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The Hong Kong Women League (Chinese: 香港女子聯賽) is a Hong Kong top-tier division league for women's association football clubs. It was originally established in 1986 by the Hong Kong Ladies Football Association, but was re-formed and is now organised by the Hong Kong Football Association. It does not affiliate to any women football leagues in the rest of People's Republic of China.
Contents
History
Established in 1986 by the Hong Kong Ladies Football Association, the first season was competed by 6 teams, with Caroline Hill Women winning the title. However, since the association is not well-structured, the league was organised badly.
In 2009, after Hong Kong won the gold medal in the 2009 East Asian Games, the Hong Kong government announced and introduced the Project Phoenix which suggested that the Hong Kong Football Association should introduce a new and structured women league.
In 2012, the HKFA introduced the new Hong Kong Women League with 10 teams competing for the league title.
Competition format
There are 10 clubs in the league. Each club plays the others once for a total of 9 games. Teams receive three points for a win and one point for a draw. No points are awarded for a loss. Teams are ranked by total points, then goal difference, and then goals scored. At the end of each season, the club with the most points is crowned champion. If points are equal, the goal difference and then goals scored determine the winner.
Each match lasts for 90 minutes, with 45 minutes halves. Each club is allowed to name 3 foreign players on the pitch and to make at most 5 substitutions in a game. However, Hong Kong FC are the only team which can name more than 3 foreign players on the pitch as they are formed by foreign people.
2012–13 season
The following 10 clubs are competing in the Hong Kong Women League during the 2012–13 season.