WE League

The Japan Women's Empowerment Professional Football League (日本女子プロサッカーリーグ), or simply WE League (WEリーグ［うぃーりーぐ］), also known as the Yogibo WE League (Japanese: Yogibo WEリーグ, Hepburn: Yogibo WE Rīgu) 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.

Japan Women's Empowerment Professional Football League
Founded3 June 2020 (2020-06-03)
First season2021–22
CountryJapan
ConfederationAFC
Divisions1
Number of teams11
Level on pyramid1
Domestic cup(s)Empress's Cup
International cup(s)AFC Club Championship
TV partnersLive matches: DAZN (all matches), YouTube (2 matches only)
Highlights: DAZN, YouTube
Websiteweleague.jp/en/ (in English)
Current: 2021–22 WE League season

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.[1] 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 chair.[2]

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.[3] On 15 October 2020, 11 clubs were announced as founding members of the WE League, including seven with J. League affiliations.[4]

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.[5] 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.[5]

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.[6] 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.[7] 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.[8]

Clubs

2021–22 season

Sponsorship

Title partner
Company Period
Yogibo Japan (Webshark)(born 2021)

Gold partner/grassroots partner
Supplier Period
Daihatsu(born 2021)

Silver partner
Company Period
Plenus(born 2021)
Asahi Kasei(born 2021)
MediQttO(born 2021)
x-girl(born 2021)
Persol(2021–)

Official broadcasting partner
Provider Period
DAZN(born 2021)

Official equipment partner
Provider Period
Molten(born 2021)

Official ticketing partner
Provider Period
PIA(born 2021)

See also
Continental football championship

References
  1. "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.
  2. Orlowitz, Dan (28 July 2020). "WE League chair plots ambitious, progressive path for women's game". The Japan Times. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
  3. Orlowitz, Dan (1 August 2020). "WE League receives unexpectedly high number of applicants for inaugural season". Japan Times. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
  4. Orlowitz, Dan (15 October 2020). "Japan women's pro soccer WE League reveals 11 clubs for first season". Japan Times. Retrieved 16 October 2020.
  5. "Football: New women's pro competition dubbed "WE League"". Kyodo News. 3 June 2020. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  6. "Soccer: New Japan women's pro competition dubbed 'WE League'". The Mainichi. 3 June 2020. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  7. Orlowitz, Dan (10 September 2021). "Japan's ambitious WE League aims to empower in historic first season". The Japan Times. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
  8. 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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