Football Federation Victoria today announced the clubs to be offered licences for the inaugural PlayStation® 4 Women’s National Premier Leagues competition (PS4 WNPL).

The formation of the PS4 WNPL, set to start in 2016, marks a new era for female football in Victoria.

The eight clubs to form the inaugural PS4 WNPL Victoria are:

FC Bulleen Lions	Galaxy United (Geelong)
Heidelberg United	Melbourne United (Ashburton)
Box Hill United	Keilor United
Bayside United	Southern United (Greater Frankston and Casey area)

FFV President Kimon Taliadoros said the PS4 WNPL would be a profound leap forward for the game.

"We have established a dedicated Talented Player Pathway for girls and women across Melbourne and Geelong to achieve their football dreams," Taliadoros said.

"This is a significant step forward for the beautiful game in Victoria."

FFV CEO Peter Gome said the PS4 WNPL would set high standards on and off the field.

"This new league will create the strongest, most competitive women’s and girl’s competition in Victoria, both on and off the field," Gome said.

"The clubs chosen will enable us to significantly improve the rapidly growing women’s game in Victoria."

Emma Highwood, Football Federation Australia head of Community and Women's Football, was a member of the PS4 WNPL assessment panel.

"This is a very exciting time for women’s football in Victoria," Highwood said.

"We are thrilled with the number of quality applications received and thank all clubs for their interest".

Clubs were chosen based on their ranking against 10 selection criteria including youth development, coaching, facilities, finance and governance, as well as three additional criteria including council support, track record in women’s and girl’s football and geography.

In all, 22 clubs applied for the eight available licences.

Included in the eight inaugural clubs are six existing Sportsmart Women’s Premier League teams, three PS4 NPL clubs, two combined clubs from the strongest female participation areas and one Zagame's Women’s State League 1 team, which has been rewarded for a history of strong on and off field performance.

More than 10,000 women and girls currently play football in Victoria.

The eight successful clubs will now work closely with FFV in preparation for the PS4 WNPL 2016 season launch.

The PS4 WNPL Selection Criteria included:

Teams	Youth Development
Coaching	Governance
Organisational Structure	Finance
Facilities	Medical
Reporting	Member Protection
Council support for facilities	Geography
Track record in women's and girl's football

The PS4 WNPL Selection Panel comprised of:

• Independent Chair, Eugénie Buckley
• Emma Highwood, FFA Head of Community and Women’s Football
• Matthew Annells, FFV General Manager, Football Operations
• David Smith, FFV Technical Director
• Maggie Koumi, Chair FFV Women’s Standing Committee
• Kat Smith, Victorian women’s football expert and former elite player