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WE League

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WE League
Organising bodyJapan Women's Empowerment Professional Football League
Founded3 June 2020; 4 years ago (2020-06-03)
First season2021–22
CountryJapan
ConfederationAFC
Divisions1
Number of teams11
Level on pyramid1
Relegation toNone (2021–present)
Domestic cup(s)Empress's Cup
League cup(s)WE League Cup
International cup(s)AFC Club Championship
Current championsINAC Kobe Leonessa (1st title)
(2021–22)
Most championshipsINAC Kobe Leonessa (1 title)
Top goalscorerYuika Sugasawa (12 goals)
(2021–22)
TV partnersDAZN
YouTube
WebsiteOfficial website (in English)
Current: 2022–23 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 begins 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; eight to ten of them would be admitted and the results to be announced in October 2020.[4] On 15 October 2020, 11 clubs were announced as founding members of the WE League, including seven with J. League affiliations.[5]

Competition format

The WE League's inaugural season in 2021–22 features 11 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 five players signed to fully professional contracts that 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

2022–23 season

The following 11 clubs will be competing in the WE League during its inaugural, 2022–23 season.[5]

Club Position
in 2021–22 season 		First season in
top division 		First season in
WE League 		First season of
current spell in
top division 		Top
division
titles 		Most
recent top
division title
INAC Kobe Leonessa 1st 2006 2021–22 2006 1 2021–22
Urawa Red Diamonds 2nd 1999 2021–22 1999 4 2020
Tokyo Verdy Beleza 3rd 1989 2021–22 1989 17 2019
JEF United Chiba 4th 2000 2021–22 2009 0 —
Mynavi Sendai 5th 2013 2021–22 2013 0 —
Sanfrecce Hiroshima Regina 6th 2021–22 2021–22 2021–22 — —
AC Nagano Parceiro 7th 2003 2021–22 2021–22 0 —
Albirex Niigata 8th 2007 2021–22 2007 0 —
Omiya Ardija Ventus 9th 2021–22 2021–22 2021–22 0 —
Nojima Stella Kanagawa 10th 2017 2021–22 2017 0 —
AS Elfen Saitama 11th 2002 2021–22 2021–22 0 —
class=notpageimage|
Locations of WE League clubs
class=notpageimage|
Locations of WE League clubs in and near Tokyo

List of winners

Season Champions Runners-up
2021–22 INAC Kobe Leonessa Urawa Red Diamonds
2022–23 TBD TBD

Sponsorship

Title partner

Company Period
Yogibo Japan (Webshark) 2021–present

Gold partner/grassroots partner

Supplier Period
Daihatsu 2021–present

Silver partner

Company Period
Plenus 2021–present
Asahi Kasei 2021–present
MediQttO 2021–present
x-girl 2021–present
Persol 2021–present

Official broadcasting partner

Provider Period
DAZN 2021–present

Official equipment partner

Provider Period
Molten 2021–present

Official ticketing partner

Provider Period
PIA 2021–present

See also

References

  1. ^ "ABOUT WE | Women Empowerment League | 2021年9月開幕。WEリーグは日本初の女子プロサッカーリーグです。". WE LEAGUE | Women Empowerment League.
  2. ^ "Japan's first ever Women's Professional Football League, [WE League] to kick off in autumn 2021". JFA. 3 June 2020. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  3. ^ Orlowitz, Dan (28 July 2020). "WE League chair plots ambitious, progressive path for women's game". The Japan Times. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
  4. ^ Orlowitz, Dan (1 August 2020). "WE League receives unexpectedly high number of applicants for inaugural season". Japan Times. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
  5. ^ a b Orlowitz, Dan (15 October 2020). "Japan women's pro soccer WE League reveals 11 clubs for first season". Japan Times. Retrieved 16 October 2020.
  6. ^ a b "Football: New women's pro competition dubbed "WE League"". Kyodo News. 3 June 2020. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  7. ^ "Soccer: New Japan women's pro competition dubbed 'WE League'". The Mainichi. 3 June 2020. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  8. ^ Orlowitz, Dan (10 September 2021). "Japan's ambitious WE League aims to empower in historic first season". The Japan Times. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
  9. ^ Mahmud, Shahnaz. "Japan's new women's pro soccer league aims to attract players from U.S., France and more". The Athletic.
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