Australian soccer league system

Last updated

Australian soccer league system
FFA state member federations.png
A map showing the nine member federations of Football Australia, which each control their respective state-based competitions.
Country Australia
Sport Soccer
Promotion and relegation No national system of promotion and relegation. Promotion and relegation does exist in every state and the Australian Capital Territory, but not in the Northern Territory.
National system
Federation Football Australia
Confederation AFC
Top division
Second division
Cup competition
Regional systems
Federations
Top divisions
Second divisions
Soccer in Australia

The Australian soccer league system is the league structure for soccer clubs in Australia. [1] The league system in Australia since 1977 has involved one top divisional league controlled by Football Australia and many leagues run within each state below. [2] [3]

Contents

The National Soccer League (NSL) stood from 1977 to 2004 as the top nationwide tier above the current state-based league systems. [4] [5] In 2005, the A-League (known as A-League Men since 2021) was established as its successor. [6] [7]

The introduction of the National Premier Leagues (NPL) in 2013 introduced a direct second tier of soccer in Australia, underpinning the A-League. [8] The NPL incorporated the existing state leagues as divisions with a nationwide end of season finals series, rebranding five of the nine top state leagues. [9] The remainder – with the exception of the Northern Territory – joined in 2014. [9]

There is no promotion and relegation to and from the top-tier A-League, and promotion and relegation at other levels varies between different state systems. [10] [11]

Table

The table excludes parallel leagues such as the A-League Women. The women's soccer league system in Australia is similar to that of the men's. [12] [13]

The national second-tier Australian Championship is a tournament contested after the finish of the National Premier Leagues.

LevelLeagues
1 A-League Men
12 clubs (2 from New Zealand)
no relegation
2 National Premier Leagues
94 clubs (from 8 divisions) [a] 		Football Northern Territory
12 clubs (from 2 divisions)
NPL ACT
8 clubs
no promotion
↓ relegate 1		 NPL NSW
16 clubs
no promotion
↓ relegate 1.5		 NPL Northern NSW
12 clubs
no promotion
↓ relegate 1.5		 NPL Queensland
12 clubs
no promotion
↓ relegate 2		 NPL SA
12 clubs
no promotion
↓ relegate 2		 NPL Tasmania
8 clubs
no promotion
no relegation		 NPL Victoria
14 clubs
no promotion
↓ relegate 2		 NPL WA
12 clubs
no promotion
↓ relegate 1.5		 NorZone Premier League
8 clubs
no promotion
no relegation		 FICA Premier League
4 clubs
no promotion
no relegation
3 Capital Premier League
8 clubs
↑ promote 1
no relegation		 NSW League One
16 clubs
↑ promote 1.5
↓ relegate 1.5		 Northern League One
10 clubs
↑ promote 1.5
↓ relegate 1		 Queensland
Premier League 1
12 clubs
↑ promote 2
↓ relegate 2		 SA State League 1
12 clubs
↑ promote 2
↓ relegate 2		 Tasmania Northern Championship
8 clubs
no promotion
no relegation		 Tasmania Southern Championship
10 clubs
no promotion
no relegation		 Victorian Premier League 1
14 clubs
↑ promote 2
↓ relegate 2		 WA State League 1
12 clubs
↑ promote 1.75
↓ relegate 1.5		NorZone Premier League 2
9 clubs
no promotion
no relegation		FICA Premier League 2
5 clubs
no promotion
no relegation
4 Capital League 1
10 clubs
no promotion
↓ relegate 1		NSW League Two
15 clubs
↑ promote 1.5
no relegation		 Zone Football League One
12 clubs
↑ promote 1
↓ relegate 1		NNSW Regional Super League
8 clubs
no promotion
no relegation		Queensland
Premier League 2
12 clubs
↑ promote 2
↓ relegate 2		SA State League 2 North
8 clubs
↑ promote 1
no relegation		SA State League 2 South
8 clubs
↑ promote 1
no relegation		Tasmania Northern Social
League 1
9 clubs
no promotion
no relegation		 Tasmania Southern Social
League 1
6 clubs
no promotion
no relegation		 Victorian Premier League 2
12 clubs
↑ promote 2
↓ relegate 2		WA State League 2
12 clubs
↑ promote 1.5
↓ relegate 1		NorZone Premier League 3
7 clubs
no promotion
no relegation
5Capital League 2
10 clubs
↑ promote 1
↓ relegate 1		 Regional
19 districts
no promotion		Zone Football League Two
12 clubs
↑ promote 1
↓ relegate 1		Regional
7 districts
no promotion		 Regional
9 districts
↑ promote 2		 Regional
6 districts
no promotion		Tasmania Northern Social
League 2
6 clubs
no promotion		Tasmania Southern Social
League 2
6 clubs
no promotion
no relegation		 Vic State League 1
North-West
12 clubs
↑ promote 1
↓ relegate 2		 Vic State League 1
South-East
12 clubs
↑ promote 1
↓ relegate 2		 Regional
12 districts
↑ promote 1
6Capital League 3
10 clubs
↑ promote 1
no relegation		Zone Football League Three
11 clubs
↑ promote 1		Tasmania Southern Social
League 3
6 clubs
no promotion
no relegation		Vic State League 2
North-West
12 clubs
↑ promote 2
↓ relegate 2		Vic State League 2
South-East
12 clubs
↑ promote 2
↓ relegate 2
7Capital League 4
10 clubs
no promotion
no relegation		Tasmania Southern Social
League 4
8 clubs
no promotion		Vic State League 3
North-West
12 clubs
↑ promote 2
↓ relegate 2		Vic State League 3
South-East
12 clubs
↑ promote 2
↓ relegate 2
8Capital League 5
10 clubs
no promotion
no relegation		Vic State League 4 North
12 clubs
↑ promote 1
↓ relegate 2		Vic State League 4 West
12 clubs
↑ promote 1
↓ relegate 2		Vic State League 4 South
12 clubs
↑ promote 1
↓ relegate 2		Vic State League 4 East
12 clubs
↑ promote 1
↓ relegate 2
9Capital League 6
10 clubs
no promotion
no relegation		Vic State League 5 North
12 clubs
↑ promote 2
no relegate		Vic State League West
12 clubs
↑ promote 2
no relegate		Vic State League 5 South
12 clubs
↑ promote 2
no relegate		Vic State League 5 East
12 clubs
↑ promote 2
no relegate
10Capital League 7
10 clubs
no promotion
no relegation		 Regional
15 districts
no promotion
11Capital League 8
10 clubs
no promotion
no relegation
12Capital League 9
10 clubs
no promotion
no relegation
13Capital League 10 Blue
10 clubs
no promotion		Capital League 10 Gold
10 clubs
no promotion

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ From 2025, a subset of 16 second-tier clubs play in an associated spring competition called the Australian Championship. [14]

References

  1. ↑ Lynch, Joey (29 November 2023). "Australia's football pyramid is one step closer to reality. Now what?". ESPN Australia. Archived from the original on 18 December 2023. Retrieved 18 April 2025.
  2. ↑ Robinson, Andrew. "Complete final season tables". elitetograssroots.net. Archived from the original on 30 June 2020. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  3. ↑ Howe, Andrew (2017). "Australia's national league: 40 years strong". A-Leagues. Archived from the original on 10 October 2024. Retrieved 18 April 2025.
  4. ↑ "Dockerty Cup History Series: The NSL and Cup's demise". Football Victoria. 31 July 2024. Archived from the original on 18 December 2024. Retrieved 27 February 2025.
  5. ↑ "New soccer league slated for 2004". Sydney Morning Herald. 9 December 2003. Archived from the original on 16 June 2024. Retrieved 27 February 2025.
  6. ↑ "All square in A-League preseason matches". ABC News. 23 July 2005. Archived from the original on 28 October 2016. Retrieved 27 February 2025.
  7. ↑ Cockerill, Michael (26 August 2005). "A league of their own". Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 29 August 2020. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  8. ↑ Gorman, Joe (9 December 2013). "Why the NPL matters for Australian football". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 18 December 2024. Retrieved 18 December 2024.
  9. 1 2 "National Premier Leagues". Football Australia. Archived from the original on 31 May 2013. Retrieved 29 May 2013.
  10. ↑ Monteverde, Marco (6 November 2023). "Football Australia confirms second division details...with a catch". Fox Sports. Archived from the original on 12 February 2025. Retrieved 27 February 2025.
  11. ↑ "2024 NPL/League 1 Men's Promotion and Relegation Playoff details Announced". Football NSW. 26 August 2024. Archived from the original on 11 September 2024. Retrieved 27 February 2025.
  12. ↑ "The Women's Season is about to start! Here's everything you need to know". Football SA. 14 March 2024. Archived from the original on 4 November 2024. Retrieved 27 February 2025.
  13. ↑ "Women's & Men's Promotion, Relegation & Play-Offs for the 2024 Season". Football Victoria. 14 May 2024. Archived from the original on 25 October 2024. Retrieved 27 February 2025.
  14. ↑ Rugari, Vince (31 October 2024). "Football Australia will launch a national second division in 2025. Here's what you need to know". Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 12 February 2025. Retrieved 12 February 2025.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.