Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Kuala Lumpur: The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) President Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa has congratulated the Japan Football Association after it unveiled on June 3, 2020 its first ever women’s professional football league - the “WE League or Women Empowerment League” – which will officially kick off in autumn 2021.
The AFC President said: “I am delighted to learn about Japan Football Association’s plans to launch the first-ever Women’s Professional Football League.
“I am sure that the new League, aptly named as the ‘WE League – Women Empowerment League’, will provide a perfect platform for the development and growth of the women’s game not only in Japan but across Asia.
“Besides providing promising opportunities to women players and officials in your country, the WE League will also have a positive impact on the wider society.”
The introduction of a professional women’s league in Japan is in line with the AFC’s ambitions to further enhance the women’s game following the successful staging of the historic Women's Club Championship 2019 - FIFA/AFC Pilot Tournament in the Korea Republic last year and will further bolster the AFC’s plans to launch a full-fledged Women’s Club Championship in the coming years.
Shaikh Salman added: “On behalf of the Asian football family, it is my pleasure to congratulate you and the Japanese football community on the conception of this amazing dream and its launch. I wish you the best in its preparation and the successful introduction in 2021.”
The WE League aims to serve as a catalyst for the professional women’s game in Japan and will provide a robust pipeline and structure to enhance the opportunities for coaches, referees, club management and league administration to thrive in a broader ecosystem.
The WE League will be positioned as the highest domestic competition, above the current Nadeshiko League which has led the women’s football scene in Japan for more than 30 years.
The new league will consist of six to 10 professional teams with plans to reveal the participants in autumn 2020 and the historic beginning looks set to strengthen the women’s game in Japan whose Nadeshiko became the first Asian team to be crowned world champions at the senior level when they lifted the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2011.