National Premier Leagues

For the Australian women's football equivalent, see National Premier Leagues Women's. For the first-tier of Jamaican football, see National Premier League.

National Premier Leagues

First season	2013
Country	Australia
Confederation	AFC
Divisions	ACT NSW Northern NSW Queensland South Australia Tasmania Victoria Western Australia
Number of teams	94 clubs (from 8 divisions)
Level on pyramid	2 (3 from 2025)
Domestic cup(s)	Australia Cup
Current champions	Wollongong Wolves (2019)
Most championships	Sydney United 58 (2 titles)
Website	nationalpremierleagues.com.au
Current: 2024 National Premier Leagues

The National Premier Leagues (NPL) is a men's national association football competition in Australia which acts as the second tier of the sport in the country below the A-League. The NPL consists of the highest level state league in each state-based federation within Australia. In total the NPL is contested by clubs from eight divisions; these are ACT, NSW, Northern NSW, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia. The NPL is overseen by Football Australia, in partnership with participating state-based member federations.

Up to the 2019 season, one representative from each regional participated in the NPL Championship, a knock-out competition to determine a national champion.

From the 2025 season, the NPL Premiers from each Member Federation will be invited to play in the new 16-team National Second Division (currently referred to as a National Second Tier), to be played between October and December 2025. ^{[1] [2]}

History

In October 2010, Football Federation Australia (FFA) commenced a National Competition Review, its main objective being to review the current structure of soccer competitions in Australia, and to monitor and improve elite player development. ^[3] By May 2012 the results of the National Competition Review were released. In it, a proposal to re-brand and revitalise state-based competitions in Australia. ^[4]

On 13 February 2013, the establishment of the National Premier Leagues was announced. As a direct outcome of the National Competition Review, the league would rebrand the premier league in each state under a single banner. ^[5] Originally named Australian Premier League but due to a violation of naming rights held by Lawn Bowls Australia the original name was scrapped and replaced with National Premier Leagues. ^[6]

The inaugural season of the NPL began in March 2013. It included teams from five of the nine state-based federations: ^[5]

• Australian Capital Territory
• New South Wales
• Queensland
• South Australia
• Tasmania

The other four of the nine state-based federations joined the NPL in 2014:

• Northern New South Wales
• Northern Territory
• Victoria
• Western Australia

Those federations who joined in the 2014 season, were expected to adopt a partial model at some time in the future. ^{[7] [8]} Although Victoria initially announced their teams would enter in 2014, a deferral was later announced in November 2013, after several clubs objected to the process for selecting teams. However, by December 2013, a resolution was reached whereby Victorian teams participated in the 2014 season. ^{[9] [10]}

FFA announced their intentions of a promotion and relegation structure between the first tier A-League and second tier working title Australian Championship from late 2022 but move to 2025. ^[11]

The finals series for the 2020 competition was cancelled on 3 July 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia, ^[12] and has not been held since.

Competition format

A diagram showing the state member federations of FFA.

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Map showing the location of teams in the National Premier Leagues.

The NPL competitions in each state and territory are run by the member federation, with a national playoff tournament at the end of each season. ^[5] Each member federation, or 'conference' contains various numbers of teams, and they play a full season with no inter-conference matches (an identical format to the individual State Leagues that preceded the NPL). The winner of each division is determined by the club in first position of each conference table at the end of the regular season, rather than the winner of the various state-based finals series.

Former NPL finals series

Up to the 2019 season, the winners of each respective Federation league (the regular home and away season) competed in a finals playoff tournament. These were all single match knock out matches. Between 2013 and 2015 the match ups were based on predetermined geographically adjacent Federations, with hosting rights for the quarter-finals alternating each year. From 2016 to 2019 the match ups were determined by an open draw. ^[13] The hosts for the semi-finals and Grand Final were determined by a formula based on the time of winning of the previous NPL Finals matches (normal time, extra time or penalties), goals scored and allowed, and yellow/red cards.

The finals series culminated in a Grand Final, where the winner was crowned National Premier Leagues Champions. ^[14] From 2014 to 2019, the NPL Champion also qualified for the following years' FFA Cup round of 32.

Promotion and relegation

Depending on the State Federation in charge, teams may be relegated from the NPL to a third-tier league in the same state (and vice versa), but there is currently no mechanism for a team to be promoted to the first tier of Australian soccer, the A-League. The number of teams promoted and relegated from third-tier leagues per state has varied over the existence of the NPL. The table below details the number of teams relegated automatically from the NPL at the end of the season and the number of NPL teams which go into a relegation playoff against a lower league team (subject to those lower league teams meeting additional eligibility criteria to be able to be promoted to the NPL).

Federation	Number of clubs
	Automatic relegation	Relegation playoffs
ACT	1	0
NSW	1	1
Northern NSW	1	1
Queensland	2	0
SA	2	0
Tasmania	none
Victoria	2	0
WA	1	1

Current clubs

Below are listed the National Premier Leagues clubs in each respective state member federation from the 2024 season.

In total, there are 94 clubs that compete in the top tier of the National Premier Leagues each season. Most NPL divisions involve promotion and relegation to leagues below the NPL and so participating clubs change annually.

Australian Capital Territory Canberra Croatia FC Canberra Olympic FC Cooma Tigers FC Gungahlin United FC Monaro Panthers FC HNK O'Connor Knights Tuggeranong United Yoogali SC

New South Wales APIA Leichhardt Tigers FC Blacktown City FC Central Coast Mariners Academy Hills United Manly United FC Marconi Stallions FC Mt Druitt Town Rangers FC North West Sydney Spirit Rockdale Ilinden FC St George City Sutherland Sharks FC Sydney FC Youth Sydney Olympic FC Sydney United 58 FC Western Sydney Wanderers Youth Wollongong Wolves FC

Northern New South Wales Adamstown Rosebud FC Broadmeadow Magic FC Charlestown Azzurri FC Cooks Hill United FC Edgeworth Eagles FC Lake Macquarie City FC Lambton Jaffas FC Maitland FC New Lambton FC Newcastle Olympic FC Valentine Phoenix FC Weston Bears FC

Queensland Brisbane City FC Brisbane Roar FC Youth Gold Coast Knights F.C. Gold Coast United FC Lions FC Redlands United FC Rochedale Rovers FC Moreton City Excelsior Olympic FC Peninsula Power FC Sunshine Coast Wanderers Wynnum Wolves

South Australia Adelaide City FC Adelaide Comets FC Adelaide Croatia Raiders SC Adelaide Olympic FC Adelaide United FC Youth Campbelltown City SC Croydon Kings FC Modbury Jets SC FK Beograd FC North Eastern MetroStars FC Para Hills Knights SC South Adelaide Panthers FC

Tasmania Clarence Zebras FC Devonport City FC Glenorchy Knights FC Kingborough Lions United FC Launceston City FC Olympia FC Warriors Riverside Olympic FC South Hobart FC

Victoria Altona Magic SC Avondale FC Dandenong City SC Dandenong Thunder SC Green Gully SC Heidelberg United FC Hume City FC Manningham United Blues FC Melbourne Knights FC Moreland City FC Oakleigh Cannons FC Port Melbourne SC South Melbourne FC St Albans Saints SC

Western Australia Armadale SC Balcatta Etna FC Bayswater City SC Floreat Athena FC Fremantle City FC Inglewood United FC Olympic Kingsway Perth SC Perth Glory FC Youth Perth RedStar FC Stirling Macedonia FC Western Knights SC

Honours

NPL Finals

Season/s	Champions	Score	Runners-up	Venue	Attendance
2013	Sydney United 58	2–0	South Hobart	KGV Park	1,150
2014	North Eastern MetroStars	1–0	Bonnyrigg White Eagles	Lambert Park	–
2015	Blacktown City	3–1	Bayswater City	Dorrien Gardens	–
2016	Sydney United 58	4–1	Edgeworth FC	Sydney United Sports Centre	–
2017	Heidelberg United	2–0	Brisbane Strikers	Perry Park	1,105
2018	Campbelltown City	2–1	Lions FC	Steve Woodcock Sports Centre	1,518
2019	Wollongong Wolves	4–3 ( a.e.t. )	Lions FC	Albert Butler Memorial Park	1,362
2020	Cancelled [lower-alpha 1]
2021	Not held
2022	Not held
2023	Not held
2024	Not held

Clubs reaching the finals

Team	Champions	Runners-up	Semi-finalist	Quarter-finalist	Finals appearance/s
Sydney United 58	2 (2013, 2016)	—	—	—	2
Campbelltown City	1 (2018)	—	1 (2013)	1 (2019)	3
Heidelberg United	1 (2017)	—	1 (2018)	1 (2019)	3
Blacktown City	1 (2015)	—	—	—	1
North Eastern MetroStars	1 (2014)	—	—	—	1
Wollongong Wolves	1 (2019)	—	—	—	1
Lions FC	—	2 (2018, 2019)	—	—	2
Edgeworth	—	1 (2016)	1 (2017)	2 (2015, 2018)	4
Brisbane Strikers	—	1 (2017)	1 (2016)	—	2
Bayswater City	—	1 (2015)	—	2 (2014, 2017)	3
South Hobart	—	1 (2013)	—	2 (2014, 2017)	3
Bonnyrigg White Eagles	—	1 (2014)	—	—	1
Perth SC	—	—	2 (2016, 2019)	1 (2018)	3
South Melbourne	—	—	1 (2014)	1 (2015)	2
APIA Leichhardt Tigers	—	—	1 (2017)	—	1
Maitland	—	—	1 (2019)	—	1
Moreton Bay United	—	—	1 (2015)	—	1
Olympia	—	—	1 (2015)	—	1
Olympic	—	—	1 (2013)	—	1
Palm Beach	—	—	1 (2014)	—	1
Sydney Olympic	—	—	1 (2018)	—	1
Canberra Croatia	—	—	—	3 (2013, 2015, 2018)	3
Canberra Olympic	—	—	—	3 (2016, 2017, 2019)	3
Devonport City	—	—	—	3 (2016, 2018, 2019)	3
Adelaide City	—	—	—	2 (2016, 2017)	2
Bentleigh Greens	—	—	—	1 (2016)	1
Cooma	—	—	—	1 (2014)	1
West Adelaide	—	—	—	1 (2015)	1
Weston Workers	—	—	—	1 (2014)	1

Federation Premiers by season

Season	ACT	New South Wales	Northern New South Wales	Queensland	South Australia	Tasmania	Victoria	Western Australia
2013	Canberra Croatia	Sydney United 58	— [lower-alpha 2]	Olympic FC	Campbelltown City [lower-alpha 3]	South Hobart	— [lower-alpha 2]	— [lower-alpha 2]
2014	Cooma FC	Bonnyrigg White Eagles	Weston Workers [lower-alpha 4]	Palm Beach	North Eastern MetroStars	South Hobart	South Melbourne	Bayswater City
2015	Canberra Croatia	Blacktown City	Edgeworth FC	Moreton Bay United	West Adelaide	Olympia Warriors	South Melbourne	Bayswater City
2016	Canberra Olympic	Sydney United 58	Edgeworth FC	Brisbane Strikers	Adelaide City	Devonport City	Bentleigh Greens	Perth SC
2017	Canberra Olympic	APIA Leichhardt	Edgeworth FC	Brisbane Strikers	Adelaide City	South Hobart	Heidelberg United	Bayswater City
2018	Canberra Croatia	Sydney Olympic	Edgeworth FC	Lions FC	Campbelltown City	Devonport City	Heidelberg United	Perth SC
2019	Canberra Olympic	Wollongong Wolves	Maitland FC	Lions FC	Campbelltown City	Devonport City	Heidelberg United	Perth SC
2020 [lower-alpha 5]	— [lower-alpha 6]	Rockdale City Suns	Edgeworth FC	Peninsula Power	Adelaide Comets	Devonport City	— [lower-alpha 7]	— [lower-alpha 8]
2021	Cooma FC [lower-alpha 9]	— [lower-alpha 10]	Lambton Jaffas [lower-alpha 11]	Peninsula Power	Adelaide Comets	Glenorchy Knights	Oakleigh Cannons [lower-alpha 12]	Perth SC
2022	Canberra Croatia	Sydney Olympic	Maitland FC	Lions FC	Adelaide City	Devonport City	South Melbourne	Floreat Athena
2023	O'Connor Knights	APIA Leichhardt	Lambton Jaffas	Gold Coast Knights	North Eastern MetroStars	Devonport City	Avondale FC	Perth RedStar
2024	Gungahlin United	Rockdale Ilinden	Broadmeadow Magic	Gold Coast Knights	North Eastern MetroStars	Glenorchy Knights	South Melbourne	Olympic Kingsway

Performance by Federation

Federation	Best Performance	Multiple Champions
Football NSW	Champions (4)	Sydney United 58 (2)
Football South Australia	Champions (2)
Football Victoria	Champions (1)
Football Queensland	Runners-up (3)
Football Tasmania	Runners-up (1)
Football West	Runners-up (1)
Northern NSW Football	Runners-up (1)
Capital Football	Quarter Finalists (7)

Individual honours

The John Kosmina Medal is presented to the best player in the NPL final and is named in honour of former Australian international John Kosmina. ^[23]

See also

• Australia portal
• soccer portal

• National Premier Leagues Women's
• Football Federation Australia
• Australian soccer league system
• National Second Division

Notes

1. The 2020 Finals Series and the 2020 FFA Cup were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia. Wollongong Wolves had already qualified for the 2020 FFA Cup prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, so were given an automatic entry into the 2021 FFA Cup. ^[15]
2. Northern NSW, Victoria and Western Australia were not part of the inaugural NPL finals series.
3. North Eastern MetroStars won its league season, but did not proceed to the NPL Finals series (that year's Champion qualified instead).
4. Newcastle Jets Youth team won its league season, but were ineligible for the NPL Finals series (the runner-up qualified instead).
5. Competition Premiers only, as finals series cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia. ^[12]
6. No Premier declared.
7. 2020 for Victoria cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. ^[16]
8. No Premier declared. ^[17]
9. Season cancelled, but Premier declared. ^[18]
10. 2021 for NSW cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. ^[19]
11. Season cancelled, but Premier declared. ^[20]
12. 2021 for Victoria initially cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. ^[21] However, as a result of a court challenge involving Avondale FC and Football Victoria, it was agreed that eight rounds of games from the 2022 NPL Season would also count towards the 2021 NPL league table, enabling sufficient matches to be played to "complete" the season, and be able to declare a Premier for 2021. ^[22]

References

1. "'Landmark moment': FA firm up key details as National Second Tier set to begin in 2025". www.theroar.com.au. 31 October 2024. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
2. "Football Australia unveils new format and start date for National Second Tier competition". www.footballaustralia.com.au. 31 October 2024. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
3. Siokos, Anthony (28 May 2012). "Analysis: Review gives FFA clear signal of how they must spread the love". Sport Business Insider. Sports Business Insider Group. Archived from the original on 29 July 2018. Retrieved 4 May 2013.
4. "FFA releases outcomes of National Competitions Review". Football Federation Australia. Archived from the original on 24 December 2013. Retrieved 13 February 2013.
5. "FFA launches National Premier Leagues". Football Federation Australia. 13 February 2013. Archived from the original on 24 December 2013. Retrieved 23 December 2013.
6. "Wolves could move into A-League under new changes". Illawarra Mercury. 12 February 2013. Archived from the original on 24 December 2013. Retrieved 13 February 2013.
7. "Gallop aims for Aussie FA Cup". The Australian. AAP. 14 February 2013. Archived from the original on 17 May 2014. Retrieved 23 December 2013.
8. "Second Division 'By 2022'?". Australian FourFourTwo. Sportal Australia. 3 October 2012. Archived from the original on 24 December 2013. Retrieved 23 December 2013.
9. "NPL update – message from FFV Board". Football Federation Victoria. 8 November 2013. Archived from the original on 24 December 2013. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
10. "National Premier Leagues confirmed for Victoria in 2014". Football Federation Australia. 6 December 2013. Archived from the original on 24 December 2013. Retrieved 23 December 2013.
11. "Australian Premier League Announced". sportingpulse.com. Archived from the original on 24 March 2023. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
12. "Coronavirus forces FFA Cup to be cancelled". The World Game . SBS. 7 July 2020. Archived from the original on 30 October 2020. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
13. "Matchups for 2016 Finals Series take shape". 18 July 2016. Archived from the original on 17 August 2016. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
14. "FFA unveils National Premier Leagues". Australian FourFourTwo. Archived from the original on 24 December 2013. Retrieved 13 February 2013.
15. Football Federation Australia (1 December 2020). "Stand-alone Final and AFC Champions League prize to headline rebooted FFA Cup in 2021". Archived from the original on 20 March 2021. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
16. "Grassroots football temporarily suspended". Football Federation Australia. 17 March 2020. Archived from the original on 25 March 2020. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
17. "Competition Rules – National Premier Leagues WA" (PDF). Football West. 11 June 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 June 2020. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
18. "CAPITAL FOOTBALL WINTER COMPETITION UPDATE". Capital Football. 7 September 2021. Archived from the original on 7 September 2021. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
19. "Football NSW Cancel 2021 National Premier Leagues Season". Football NSW. 12 August 2021. Archived from the original on 12 August 2021. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
20. "Northern NSW Football announces conclusion of 2021 Premier Competitions". Northern NSW Football. 9 September 2021. Archived from the original on 9 September 2021. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
21. "Metro Melbourne 2021 season status". Football Victoria. 3 September 2021. Archived from the original on 3 September 2021. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
22. "Outcome of legal proceedings between Avondale FC and Football Victoria announced". Football Victoria. 28 January 2022. Archived from the original on 4 February 2022. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
23. John Kosmina. "The NPL demonstrates its true value". Football Federation Australia. Archived from the original on 18 October 2013. Retrieved 1 November 2013.

External links

• Official website