| Ghana Women’s Premier League (GWPL) | |
| Country: |  Ghana |
| Confed: | CAF |
| Founded: | 2012 |
| Teams: | 18 (18 from 2021/2022) |
| Levels: | 1 |
| Domest Cup: | Ghana Women's FA Cup |
| Confed Cup: | CAF W-Champions League |
| Champions: | Ampem Darkoa Ladies (3 titles) |
| Season: | 2022 |
| Most Successful Club: | Hasaacas Ladies (4 titles) |
| Organiser: | Ghana Football Association |
The Ghana Women’s Premier League (GWPL),[1] [2] [3] also known as the Malta Guinness Women's Premier League for sponsorship reasons, was launched in 2012 as the National Women's League (NWL) and is a top division league for women's soccer in Ghana.[4] [5] In November 2021, Hilary Boateng was appointed by the Ghana Football Association as the chairperson of the Women's Premier League Committee.[6]
Up to 2006, regional areas had active women's soccer leagues. In 2006, a zonal league was created, that played out a national champion for the first time. Ghana was divided into 3 zones that played a league stage. Each zone then advanced 2 teams to a national stage.[7]
A format was played in 2012–13. The league is played in 2 divisions. After the league stage, both division winners meet in a championship final. The first final was won by Hasaacas Ladies 2–1 over Fabulous Ladies at the Accra Sports Stadium.[8] A part of the soccer equipment was sponsored by FIFA.[9]
The 12 teams of the initial season were divided into 2 zones of 6 teams.
| Southern Zone | Northern Zone | |
|
|
In 2021, the Executive Council of the Ghana Football Association decided to expand the League from its format 16 clubs to 18 clubs beginning from the 2021–22 season, meaning 9 teams for the respective zones to allow for a minimum of 16 league matches in a season.[10]
There are 16 clubs in the Women's Premier League, 8 in the southern zone and 8 in the northern zone. During the course of a season (from December to July) each club in each zone plays the others twice (a double round-robin system), once at their home stadium and once at that of their opponents', for 16 games in each zone making it 32 games all together. Teams receive three points for a win and 1 point for a draw. No points are awarded for a loss. Teams are ranked by total points, then goal difference, and then goals scored. If still equal, teams are deemed to occupy the same position. At the end of the zonal league both top placed clubs and zonal winners meet in a championship final to decide the national champion.
A system of promotion and relegation exists between the Premier League and the Division 1 League. The lowest placed teams in zones of the Premier League are relegated to the Division 1 League, and the top teams from zones in the Championship promoted to the Premier League. The number of clubs was increased from 16 to 18 in 2021–22 season.
The list of champions and runners-ups:
| Season | Champions | Result | Runners-up | Top scorer | Best player | Best goalkeeper | Most promising player | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012–13[11] | Hasaacas Ladies | 2–1 | Fabulous Ladies | Agnes Aduako Samira Suleiman (14 goals) | Samira Suleman | not awarded | ||
| 2013–14[12] | Hasaacas Ladies | 0–0 a.e.t. (5–3 pen.) | Fabulous Ladies | Agnes Aduako (17 goals)[13] | Janet Egyir | Susan Atsem | not awarded | |
| 2014–15[14] | Hasaacas Ladies | 1–0 | Ampem Darkoa | Samira Suleiman | Janet Egyir[15] | Beatrice NtiwaaNketia | Princella Adubea | |
| 2015–16[16] | Ampem Darkoa | 1–0 | Hasaacas Ladies | Princella Adubea[17] (19 goals) | Grace Asantewaa | Evelyn Yeboah | not awarded | |
| 2017[18] | Ampem Darkoa | 1–0 | Lady Strikers | Princella Adubea(16 goals)[19] | Priscilla Okyere | Kerrie McCarthy | not awarded | |
| 2018 | League abandoned due to the Anas exposé | |||||||
| 2019***[20] | Hasaacas Ladies | 3–2 | Ampem Darkoa | Pepertual Agyekum(9 goals)[21] | Grace Asantewaa | Evelyn Yeboah | Constance Serwah Agyemang | |
| 2019–20 | League cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic | |||||||
| 2020–21[22] | Hasaacas Ladies | 4–0 | Ampem Darkoa | Ophelia Serwaa Amponsah[23] (17 goals) | Constance Serwah Agyemang | Grace Banwa | Comfort Yeboah | |
| 2021–22[24] | Ampem Darkoa | 1–1 a.e.t.(5–4 pen.) | Hasaacas Ladies | Princess Owusu[25] (15 goals) | Grace Acheampong | Safiatu Salifu | Stella Nyamekye | |
| Hasaacas Ladies | Sekondi-Takoradi, Western Region | 4 | ||
| Ampem Darkoa Ladies | Techiman, Bono East Region | 2015–16, 2017, 2021–22 | 3 |
From its inception, the league did not have a title sponsor and was simply referred to as National Women’s League.[26] In 2018, FreshPak, a subsidiary of Groupe Nduom, were announced as the league's first ever title sponsor worth GH¢500,000 over the next 2 seasons.[27] [28]
On 5 August 2022, the Ghana Football Association announced Malta Guinness as the league's title sponsor worth GH¢10 million for 3 years from the 2022–23 season onwards.[29] [30]
| Period | Sponsor | Name | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012–2017 | No title sponsor | National Women’s League | |
| 2018–2019 | FreshPak Products | FreshPak National Women’s League | |
| 2019–2022 | No title sponsor | Ghana Women's Premier League | |
| 2022– | Malta Guinness | Malta Guinness Women's Premier League |
In October 2020, GFA signed a 4-year partnership deal with Decathlon Ghana which includes Decathlon providing 1,000 Kipsta balls and other complementary sports products per year to the league from the 2020–21 season onwards.[36] [37]
In February 2022, online gambling company Betway signed a sponsorship deal with the Ghana Football Association as a Development Partner of the Ghana Women's Premier League. As a development partner, amongst their roles would be to provide a season-long mentorship and leadership programme for officials, administrators and coaches of the women's soccer clubs. Betway provides training equipment and warm-up kits to all participating clubs in GWPL.[38] The sponsorship was extended in February 2023.[39]
In February 2020, the Ghana Football Association signed a broadcasting right sponsorship deal with StarTimes Television for 6 years starting from the 2019–20 Ghana Premier League season. As part of the deal StarTimes dedicated $100,000 in the first year as a visibility support to the Ghana Division 1 League and women's soccer especially the Ghana Women's Premier League. They dedicated $50,000 for the following 5 years.[40]
As part of the deal, StarTimes Sports and shareholders Max TV broadcast the 2020–21 Ghana Women's Premier League Final and 2020–21 Ghana Women's FA Cup Final.[41]