1989 National Soccer League

NSL 1989
NSL 1989
League	National Soccer League
Sport	Association football
Duration	1989
Number of teams	14
NSL season
Champions	Marconi Fairfield
Top scorer	Zlatko Nastevski (20)
National Soccer League seasons
	← 1988 1989-90 →

Last updated August 20, 2025

The 1989 National Soccer League season, was the 13th season of the National Soccer League (NSL) in Australia.

Background

The Australian Soccer Federation began the year by announcing that the NSL would be televised on ABC rather than on SBS who had shown the league since 1979.^[1]^[2] SBS challenged the decision in the New South Wales Supreme Court and were allowed to show matches in rounds 1 and 2 before the court found in favour of the ABC.^[3]^[4]

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Marconi Fairfield (C)	26	16	6	4	62	24	+38	38	Qualification for the Finals series
2	St George-Budapest	26	12	8	6	33	24	+9	32
3	Sydney Olympic	26	11	9	6	37	26	+11	31
4	Melbourne Croatia	26	13	5	8	44	35	+9	31
5	Preston Makedonia	26	11	8	7	31	24	+7	30
6	Adelaide City	26	10	8	8	29	24	+5	28
7	Sydney Croatia	26	10	8	8	25	25	0	28
8	South Melbourne	26	9	8	9	44	37	+7	26
9	Wollongong City	26	8	7	11	22	29	−7	23
10	APIA Leichhardt	26	7	9	10	27	35	−8	23
11	Sunshine George Cross	26	7	5	14	25	38	−13	19
12	Blacktown City	26	5	9	12	28	50	−22	19
13	Melbourne JUST (R)	26	5	8	13	24	37	−13	18	Relegation to the Victorian State League
14	Heidelberg United (R)	26	7	4	15	22	45	−23	18	Relegation to the Victorian State League

Updated to match(es) played on unknown. Source: rsssf.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated

Finals series


Elimination and qualifying Finals			Semi-finals			Preliminary Final			Grand Final



			1	Marconi Fairfield	1				1	Marconi Fairfield	1

			2	St George-Budapest	0				2	Sydney Olympic	0

2	St George-Budapest	1				2	St George-Budapest	0

3	Sydney Olympic	0				3	Sydney Olympic	1

			3	Sydney Olympic	3

			4	Melbourne Croatia	2

4	Melbourne Croatia	2

5	Preston Makedonia	0

Individual awards

Player of the Year: Zlatko Nastevski (Marconi Fairfield)
U-21 Player of the Year: Paul Trimboli (South Melbourne)
Top Scorer: Zlatko Nastevski (Marconi Fairfield) – 20 goals
Coach of the Year: Bertie Mariani (Marconi Fairfield)

References

↑ Blake, Greg (18 January 1989). "Television rumpus". Australian Soccer Weekly. p. 1. Retrieved 8 June 2020– via Melbourne Soccer.
↑ Schwab, Laurie (14 January 1989). "Soccer prepares for new season with the ABC" . The Age. p. 41. Retrieved 8 June 2020– via Newspapers.com.
↑ Gautier, Lou (1 February 1989). "ABC–SBS Show Hits The Road". Australian Soccer Weekly. p. 2. Retrieved 8 June 2020– via Melbourne Soccer.
↑ Cockerill, Michael (7 February 1989). "Match crowds decide summer game debate" . The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 45. Retrieved 8 June 2020– via Newspapers.com.

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[1] Blake, Greg (18 January 1989). "Television rumpus". Australian Soccer Weekly. p. 1. Retrieved 8 June 2020– via Melbourne Soccer.

[2] Schwab, Laurie (14 January 1989). "Soccer prepares for new season with the ABC" . The Age. p. 41. Retrieved 8 June 2020– via Newspapers.com.

[3] Gautier, Lou (1 February 1989). "ABC–SBS Show Hits The Road". Australian Soccer Weekly. p. 2. Retrieved 8 June 2020– via Melbourne Soccer.

[4] Cockerill, Michael (7 February 1989). "Match crowds decide summer game debate" . The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 45. Retrieved 8 June 2020– via Newspapers.com.

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