On 3 June 2020, the Japan Football Association (JFA) announced the formation of the WE League to become Japan's new top-flight, professional women's football league. The semi-professional Nadeshiko League would become the second level on the women's football pyramid in Japan once the WE League began play in the autumn of 2021. United States-based business executive and former Japan international footballer Kikuko Okajima was announced as the WE League's inaugural chairwoman.
