The A-League Men is the premier professional men's association football league in Australia. It is currently consists of twelve teams; eleven based in Australia and one based in New Zealand. The league has been contested since 2005, when it was founded as the A-League. In its most recent form, the league includes a 26-round regular season and an end-of-season finals series playoff tournament involving the highest-placed teams, culminating in the Grand Final match. The winning team of the Grand Final is crowned A-League champion, while the regular season winners are dubbed ‘premiers’.
The following is a list of all A-League seasons. It contains the number of teams, the number of regular season matches played, the premier, the champions, teams who have gained Asian qualification and the top scorer(s) in regular season matches—winner of the Golden Boot.
The A-League Men Grand Final is the final match of the A-League Men season, the culmination of the finals series, determining the champions of the tournament.
*Attendance limited due to impact of COVID-19 pandemic
The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be either a single game, a series of games, or a tournament, and may use a single-elimination system or one of several other different playoff formats. Playoff, in regard to international fixtures, is to qualify or progress to the next round of a competition or tournament.
The Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) is one of the six continental confederations of international association football. The OFC has 13 members, 11 of which are full members and two which are associate members not affiliated with FIFA. It promotes the game in Oceania and allows the member nations to qualify for the FIFA World Cup.
The AFC Champions League is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's top-division football clubs. It is the most prestigious club competition in Asian football, played by the national league champions of their national associations.
A-League Men is the highest-level professional men's soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. At the top of the Australian league system, it is the country's premier men's competition for the sport. A-League Men was established in 2004 as the A-League by the Football Federation Australia (FFA) as a successor to the National Soccer League (NSL) and competition commenced in August 2005. The league is currently administered by the Australian Professional Leagues (APL), contested by twelve teams; eleven based in Australia and one based in New Zealand. The men's, women's and youth leagues have now been brought together under a unified A-Leagues banner.
The OFC Champions League is the premier men's club football competition in Oceania. It is organised by the OFC, Oceania's football governing body. Beginning as the Oceania Club Championship (1987–2006), it has been organised since 2007 under its current format.
The New Zealand Football Championship was a men's association football league at the top of the New Zealand league system. Founded in 2004, the New Zealand Football Championship was the successor to a myriad of short-lived football leagues in the country, including the National Soccer League, the National Summer Soccer League and the New Zealand Superclub League. The league was contested by ten teams in a franchise system. For sponsorship reasons, the competition was known as the ISPS Handa Men's Premiership. From the 2021 season, it was replaced by the New Zealand National League.
There are a number of formats used in various levels of competition in sports and the[game]]s to determine an overall champion. Some of the most common are the single elimination, the best-of- series, the total points series more commonly known as on aggregate, and the round-robin tournament.
Auckland City Football Club is a New Zealand semi-professional football club based in the suburb of Sandringham in Auckland, New Zealand. They currently compete in the Northern League. Auckland City have established themselves as a major force in both New Zealand and Oceania, having won eight New Zealand Football Championship titles and eleven OFC Champions League titles since their foundation.
The Page playoff system is a playoff format used primarily in softball and curling at the championship level, and the Indian Premier League and Pakistan Super League cricket tournaments. Teams are seeded using a round-robin tournament and the top four play a mix of a single-elimination and double-elimination tournament to determine the winner. It is identical to a four-team McIntyre system playoff, first used by the WANFL, SANFL and VFL in Australia in 1931, originally called the Page–McIntyre system, after the VFL delegate, the Richmond Football Club's Secretary, Percy "Pip" Page, who had advocated its use. A form has been adopted in the Canadian Premier League national soccer competition.
Sydney FC in an Australian soccer club that has participated in many international tournaments and friendlies from 2005 to the present season. Indeed, its first competitive fixture was to qualify for the Oceania Champions League. Despite their short history, Sydney FC have participated in four different international competitions, the most by any A-League club. They have competed at the Asian Champions League five times and at the Oceania Champions League. Sydney FC alongside Adelaide United and Western Sydney Wanderers are the only teams to have represented the A-League in the FIFA Club World Cup. Sydney FC are the only team to have represented the A-League in the Pan-Pacific Championship during the 2008 competition.
Central Coast Mariners Football Club is an Australian professional football club based in Gosford, on the Central Coast of New South Wales. The first Asian football match played by the Mariners was against Pohang Steelers on 11 March 2009. They have since participated in the AFC Champions League on four occasions and the AFC Cup on one occasion, both organised by the Asian Football Confederation. The team has made the knockout stage of Asian competition twice.
The 2015 OFC Champions League Final was the final of the 2014–15 OFC Champions League, the 14th edition of the Oceania Cup, Oceania's premier club football tournament organized by the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC), and the 9th season under the current OFC Champions League name.
The 2018 OFC Champions League was the 17th edition of the Oceanian Club Championship, Oceania's premier club football tournament organized by the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) and the 12th season under the current OFC Champions League name.
The 2019 OFC Champions League was the 18th edition of the Oceanian Club Championship, Oceania's premier club football tournament organized by the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC), and the 13th season under the current OFC Champions League name.
The 2020 OFC Champions League was the 19th edition of the Oceanian Club Championship, Oceania's premier club football tournament organized by the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC), and the 14th season under the current OFC Champions League name.
The 2019 OFC Champions League Final was the final match of the 2019 OFC Champions League, the 18th edition of the Oceanian Club Championship, Oceania's premier club football tournament organized by the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC), and the 13th season under the current OFC Champions League name.
The 2021 OFC Champions League was originally to be the 20th edition of the Oceanian Club Championship, Oceania's premier club football tournament organized by the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC), and the 15th season under the current OFC Champions League name.
Australian soccer clubs have entered Asian and Oceania competitions since 1987 where Adelaide City entered the competition as the Australian representative. Since 2007, Australian clubs have participated in this league. For their first five competitions, the A-League was given two spots in the league- one for the champions and one for the premiers. For the 2012 competition, another half a spot was added, with the highest placed team on the A-League table which has not already qualified for the AFC Champions League entering a playoff to enter the competition.
The New Zealand Men's National League is a men's football league at the top of the New Zealand football league system. Founded in 2021, the New Zealand National League is the successor to the New Zealand Football Championship. The league is contested by ten teams, with teams qualifying from their regional leagues. Four teams qualify from the Northern League, three qualify from the Central League, two qualify from the newly formed Southern League and the Wellington Phoenix Reserves are automatically given a spot each year.