WE League

WE League

Organising body	WE League JFA
Founded	3 June 2020; 3 years ago (2020-06-03)
First season	2021–22
Country	Japan
Confederation	AFC
Divisions	1
Number of teams	12
Level on pyramid	1
Domestic cup(s)	Empress's Cup
League cup(s)	WE League Cup
International cup(s)	AFC Club Championship
Current champions	Urawa Red Diamonds (1st title) (2022–23)
Most championships	INAC Kobe Leonessa Urawa Red Diamonds (1 title)
TV partners	DAZN YouTube Tokyo MX
Website	Official website (in English)
Current: 2023–24 WE League season

The WE League (WEリーグ), officially the Japan Women's Empowerment Professional Football League (Japanese: 日本女子プロサッカーリーグ, Hepburn: Nihon Joshi Puro Sakkā Rīgu, "Japan Women Pro Soccer League"),^[1] also known as the Yogibo WE League (Japanese: Yogibo WEリーグ) for sponsorship reasons, is the top flight of women's association football in Japan, starting from the 2021–22 season. It is the first fully-professional women's soccer league in Japan.

History

On 3 June 2020, the Japan Football Association (JFA) announced the formation of the WE League to become Japan's new top-flight, professional women's football league.^[2] The semi-professional Nadeshiko League would become the second level on the women's football pyramid in Japan once the WE League began play in the autumn of 2021. United States-based business executive and former Japan international footballer Kikuko Okajima was announced as the WE League's inaugural chairwoman.^[3]

17 clubs applied to join the WE League.^[4] On 15 October 2020, 11 clubs were announced as founding members of the WE League, including seven with J. League affiliations.^[5]

In the 2023–24 season, Cerezo Osaka Ladies from the Nadeshiko League will enter the WE League as an expansion team.^{[citation needed]}

Competition format

The WE League's 2023–24 season features 12 teams playing a double round-robin, home-and-away competition. Unlike the Nadeshiko League, the WE League will play a winter season that conforms with most European leagues.^[6] Similar to the American National Women's Soccer League, there will be no relegation from the WE League to the Nadeshiko League, but teams may be promoted from the latter in the first several seasons for the WE League to reach a desired number of teams.^[6]

Each team in the WE League must have at least 15 players signed to fully professional contracts, which are not subject to a salary cap.^[7] In addition to bringing professionalism to Japanese women's football, the WE League also implemented measures to bringing in international players. The JFA subsidizes salaries for players from Southeast Asian member federations, while the league itself subsidizes players from top-ranked FIFA countries.^[8] The league actively recruits players from top-ranked federations such as France, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United States, and it also provides additional subsidies to encourage internationalization for expenses such as interpreters.^[9]

Clubs

2023–24 season

The following 12 clubs will be competing in the WE League in the 2023–24 season.^[5]

Sendai

Omiya

Saitama

Chiba

Nagano

Niigata

Kobe

Osaka

Hiroshima

Tokyo clubs:
Urawa
Tokyo
Sagamihara

Locations of WE League clubs

Urawa

Tokyo

Sagamihara

Locations of WE League clubs in and near Tokyo

List of winners

Sponsorship

Title partner

Gold partner/grassroots partner

Silver partner

Official broadcasting partner

Official equipment partner

Official ticketing partner

See also

• Japan Football Association (JFA)
• Nadeshiko League (tiers 2–3)
• Empress's Cup (national cup)
• WE League Cup (league cup)
• AFC Women's Club Championship (continental cup)

References

External links

• WE League – official website (in English)
• WE League on Twitter
• WE League on Instagram
• Japan Football Association (JFA) (in English)

This page was last edited on 17 March 2024, at 03:00