The Professional Footballers Australia (PFA) has launched its second annual W-League Report, with the latest version providing a broad review of the 2017/18 season.

Published for the first time in 2017, this season’s 48-page document analyses four key components of the W-League’s progress and conditions; the Employment Framework, League Assessment, Technical and Injury reports.

This new Report also highlights the specific impact of the 2017-2019 W-League Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) and, for the first time, features data from the PFA’s major Annual Player Survey – providing feedback directly from the players.

The four main sections incorporate research conducted by the PFA on player payments, match minutes, rate of injuries and review of minimum medical standards.

The Report also provides technical data from Opta and an assessment of the W-League’s progress across a range of key metrics, from attendance, broadcast viewership to pitch quality and team integration with A-League clubs.

PFA Deputy Chief Executive, Kate Gill, welcomed the release of the report, which comes after the tenth season in the competition’s history – the first covered by a CBA, negotiated by the PFA on behalf of its members.

“Following last year’s inaugural report, we knew that the W-League CBA would be transformational for our members during the 2017/18 season. This report is critical as it clearly demonstrates the significant correlation between the CBA and improved employment conditions for our players.

“Through research and direct feedback, we’ve found that players have enjoyed more competitive minimum salaries, improved conditions and facilities, and a decrease in matches missed due to injury, following the implementation of Minimum Medical Standards.

“Pleasingly, the report underlines a significant increase in the share of match minutes played by players over 30, which suggests a shift towards more sustainable W-League careers. The power of this report is that it identifies and provides transparency to some of the ongoing and emerging issues, which will become immediate and long term areas of focus for our organisation, with empirical data to inform our work.”

You can view and download the full report by clicking here.