Football Federation SA has announced the formation of the FFSA Women’s Challenge Series for the 2013 season.

The FFSA Women’s Challenge Series will be a tournament to open new pathways for Women’s Football in South Australia. The Series has been established to enable more female players the opportunity to play representative football and open up opportunities for players over the age of 18 striving to play at the top level, being the Westfield W-League.

The Challenge Series will look to establish the following goals;

1. Create a Competition link between the FFSA Women’s Premier League and the Westfield W-League

2. Have the best female players playing against the best in regional select teams.

3. Creating an elite pathway for players over the age of 18.

4. Developing a yearly rivalry series, and establishing a zone rivalry, with The Southern All Stars and the Northern All Stars.

The Northern All Stars will be represented by the following Premier/Reserve League clubs;

Adelaide University
MUWFC
Para Hills Knights
FFSA Under 15 / Adelaide Olympic

The Southern All stars will be represented by the following clubs;

Adelaide City
Fulham United
Cumberland United
Sturt Marion

FFSA Women’s NTC will be represented by;

The best players Born 1995 and below.

Format

The format will be as follows;

1. Games played on the first Wednesday of the Month, starting in May 2013

2. Will be a best of five series against each team

3. Northern All Stars vs. Southern All Stars

4. Northern All Stars vs. NTC

5. NTC vs. Southern All Stars

6. There will be a winner of each series, and also an over all winner of the Challenge Series.

The Selection will be done in conjunction with the FFSA Technical Staff and the Premier League Coaches, so all parties will be working together in identifying the best players in women’s football. These teams are aimed at representing the inform players in the league for the previous month.

Elite Pathway for Players Over 18

The Challenge Series will be a major selection for the 2013/14 Westfield W-League season. FFSA believe this format will enable players to showcase their talent over a longer period and open the door for more opportunities for all players for the following reason;

1. Give players opportunity to showcase their talents over 10 games against the best players in the league, a much fairer way for players to highlight their ability;

2. Greater opportunity for all players to participate in an elite program.

3. Allowing all Premier League coaches to be involved in the process, to have coaches working day in and day out with the players to help develop a stronger network and better development.

This series will be the first step in building a strong local competition and helping Women’s football grow into a strong and viable pathway, and working at developing a W-League team that represents all, and we can be proud of

The first games will be held on Wednesday the 1st of May 2013 at Burton Park. The squads and fixtures will be released in the coming weeks.

FFSA would like all clubs to help build the connection with their zones, and establish a strong and competitive series that will showcase the best of Women’s Football in South Australia.

If you have any queries regarding  Challenge Series please do not hesitate to contact Geoff Hargreaves via email – geoff.hargreaves@ffsa.com.au.