Football Victoria announced today that from next season, the NPLW Victoria will transition into a professional environment from amateur which will result in an abundance of changes to the current status of the competition from finances to player security.
The benefits of the professionalised competition are as follows.
- Players will now be able to be paid within the National guidelines
- Multi-year contracts are able to be signed
- Loans between NPLW clubs are now permitted
- A-League Women’s players can sign on loan or contract without terminating their existing contracts
- An increase in the squad size from 18-20 players from 20-23 players, which falls in accordance with the NPL Men’s competition
- NPLW clubs are able to promoted an unlimited number of players from youth teams to senior teams, falling in line with the men’s regulations
Football Victoria Antonella Care spoke on the decision, expressing her excitement at the future of women’s football in Victoria and the platform that a professional environment may be able to provide
“This is a momentous day for football in Victoria. Professionalising the NPLW has been discussed at length in the past and after extensive consultation with Clubs, we collectively feel that 2022 is the right time to implement this new model,” Care said.
“FV is committed to gender equity across all levels of our game and the structural changes to roster composition is another example of how Victorian football is moving towards parity in all aspects football.”
Ezel Hikmet, Football Victoria’s NPL General Manager described the imperative need for NPLW clubs and players to share benefits.
“Victoria’s NPLW will now be aligned with the rest of Australia’s elite state competitions and female footballers will share the same opportunities that exist in the men’s space,” he said.
“Conditions for players and Clubs are set to improve dramatically under this new model and importantly, the entire quality of the league will benefit.”
Image Source: South Melbourne FC
