporary entry to the WNSL for six games
Champions
;Ref.
Individual honours
Julie Dolan Medal
The medal is awarded annually to the player voted to be the best player in Women's soccer leagues in Australia, named after former Matildas Captain and football administrator
Julie Dolan. The award was for the best player in the WNSL, and is currently maintained in the successor competition, the
W-League (now known as the
A-League Women). The following table contains only those winners of the medal who were awarded it during the WNSL era.
Golden Boot
WNSL Rising Star Award
See also
*
W-League (Australia)
A-League Women (currently known as the Ninja A-League for sponsorship reasons), formerly the W-League, is the top-division women's association football, soccer league in Australia. The W-League was established in 2008 by Football Australia (the ...
– Current Australian women's national league
*
Women's soccer in Australia
*
Geography of women's association football
The following article gives a list of women's association football confederations, sub-confederations and associations around the world.
For international competitions see the article '' International competitions in women's football''.
By cont ...
References
External links
WNSL Statistics on OzFootballFootball Australia
{{AUS fb general
National Soccer League
The National Soccer League (NSL) was the top-level soccer league in Australia, run by Soccer Australia and later the Australian Soccer Association. The NSL, the A-League's predecessor, spanned 28 seasons from its inception in 1977 until its ...
Women
A woman is an adult female human. Before adulthood, a female child or adolescent is referred to as a girl.
Typically, women are of the female sex and inherit a pair of X chromosomes, one from each parent, and women with functional u ...
1996 in Australian soccer