Veteran journalist Caroline Wilson has given the AFL a clip over their handling of the AFLW competition.

With the fourth season of the league due to start early next year, a competition structure and fixture list is yet to be settled on.

Wilson says it's unacceptable that these questions are still up in the air and is symptomatic of the AFL's poor handling of the women's comp.

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"The AFL has a problem with women, to be specific, the AFLW and how to run a competition that loses money," Wilson said.

"But that doesn't help hundreds of young women around the country who still have no clear idea of how many games they're going to play in 2020 or when their season is going to start."

Wilson said the AFL has flip-flopped on the date for the start of the competition several times in recent weeks.

Gold Coast, Richmond, St Kilda and West Coast all enter the league this year, taking the total to 14 teams.

The 2019 season saw the introduction of two conferences, with seven rounds and two-week finals series.

Just how the 2020 fixture will be drawn up remains to be seen, but Wilson said the players deserve to know.

"It's just inconceivable to me that part-time footballers who are planning moves interstate, taking long-service leave and putting study on hold still don't know again as as we approach the third AFLW season when it is going to start," Wilson said.

"Gillon, where is long-term strategy for AFLW?"