WFNL reveals new look league structure for 2025

The Western Football Netball League has confirmed changes to its competition structure in season 2025. Here’s what we know and how it will all work moving forward.

Albion and Sunshine are two of the teams who have asked to be promoted. Photo: Andrew Batsch

Change is coming to the Western Football Netball League, again.

Just a year after reducing its competition to two divisions, competition officials have announced a new look from the 2025 season.

Division 1 will now have 12 teams with none of the current nine to be relegated at the end of this year.

Three clubs from the current 14-team Division 2 are set to be promoted including Albion, Newport and Sunshine.

Division 2 will have 12 teams should Glen Orden, currently playing in the thirds, elect to return to senior and reserves footy.

“The three strongest clubs have been identified as Albion, Newport and Sunshine which has been based on current and past performance, pathways to senior football, capacity for salary cap spend, and other club health indicators that will put them in the best possible position to receive and sustain promotion to Division 1,” the league said in its competition structure announcement.

“Wyndhamvale was considered for promotion but were deemed to not be in an equal position as to the three clubs mentioned above.”

In the new structure, there will be no relegation of a Division 1 senior team in 2025 and no automatic promotion for the Division 2 premier.

Relegation and promotion would return in season 2026 where the last placed Division 1 team would drop down to the second tier.

“For the league to return to a three Division competition structure, we will need to have 26 viable senior men’s football clubs competing with both a seniors and reserves in divisional football,” the league’s email said.

“This will include the ideal model for our Division 1 premier competition to be comprised of 10 teams and a Division 2 and Division 3 with 16 senior clubs divided between both.

“It is worth noting that as per the WFNL By-Laws, the board may vary this based on the circumstances at the time and may otherwise promote, relegate, or refuse to promote any club in the event that there are any other circumstances which, in the opinion of the board, require a club to be promoted, relegated or refused promotion.”

There are currently 23 senior clubs competing across the two divisions.

The WFNL merged the bottom two divisions (formerly Divisions 2 and 3) at the end of last year after a consultation process.

The model coming into place for next year was expected to be released but it was not deemed possible due to the timing (October 2023).

Further, the league said it would employ a “number of fixture equalisation methods to facilitate a competitive draw for all teams across both divisions”.