Adelaide United Football Club is an Australian women's soccer team based in Adelaide, South Australia. Founded in 2008, it is the affiliated women's team of Adelaide United. The team competes in the country's premier women's soccer competition, the A-League Women.
History
Establishment
Adelaide United's women's team was formed in 2008 with the inception of the W-League, becoming one of the founding eight teams. The inaugural set up saw North Eastern MetroStars coach Michael Barnett take charge with ex-Adelaide United player Richie Alagich taking up the assistant coach role and Matildas stalwart Dianne Alagich named as captain.
2008–2011 Adelaide's first game was on 25 October 2008 against Queensland Roar at the Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre, which ended in a 4–1 loss with Sharon Black getting the consolation goal. The first win came in Round 2 against the Newcastle Jets at Hindmarsh Stadium, a hard-fought 3–2 win thanks to a hat-trick from Sandra Scalzi. The Reds followed this up with another 3–2 win over Sydney FC before failing to win any of their next seven league games, finishing last in the eight-team competition in their inaugural season.
After a disappointing inaugural season drastic changes were made to the playing staff including the retirement of experienced campaigners Sharon Black and Dianne Alagich to create a youthful team for the 2009 season. Despite the new-look squad, Adelaide continued to struggle in the league, failing to win any of the first 5 games, which included a record-equalling defeat against Sydney FC on 1 November 2009. The first goal of the 2009 season was scored by Tenneille Boaler against Newcastle Jets in the round 6 clash at the Wanderers Oval. The game ended in a 3 – 3 draw, handing Adelaide its second point of the year. Adelaide failed to win a single game in their second season, but thanks to an unlikely 2 – 2 draw with powerhouse team Brisbane Roar, they finished the season in 7th place, their best finish to date. Most Valuable player for 2009 season Racheal Quigley.
The 2010–11 season was even worse for Reds as they lost all ten of their W-League matches. They only scored four goals and finished with a disappointing −32 goal differential; they tied their worst defeat with a −1 loss to Newcastle in round nine. Coach Michael Barnett was let go at the end of the disappointing season, and was replaced by David Edmondson.
Adelaide continued to struggle through most of the 2011–12 season as they opened the campaign with six more losses, scoring four goals during that time while letting twenty-one in. This was better pace than the previous season, though, and the Reds showed significant improvement in on-field play versus 2010–2011, cited as being "unlucky" to not come away with at least a point on multiple occasions. They finally snapped their winless and losing streaks, at 34 and 18 games respectively, with a 1–0 defeat of the Perth Glory in round eight, taking them off the bottom of the table for the first time since November 2009.
Following Adelaide United taking control of the women's team, their first move was signing Mark Jones as the head coach.
2021–2022 Adelaide made the finals for the first time in season 21–22, finishing 3rd with 9 wins and 5 losses from their 14 games. They defeated Brisbane 8–2 in Brisbane in Round 11. Fiona Worts won the Golden Boot with 13 goals and was the only player that year to score two hat-tricks. She also won the Julie Dolan medal for the best player in the league, and Adrian Stenta won the Coach of the Year Award. Unfortunately Adelaide’s first final resulted in a 2–1 defeat to Melbourne Victory.
2024–2025 Adelaide made the finals for the second time and won its first ever finals game in 24–25. It again finished the regular season in 3rd with 14 wins and 3 draws from its 23 games. At Cooper’s stadium in front of 3,143 fans it defeated Western United 1–0, thanks to a goal from Matilda McNamara. In a home and away Semi Final it lost to Melbourne Victory 6–2 on aggregate. Fiona Worts was Adelaide’s top scorer with 11 and 3 players finished inside the League’s top ten scorers. Adrian Stenta won his second Coach of the Year Ward and Claudia Jenkins won the Save of the Year Award.
To celebrate International Women's Day on 8 March 2025, the women's team played on the evening prime time 7:15p.m. slot for the first time at Hindmarsh Stadium, while the men's team played their match earlier on the same day. This was the highest attended game for the entire A League Wome's season, with 8,852 spectators seeing Adelaide defeat eventual premiers Central Coast 1–0.
Stadium
Adelaide United WFC used to play their home games at Hindmarsh Stadium where they sometimes play a curtain-raiser to A-League games. As of the 2017/18 season, they play their home games at Marden Sports Complex. In the 2016/17 season, Hindmarsh Stadium was questioned about having portable change rooms for the women's team when there is a double header with the A-League side. This resulted in Adelaide WFC having no matches scheduled for Hindmarsh Stadium during the next season.
Players
First-team squad
Former players For notable current and former players, see :Category:Adelaide United FC (women) players.
Managers
Current technical staff Position NameHead coach Theo TsiounisAssistant coach Maruschka WaldusAssistant coach Tiarn PowellGoalkeeper coach Rian Del Nido
Manager history
Name From To Games Won Drawn Lost Ref.Michael Barnett1 July 200830 June 2011302424 David Edmondson31 August 201113 January 2013223019Ross Aloisi22 August 201328 July 2015246513Jamie Harnwell30 July 201530 June 201612345Mark Jones7 September 201622 September 20160000Hussein Skenderovic5 October 201630 June 201712354Ivan Karlović1 July 20174 August 2020248412Adrian Stenta4 August 202030 June 20252716110Theo Tsiounis17 July 20250000
Colours and badge Since its inception Adelaide United has played in a predominantly all-red home kit. For the inaugural season the away kit consisted of a white top and socks and red shorts; during the 2009 season the away kit changed to a black top with red shorts and socks. The badge is heavily based on the Adelaide United men's team, with the logo being encased in a W-League shield; as is the case with every other W-League club.
Records
Season League/Division League Position Play-offs Top scorers Head coach2008–09W-League8th of 8–Victoria Balomenos, Sandra Scalzi (4)Michael Barnett2009W-League7th of 8–Racheal Quigley (5)2010–11W-League7th of 7–multiple players scoring 1 goal2011–12W-League7th of 7–Marijana Rajcic (3)David Edmondson2012–13W-League8th of 8–Racheal Quigley, Sarah McLaughlin (4)2013–14W-League6th of 8– Kristy Moore (3)Ross Aloisi2014W-League7th of 8– Kristy Moore (3)2015–16W-League5th of 9–Rosie Sutton, Abby Dahlkemper (5)Jamie Harnwell2016–17W-League6th of 9–Adriana Jones (9)Hussein Skenderovic2017–18W-League9th of 9– Makenzy Doniak (7)Ivan Karlović2018–19W-League6th of 9– Veronica Latsko (9)2019–20W-League8th of 9– Mallory Weber (4)2020–21W-League5th of 9–Chelsie Dawber (5)Adrian Stenta2021–22A-League Women3rd of 10SF Fiona Worts (13)
Last updated 30 April 2024 Record Victory: 10 – 2 vs Western Sydney Wanderers, 14 January 2017 Record Defeat: 0 – 8 vs Newcastle Jets, 29 March 2024 Without Winning: 34 matches, 15 November 2008 – 10 December 2011 All-time Leading Goal Scorer: Racheal Quigley, 7 goals. All-time Leading Appearances: Donna Cockayne, 27 Appearances.
League record by opponent Club Pld W D L GF GA Win % First Last Notes Total Brisbane Roar † 29 8 4 17 42 60 2008–09 2025–26 Canberra United † 31 8 6 17 41 71 2008–09 2025–26 Central Coast Mariners † 9 3 0 6 4 21 2008–09 2025–26 Melbourne City † 16 2 5 9 13 29 2015–16 2025–26 Melbourne Victory † 33 6 3 24 32 80 2008–09 2025–26 Newcastle Jets † 32 11 7 14 48 69 2008–09 2025–26 Perth Glory † 31 12 3 16 41 50 2008–09 2025–26 Sydney FC † 29 6 2 21 28 72 2008–09 2025–26 Wellington Phoenix † 11 6 0 5 15 17 2021–22 2025–26 Western Sydney Wanderers † 23 12 5 6 49 35 2012–13 2025–26 Western United 6 2 1 3 7 8 2022–23 2024–25
The table includes results of matches played by Adelaide United in the A-League Women. Matches played at a neutral venue during Unite Round are excluded from the home and away records. The table includes results from the A-League Women finals series. The name used for each opponent is the name they had when Adelaide United most recently played a league match against them. Results against each opponent include results against that club under any former name. For example, results against Brisbane Roar include matches played against Queensland Roar (2008–2009). The columns headed "First" and "Last" contain the first and most recent seasons in which Adelaide United played league matches against each opponent. Pld = matches played; W = matches won; D = matches drawn; L = matches lost; Win % = percentage of total matches won Clubs with this background and symbol in the "Opponent" column are Adelaide United's divisional rivals in the current season. Clubs with this background and symbol in the "Opponent" column are defunct.
See also List of top-division football clubs in AFC countries Women's soccer in Australia W-League (Australia) all-time records Australia women's national soccer team
Notes
References
Sources
External links Official club website
Adelaide United