APL Announces Full Fixture For Ninja A-League Women 24/25 Season

• Season extended to 23-games, full home-and-away plus Unite Round.
• Ninja A-League minimum free-to-air games on 10 Bold to rise from one to ten.
• Bumper opening rounds to kick off 29th year of women’s professional football.

12 September, 2024: The Australian Professional Leagues (APL) has today released the full fixtures for the Ninja A-League season 2024/25, with the campaign kicking off on the weekend of 1-3 November.

Following a record-breaking season that saw record crowds, memberships and TV viewers, season 2024/25 will see the competition extended to 23 games - in line with some of the top European leagues - that includes a full home-and-away with an additional round for the second edition of A-Leagues’ Unite Round.

A-Leagues Commissioner, Nick Garcia said: “After what was the most incredible year of action in season 2023/24, we can’t wait for another exciting year of football featuring more than 15 internationals from around the globe and the best rising stars from across Australia and New Zealand.”

“This league continues to be the proven pathway for the next generation of international stars, and this season we will again see the best home-grown talent stake their claim to be the global stars of tomorrow.”

“We are also thrilled to welcome SharkNinja as the new naming rights partner of the Ninja A-League. SharkNinja joins the A-Leagues with aligned ambitions; to grow women’s football in Australia and New Zealand, increase the opportunities and pathways for players, and help make the game more visible and accessible for our fans. We can’t wait to see where we take the Ninja A-League.” 

Massive opening rounds ahead of Unite Round

The opening rounds of the Ninja A-League 2024/25 season are packed with a number of big fixtures leading into Unite Round.

The opening weekend will be highlighted by a showdown between Central Coast Mariners and champions Sydney FC in a repeat of their nail biting 2023/24 Semi Final encounter, before Adelaide United welcome Melbourne Victory in what is set to be a fierce Original Rivalry match up.

Round 2 will be headlined by a feisty Melbourne Derby double-header between Melbourne Victory and Melbourne City on Saturday 9 November. The derbies continue into Round 3 with Sydney FC and Western Sydney Wanderers facing off for bragging rights for the first time in season 2024/25.

The strong run of fixtures all lead into what will be an exciting 2024/25 Unite Round, which will see all 12 Ninja A-League teams descend on Sydney from November 22-24 for a football feast for the family at the picturesque Leichhardt Oval.

Ninja A-League season 2024/25: Competition Overview

The Ninja A-League 2024/25 season will see each team play 22 home and away fixtures, with an additional game being played during Unite Round.

As per the 2023/24 season, the top six sides will qualify for the Ninja A-League 2025 Finals Series which will kick off on 25-27 April, with the Grand Final scheduled for the weekend of 16-18 May.

The 2025 Finals Series will follow last season’s format with two Elimination Finals, with the two winners advancing to a two-legged Semi Final against the top two sides, with the winners qualifying for the Grand Final.

The Ninja A-League 2024/25 season will also see up to 30 double-headers, with the majority connected to tentpole fixtures, while there has been a considered effort to minimise the number of simultaneous kick-offs across each round - taking on board fan feedback and allowing fans to enjoy as many matches as possible every weekend.

This season the Ninja A-League will observe the October, February and April FIFA windows. The November-December window which has been extended to two weeks in the international match calendar, will also be observed, however teams will play during part of the window to maximise continuity for the majority of players and to avoid fixture congestion.

Ninja A-League on 10 Bold, 10 Play and Paramount+

Paramount Australia (Network 10 and Paramount+) remains the exclusive home of Australian football for the 2024/25 season with football fans across the country able to enjoy access to a mountain of football with every single A-Leagues match available to stream live on Paramount+.

Building on the growth in 2023/24, which saw the A-League Women’s Grand Final match up 47% year-on-year, boasting its biggest audience ever on 10 and 10 Play, ten matches will now be broadcast live on 10 Bold thanks to new naming rights partner SharkNinja, who alongside the league and Network 10, are committed to elevating the visibility of the women’s game.

One match from each of the four opening rounds and last two regular season rounds will be shown live on 10 Bold. During the 2025 Finals Series, one match from each weekend will also be shown live on 10 Bold, including the Grand Final on 16-18 May.

Ninja A-League season broadcast notes, include:

Every Ninja A-League match will be made available live and free on 10 Play and live on Paramount+.

This season 10 Ninja A-League matches will be broadcast live on 10 Bold.

Minis, highlights and replays available to stream exclusively on Paramount+.

‘Summer Period’ kick off times

Following the success of last season, the ‘Summer Period’ has been extended by a month in 2024/25 and will run from early December (Round 5) through to the end of March (Round 21). During the ‘Summer Period’ there will be no 3pm kick off times, with all matches kicking off from 5pm local time, with the exception of a few matches due to time zones and broadcast commitments.

As part of the ‘Summer Period’, the league is re-introducing the summer of football campaign from December 27 to January 27 which will feature midweek fixtures across one Round (six fixtures) during the January school holidays to deliver more football at family-friendly times.

The APL Heat Policy, recognised as a conservative policy by international standards, remains in place and is an important contributing factor in the scheduling process and throughout the season.

AFC Club Competition

This season Melbourne City will represent the Ninja A-League in the AFC Women’s Champions League.

In what is the first instalment of the competition, Melbourne City will make up one of the 12 competing teams from across Asia, with the eventual winner claiming almost AUD $1.95million - making it one of the most lucrative women’s club competitions in the world.

The group stage fixtures kick off on Sunday 6 October and are played across one week in a central location, for Melbourne City’s group this is Thailand. Should Melbourne City progress to the Quarter Finals stage in March, considerations will be given to their adjacent fixtures should the team need to travel.

The dates of each stage of the AFC Women’s Champions League group, include:

Group Stage (for Melbourne City’s group; Thailand): Sunday 6 October - Saturday 12 October

Quarter Finals (played either home or away): Saturday 22 March - Sunday 23 March

Semi Finals & Final (played in one central location; TBC): Wednesday 21 May - Saturday 24 May (post the 2024/25 Ninja A-League Women Grand Final)

Ninja A-League season 2024/25

Round 1 fixtures:

Western United vs Wellington Phoenix - Friday 1 November, Ironbark Fields at 7:00pm AEDT

Central Coast Mariners vs Sydney FC - Saturday 2 November, Industree Group Stadium at 2:15pm AEDT

Canberra United vs Brisbane Roar - Saturday 2 November, McKellar Park at 4:00pm AEDT

Adelaide United vs Melbourne Victory - Saturday 2 November, ServiceFM Stadium at 5:00pm AEDT

Melbourne City vs Perth Glory - Sunday 3 November, City Football Academy at 3:00pm AEDT

Newcastle Jets vs Western Sydney Wanderers - Sunday 3 November, No.2 Sportsground at 4:00pm AEDT

Some other notable fixtures:

Melbourne Victory vs Melbourne City - Saturday 9 November, AAMI Park at 2:15pm AEDT (Melbourne Derby double-header)

Sydney FC vs Western Sydney Wanderers - Saturday 16 November, Leichhardt Oval at 2:15pm AEDT (Sydney Derby)

2024/24 Unite Round - Friday 22 November - Sunday 22 November, Leichhardt Oval

Melbourne City vs Canberra United - Sunday 15 December, AAMI Park at 7:45pm AEDT

Sydney FC vs Melbourne Victory - Saturday 28 December, Allianz Stadium at 4:50pm AEDT (Big Blue double-header)

Central Coast Mariners vs Melbourne City - Tuesday 31 December, Industree Group at 4:15pm AEDT (New Year’s Eve double-header)

Wellington Phoenix vs Perth Glory - Saturday 4 January, Porirua Park at 2:00pm AEDT (Distance Derby)

Melbourne Victory vs Sydney FC - Friday 24 January, AAMI Park at 4:50pm AEDT (Australia Day Big Blue double-header)

Central Coast Mariners vs Newcastle Jets - Saturday 1 February, Industree Group Stadium at 4:50pm AEDT (F3 Derby double-header)

Canberra United vs Perth Glory - Saturday 1 February, McKellar Park at 5:00pm AEDT (2015 Grand Final Anniversary)

Western Sydney Wanderers vs Sydney FC - Friday 28 March, Venue TBC at 7:00pm AEDT (Sydney Derby)

Melbourne Victory vs Adelaide United - Saturday 29 March, AAMI Park at 4:50pm AEDT (Pride Cup double-header)

Adelaide United vs Sydney FC - Friday 18 April, Coopers Stadium at 4:50pm AEST (Good Friday double-header)

About the A-Leagues:

The A-Leagues represent the pinnacle of professional football in Australia, comprising Isuzu UTE A-League Men's, Ninja A-League Women's and E-league competitions. The 2024/25 season will see 13 clubs in the Isuzu UTE A-League Men and 12 in the Ninja A-League Women.

The A-Leagues, operated by Australian Professional Leagues (APL), is delivering against its bold ambition to develop top-tier professional football talent in Australia, drive engagement across the leagues and to build on football’s undisputed position as the country’s most popular participation sport.

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