Overview

• Sermanni declared the competition “grossly underinvested” and urged Football Australia to overhaul its professional standards after Australia’s record 2023 Women’s World Cup campaign.
• He identified only Melbourne City, Melbourne Victory and Wellington Phoenix as having sufficient full-time staff and support structures.
• The prevalent 35-week contract model leaves players without club engagement for three months each year, undermining development and retention.
• Professional Footballers Australia is pushing for the league to transition to full-time professionalism by the 2026-27 season to stem a widening talent drain.
• Sermanni contrasted the A-League Women with Canada’s Northern Super League, where base salaries and salary caps exceed Australia’s by more than double.