Soccer in Western Australia
in Western Australia is governed by Football West. In 1896, the first governing body was formed. Football West runs the National Premier Leagues Western Australia, State Leagues, Sunday League and Metropolitan League. There are also numerous casual and school competitions, as well as futsal and indoor soccer in competitive and social games.
History
Football was officially established in May 1896 by Sir Septimus Burt, Western Australia's first Attorney General. The Western Australia state soccer team first played in 1902 against the touring English cricket team. In subsequent years, the State team has played various matches against other nations, other states, and professional clubs in exhibition and practice matches. To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the game's foundation in Western Australia, a Hall of Fame for distinguished players was established.National representation
In 1994, a group of businessmen led by Joe Claudio formed the Perth Kangaroos IFC. The club competed in the 1994 Singapore Professional Soccer League. The Kangaroos finished the league season undefeated and easily won the Singapore league title. However, with dwindling support and resources, the experiment proved to be a financial disaster and Perth Kangaroos IFC soon folded.Perth Glory FC are the only West Australian team to compete in the current national A-League and also participated in the now defunct National Soccer League since 1996. Perth Glory men's side were one of the most successful teams of the NSL era, as premiers of 1999/2000, 2001/02 and 2003/04, and champions in 2003 and 2004. The club has had relatively less success since the beginning of the A-League, and as of 2018, have been A-League runner up once in 2012, and FFA Cup runner up twice in 2014 and 2015.
Perth Glory also have a women's side which was established in 2008 and competes in Australia's national W-League. Perth Glory's women's team has had notable success since its inception, achieving a premiership in 2014, and finishing as playoff runner up in 2014 and 2017.
Football competitions in WA
Leagues
The NPL WA is the highest league in WA, one step below the national A-League, and is a division within the National Premier Leagues structure. The League Champion at the end of the season enters a national play-off series against the NPL champions of other states to determine the overall NPL Champion.Below the NPL, the Football West competition includes the State leagues, Amateur leagues, and Metropolitan leagues.
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Knockout Cups
The premier male knockout cup competition is the Football West State Cup, run by Football West. Since 2014 the two State Cup finalists also qualify for the national FFA Cup competition.Other Cup competitions include the Amateur Cup for the Men's Amateur Divisions, the Metropolitan Cup for the Men's Metropolitan Divisions, the Women's State Cup, and the Women's Metropolitan Cup for the Women's Metropolitan Divisions.