Latrobe Valley Soccer League (LVSL) is a soccer league encompassing much of the Latrobe Valley and surrounding areas in the Gippsland region of Victoria.
As the region with the National Soccer League's only regional participant, as well as being home to multiple Victorian state champions - with six clubs going on to compete in the Victorian State League - the LVSL is widely acknowledged as being one of the strongest soccer leagues in regional Australia.[1]
History
The earliest known organised soccer competition in Gippsland was the Wonthaggi and District Soccer Association, which began in 1912, followed by the North Gippsland Soccer League (featuring Sale United, Yallourn SC and clubs from Maffra, Glenmaggie and Nambrok) beginning in 1926[2] - although both leagues ceased to exist by the late 1930s.[3]
The first known match in the Latrobe Valley was played in 1924,[4] when a side combined of Hill Rovers and Yallourn White Rose played a combined side of Moe Rangers and Morwell United, the latter side winning 2-1. The match took place in Moe, prior to an Australian Rules football match between Moe and Longwarry.[5]
A Latrobe Valley team's first entry into the Dockerty Cup was in 1926, when Yallourn Thistle - a team comprised mostly of Scottish migrants - made it to the second round, drawing 2-2 with Newport[6] before losing the replay 3-2.[7]
An attempt to form an "Amateur Soccer Football Association" in Morwell and Traralgon was first made in 1925, before pioneering Gippsland soccer figure Pastor Norman Minor attempted to start a team in Traralgon in 1927.[8] However, a competitive team did not formalise in the town until the arrival of the Traralgon Tigers in 1955.[9]
An association focused on the Latrobe Valley did not arrive until the formation of the Central Gippsland Soccer Football Association - which featured multiple teams from Yallourn SC ('Wanderers' and 'Rovers' initially, then 'Celtic', 'Swifts' and 'Milita' followed), Yallourn North-based Brown Coal Mine and Morwell SC - in 1933, later adding Morwell Bridge, with invitations extended to prospective clubs in Moe, Traralgon and Trafalgar.[10]
Following a hiatus due to Second World War, the Association eventually evolved into Latrobe Valley Soccer Association, who in turn formed the Latrobe Valley Soccer League in 1951, with the original four teams being Morwell, Yallourn, Heyfield and Maryvale,[11] with Australian Paper Manufacturers SC (known as A.P.M SC, formed by contractors working for Prentice Bros at the Maryvale Paper Mill) also joining the league in time for its opening round of fixtures on Saturday, 15 July 1951.[12][13]
The Argus newspaper announcing the opening round of the 1951 LVSL
Further invitations were sent to the RAAF Base East Sale and to Wonthaggi in the hope of re-establishing the Wonthaggi Magpies, Dockerty Cup runners-up in 1929 and champions 1931.[14]
Soon after, the league rapidly grew with teams such as the Sale-based R.A.A.F. SC, Moe United, Traralgon Tigers and Sale United all joining,[15] although some - such as 1952 LVSL champions Overseas Construction Company SC (from a company which employed German migrants working on the Morwell Briquette Factory) - were short-lived.[16] With the backing of Football Victoria, the organisation purchased a site in Morwell in 1953 and constructed its new headquarters soon after.[17]
Such was the growth of football in the Latrobe Valley during the 1950s, the local Australian Rules Football authorities flagged the "Soccer Threat" and that the sport "...was advancing in Moe, Yallourn, Morwell, Traralgon and Sale".[18] The Age newspaper even carried a front-page story in November 1953 about the "Move to Counter Soccer" and outlined the fear that soccer's rise in Gippsland could see it overtake Australian Rules in popularity.[17]
The secretary of the Australian Rules' Central Gippsland Football League, Stewart Harris, pleaded with the VFL to proceed with a planned 1952 VFL season match between St Kilda and Footscray in Gippsland, saying "...thousands of migrants are pouring into the Latrobe Valley. Nearly all of them know only soccer. In no other part of Victoria was there greater necessity for the encouragement of Australian Rules football."[19]
The LVSL later changed its name to the Gippsland Soccer League. The association collectively represented all of Gippsland and the Latrobe Valley until 2016, when the breakaway clubs - consisting of the 10 strongest teams in the Gippsland Soccer League - broke away to form their own league, revitalising the former 'Latrobe Valley Soccer League' name.[21][22] The Gippsland Soccer League now represents clubs in west and south Gippsland.[23]
The league sits below the Victorian State League Division 5 and forms a part of the "Ninth tier" of league soccer in Australia. It is primarily staged in the Australian winter and, in its current format, runs between March and September. The league comprises teams based in the Australian state of Victoria, while the Football Victoria is the governing body.[citation needed]
Each league comprises at least 10 teams competing in a number of competition. Every team plays each other twice over the course of a 20-week season.
Promotion and Relegation: Although a LVSL Men's Second Division exists, there is no promotion or relegation between it and the LVSL Senior Men's Division. The eleven clubs field teams in 14 competitions, five of which are age-restricted competitions.
There is no promotion or relegation between the LVSL (Level 9) and the Victorian State League Division 5 (Level 8), however clubs may apply to join the VSL. A total of six LVSL clubs have participated in the metropolitan-based Victorian State Leagues at various times.
↑ "Falcons 2000" were most well known as "Morwell Falcons" for the majority of their history, in the State Leagues and National Soccer League until reforming as Falcons 2000 in the year 2000.
↑ Fortuna 60's senior men's team successfully applied to join the Victorian State League 5 South in time for the 2025 Season. They will continue to field a women's team, men's Second Division team and junior teams in the LVSL.
↑ "Newborough-Yallourn United" comprises the history of Yallourn SC - including when they were crowned Victorian Champions in 1950 - before merging with Newborough United Soccer Club (formed in 1955) in 1995. The Club has won 9 LVSL titles - 6 as Newborough United, 2 as Yallourn Soccer Club and 1 as the merged entity (2019). The Club has won 6 LVSL Battle of Britain Cup titles - 2 as Newborough United, 3 as Yallourn Soccer Club and 1 as the merged entity (2019).
As of 2025, there is presently no finals series - the league winner is decided by the team who finishes top of the table in the regular season.
However, there has been finals series run in previous years, beginning with the Walter Ingham Cup (in 1952 and 1953), where the top four teams entered into a post-season final series.
A finals series was revived in 1995 and ran until 2019 (with exceptions in 2008, 2015 and 2016) before reverting to a 'first past the post' system thereafter to avoid the confusion about the LVSL's champion team - which has always been the league champions, rather than the winner of the finals series. In 2019, the last ever finals series was known as the 'Michael Buhagiar Cup'.[32]
Battle of Britain Cup (Men's) & Browne-Huizer Cup (Women's)
Based on a traditional Cup knockout competition, the Battle of Britain Cup is contested via a knock-out series of games where teams are drawn randomly at its beginning. As the Dockerty Cup was only held once between 1996 and 2010, the Battle of Britain is officially the "Oldest continual football trophy in Victorian football", dating back to 1952.[33][34]
The Cup's origin comes from a trophy originally awarded to the LVSL by the Latrobe Valley branch of the RAAF Association,[35] and continued to be so for many years.[36]
The women's equivalent is called the Browne-Huizer Cup. It began in 2010 and is named after two local pioneers of women's football, Nigel Browne and Adrian Huizer, who were instrumental in developing the female game in Gippsland and fought for the implementation of a women's league in the Latrobe Valley - a feat finally achieved in 2009.[37]
Earlier Cups included the Advertiser Shield, sponsored by the Morwell Advertiser newspaper (the forerunner to the Latrobe Valley Express)[38], Walter Ingram Cup[39] and the J.G Lawless Cup.[40]
Dockerty Cup and Australia Cup
Since the 2016 season Latrobe Valley Soccer League clubs have taken part in the Australia Cup preliminary rounds, which also double as the initial rounds of the Dockerty Cup. Fixtures are randomly drawn as single-leg knockout matches. Currently all Victorian Regional Leagues clubs enter at the "First Round", and only the last 4 Victorian clubs will qualify for the final rounds of the competition (at the Round of 32). To date, no Latrobe Valley Soccer League club has advanced beyond the third round (Morwell Pegasus' made the 2015 fifth round whilst still playing in the Victorian State League).
Radio: Radio station Gippsland FM regularly broadcasts Laurie “Truck” Williams on Saturday mornings from 7:30am, while GOLD 1242 also provides Soccer updates and discussion during the season.
Television: Local TV news broadcasts from WIN News air weekend match highlights including player and coaching staff interviews, as well as covering all scores.
Newspapers: Print coverage is generally provided by the Latrobe Valley's weekly newspaper, The Latrobe Valley Express and the Wellington Shire's bi-weekly newspaper, The Gippsland Times.
Video Highlights: The LVSL produce regular highlights videos which are published on social media and their respective association & club websites. Some clubs air a "TeamTV" channel via YouTube or club websites, covers LVSL team match highlights including player and coaching staff interviews.
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