Women’s league over two rounds

THE national women’s league received a huge boost yesterday.

For the first time, the competition will now be played over two full rounds, followed by a straight final between the two topplaced teams.

That will mean all teams will play each other home and away.

It will also move away from the federationbased team model and towards a club one.

However, that will take time and the federations will continue to oversee the teams for the next three years.

It is being called a historic moment for the league, which began in 2002 and brought in a playoff format in 2004.

In recent years, that has involved teams playing six roundrobin games, before the second and third teams play a semifinal, while the top team advances straight to the final.

It made for a short season and a side could be out of the running within the first few weeks if it had a slow start.

‘‘This is developing into a landmark year for female football in New Zealand,’’ New Zealand Football competitions and events director Daniel Farrow said.

‘‘It’s fantastic to be in a position to launch an extended national women’s league that will provide an improved competition for the country’s best female players.

‘‘The extension of the competition also accompanies the introduction of New Zealand Football’s club licensing system as a means of providing better environments for the players and a more marketable product.

‘‘This is a big step for female football and one we wouldn’t have achieved without the strong support of the seven participating federations.’’

The move came as a result of NZF’s national competitions review, which examined how its structures could be set up to best serve the longterm interests of the sport in New Zealand.