In 2001-2002 this was known as the Sanlam National Women's Championship[4] and involved champions of SAFA's then-25 regions.

Following rumors as early as 2017[8] of SAFA establishing a professional women's league, the association indeed announced the formation of the SAFA Women's National League in August 2019.

The league's first season was played in 2019-20, and began with the previous season's respective provincial champions, plus two women's affiliates of PSL clubs and the university league champion, as the initial 12 members.

During the beginning of the 2021–22 season, South African Football Association announced that they secured a naming-rights deal with Hollywoodbets.

A list of the teams that took part in the inaugural SAFA Women's League:[17] Bold entries are participating in the current season