A-League Women's 2021-22 draw released for Canberra United

The ALW 2021-22 draw revealed on Monday a full home and away season would not be realised, despite an expanded 10 team league to include Wellington Phoenix.

Canberra will only face the New Zealand side, the two Sydney teams, and Melbourne City, once due to the lack of a full home and away season.

United coach Vicki Linton welcomed the Phoenix to the fold and said it was nice to have an extra team in the ALW, but they would still love a full home and away.

"That's one aspect we always look at when the draw comes out, is who do we play twice and who we play once," she said.

"Expansion is obviously part of the strategy and that's important, even with the league upping it this year was good, to make it 10 teams, but just as a sporting competition, to have the integrity for that, you need the full home and away."

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United have locked in their 14 fixtures for the upcoming league, with seven games to be played in front of a home crowd at Viking Park.

Linton's side will begin their campaign at home against City on December 3, before fixtures against Adelaide United and Perth Glory.

They then take on Brisbane Roar and Western Sydney Wanderers in the next two rounds, before facing Adelaide for a second time.

The head coach said seven home games was huge for the side, as they went undefeated in the capital last season.

"That's a great way for us to start the season and get the fans out there supporting us. Hopefully we can start as well as we did last season and it sets up the rest of the season in our favour," Linton said.

"And obviously, we are looking forward to having seven home games this year in front of our fantastic supporters.

"We were undefeated last year, and our form away from home wasn't as good. So it's actually something we've talked about already. We want to keep Viking as our fortress, as it was last year, and we want to improve on our away record, that should hold us in good stead."

In round seven they will take on last year's grand finalists, and revisit the side who knocked them out in the semi-finals, Sydney FC.

Before they face the 2020-21 champions Melbourne Victory the week later. The Newcastle Jets will be next, followed by their second meeting with Glory.

United will face newcomers the Phoenix in round 11, before taking on their second fixtures against Roar, the Jets and Victory.

Thirty-two double headers will be played this season with the men's fixtures, with United playing two in Sydney, one in Newcastle and one in Melbourne.

"An absolute priority for us has been to ensure the highest levels of broadcast quality for the A-Leagues Women games this season, and the draw as it has been laid out allows us to do precisely that," A-Leagues commissioner Greg O'Rourke said.

"We're also delighted to welcome Wellington Phoenix Women into the competition, giving us more games than ever before."

The claims the addition of Phoenix give the ALW "more games than ever before" are incorrect, as 14 rounds were played last season and have been in place since at least the 2015-16 season.

However for the first time an expanded finals series will be delivered in the ALW after the 14 rounds. It will include a preliminary final, before culminating in the grand final on March 27, 2022.

The additional round, offers the season's first and second placed teams two options to make the grand final, with third and fourth places facing a sudden death playoff.

Another first for the 2021-22 season will be the inaugural A-Leagues Club Championship, a trophy awarded to the club with the most success across both the men's and women's leagues. However, as United does not have a male affiliated side, it will not be able to participate.

Round 1: United v Melbourne City, Viking Park - Dec 3, 7.45pm

Round 2: Adelaide United v United, Marden Sports Complex - Dec 12, 6.05pm

Round 3: Perth Glory v United, TBC - Dec 18, 10.05pm

Round 4: United v Brisbane Roar, Viking Park - Dec 23, 5.05pm

Round 5: Western Sydney Wanders v United, Western Sydney Stadium - Jan 1, 5.05pm

Round 6: United v Adelaide, Viking Park - Jan 8, 5.05pm

Round 7: Sydney FC v United, Jubilee Oval - Jan 15, 5.05pm

Round 8: United v Melbourne Victory, Viking Park - Jan 23, 4.05pm

Round 9: Newcastle Jets v United, Newcastle International Sports Centre - Jan 30, 4.05pm

Round 10: United v Glory, Viking Park - Feb 5, 5.05pm

Round 11: United v Wellington Phoenix, Viking Park - Feb 11, 7.45pm

Round 12: Roar v United, Gold Coast Sports Centre - Feb 18, 7.45pm

Round 13: United v Jets, Viking Park - Feb 27, 4.05pm

Round 14: Victory v United, Melbourne Rectangular Stadium - Mar 4, 5.05pm