Founded | 2013 2000–2012 (as NSW Premier League) 1992–2000 (as Super League) 1983–1991 (as Division One) 1978–1982 (as Super League) 1956–1977 (as Division One) |
---|---|
Country | Australia |
State | NSW |
Confederation | AFC |
Number of teams | 16 |
Level on pyramid | 2 |
Relegation to | Football NSW League |
Domestic cup(s) | Australia Cup Waratah Cup |
Current champions | Marconi Stallions (2024) |
Current premiers | Rockdale Ilinden (2024) |
TV partners | YouTube |
Website | www |
Current: 2024 NPL NSW |
The National Premier Leagues NSW is a semi-professional soccer competition in New South Wales, Australia. The competition is conducted by Football NSW, the organising body in New South Wales (the other being the National Premier Leagues Northern NSW organised by Northern NSW Football). The league is a subdivision of the second tier National Premier Leagues (NPL), which sits below the national A-League. Prior to becoming a subdivision of the NPL in 2013, the league was previously known as the NSW Premier League.
Since 1956, a top divisional New South Wales based league has been contested annually in various forms, with its early days remembered as Division One. The league, jointly with other state-based leagues, formed the highest tier of soccer in Australia until the creation of a national league, the National Soccer League (NSL), in 1977. Before NSL, the Ampol Cup also ran concurrently as a state-based cup competition. In 1979 Division One officially changed its name to NSW State League, however, reverted to NSW Division One by 1983. The league continued to be contested throughout the winter months and included another name change in 1992 to the NSW Super League. During the 1980s and 1990s, Melita Eagles and Blacktown City FC were dominant in the league winning nine championships between them.
At the end of the 2000 season, the top soccer divisions were revamped with the highest level of soccer being named the Premier League and being played over the summer to align with the then top tier of soccer in Australia (NSL). The second highest NSW league was named the Winter Super League and played throughout 2001. The 2004–05 season saw the return of the New South Wales NSL giants in Sydney Olympic, Sydney United 58, Wollongong Wolves and Marconi Stallions. [1] This was the result of another overhaul of the entire national league structure. The NSL was abolished and the A-League took its place at the top of the soccer hierarchy in Australia. As this competition significantly reduced the teams from New South Wales to just three (Sydney FC, Central Coast Mariners and Newcastle Jets) these clubs were forced to return to the state leagues. The NSW Premier League continued to be run over summer throughout this period but after the 2004–05 season reverted to a winter competition from 2006.
In 2008 the whole New South Wales men's, women's and youth competitions were reconstructed to align youth teams with their respective senior clubs along with women's teams.
In 2013 the FFA announced another re-structure, this time to the tier 2 level of soccer in Australia. This saw the top league in each state united under a single banner called the National Premier Leagues, with the NSW Premier League rebranded as the National Premier Leagues NSW. [2] Bonnyrigg White Eagles became the inaugural champions of this competition after defeating Rockdale City Suns 1–0 in the final. Sydney United 58 FC were crowned premiers after placing first in the standing at the end of the regular season, earning the right to compete in the inaugural National Premier Leagues Finals. Sydney United went on to win this tournament defeating Tasmanian side South Hobart FC 2–0 in the final. In 2014, premiers Bonnyrigg White Eagles failed to reach the grand final and Blacktown City FC were crowned champions. They defeated Sydney Olympic 2–1 after extra time.
Seasons | Title |
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1956–1977 | Division 1 |
1978–1982 | State League |
1983–1991 | NSW Division One |
1992–2000 | NSW Super League |
2000–2012 | NSW Premier League |
2013–present | National Premier Leagues NSW |
Source: OzFootball |
There are 30 Rounds in total with each team playing each other twice; home and away.
At the completion of the league series, the NPL NSW top of the table joins the winners from the other NPL subdivisions in a national eight team finals series. The national final series consists of a three-round knock-out series based on geographically close subdivision champions playing each other, culminating in a grand final.
The following clubs were competing in the National Premier Leagues NSW for the 2025 season.
Club | Seasons | Location | Grounds | Capacity |
---|---|---|---|---|
APIA Leichhardt | 11 | Leichhardt | Lambert Park | 7,000 |
Blacktown City | 11 | Blacktown | Lily Homes Stadium | 7,500 |
Central Coast Mariners Academy | 2 | Lisarow | Pluim Park | 2,000 |
Manly United | 11 | Dee Why | Cromer Park | 5,000 |
Marconi Stallions | 9 | Bossley Park | Marconi Stadium | 9,000 |
Mt Druitt Town Rangers | 5 | Mount Druitt | Popondetta Park | 1,000 |
NWS Spirit | 2 | Macquarie Park | Christie Park | 2,000 |
Rockdale Ilinden | 11 | Rockdale | Rockdale Ilinden Sports Centre | 5,000 |
St George City | 2 | Peakhurst | Peakhurst Park | 1,000 |
St George FC | 2 | Banksia | Barton Park Sports Complex Ilinden Sports Centre | 15,000 5,000 |
Sutherland Sharks | 10 | Miranda | Seymour Shaw Park | 5,000 |
Sydney FC Youth | 7 | Rockdale | Rockdale Ilinden Sports Centre | 5,000 |
Sydney Olympic | 11 | Belmore | Belmore Sports Ground | 20,000 |
Sydney United 58 | 11 | Edensor Park | Sydney United Sports Centre | 12,000 |
Western Sydney Wanderers Youth | 2 | Rooty Hill | Wanderers Football Park | 3,000 |
Wollongong Wolves | 11 | Wollongong | WIN Stadium | 23,750 |
Notes:
Bold indicates Federation Double winners – i.e. League Championship and League Premiership OR League Championship and Federation/Waratah Cup OR League Premiership and Federation/Waratah Cup
Bold and Underlined indicates Federation Treble winners – i.e. League Championship, League Premiership and Federation/Waratah Cup winners
This list includes all champions and premiers since the inaugural league of 1957. Grand finals have occurred during all seasons of the league over this time. As the 1996 season was split into two stages there was no official premier for the season.
Club | Regular season premierships | Finals series championships | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Premiers | Winning seasons | Champions | Winning grand finals | |
Blacktown City | 8 | 1988, 1993, 2000, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2007, 2015 | 8 | 1991, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2007, 2010, 2014, 2016 |
Sydney United 58 | 8 | 1977, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982, 2009, 2013, 2016 | 5 | 1977, 1982, 1983, 2006, 2020 |
Parramatta FC | 6 | 1980, 1983, 1986, 1989, 1997, 2001–02 | 6 | 1985, 1988, 1989, 1996, 1997, 2002 |
Bonnyrigg White Eagles | 6 | 1992, 1998, 1999, 2010, 2012, 2014 | 4 | 1992, 2001, 2013, 2015 |
APIA Leichhardt | 6 | 1964, 1965, 1967, 1975, 2017, 2023 | 6 | 1964, 1965, 1969, 1976, 2003, 2019 |
Hakoah Sydney City East FC | 5 | 1968, 1970, 1971, 1973, 1974 | 4 | 1961, 1962, 1966, 1968 |
Prague | 4 | 1959, 1960, 1961, 1963 | 1 | 1959 |
St George FC | 3 | 1962, 1972, 1976 | 5 | 1967, 1971, 1974, 1975, 1981 |
Sydney Olympic | 3 | 2011, 2018, 2022 | 3 | 1980, 2011, 2018 |
Safeway United | 3 | 1958, 1966, 1969 | 1 | 1963 |
Bankstown City Lions | 2 | 1994, 2004–05 | 4 | 1993, 1994, 2004, 2005 |
Sutherland Sharks | 2 | 1991, 2008 | 3 | 1978, 1986, 2009 |
Canterbury-Marrickville | 2 | 1957, 1985 | 2 | 1958, 1960 |
Wollongong Wolves | 2 | 1987, 2019 | 2 | 1987, 2008 |
Rockdale City Suns/Rockdale Ilinden | 2 | 2020, 2024 | 1 | 1984 |
Manly United | 1 | 1995 | 2 | 1995, 2017 |
Inter Monaro | 1 | 1984 | 1 | 1979 |
Wollongong United | 1 | 1990 | 1 | 1990 |
Belconnen Blue Devils | 1 | 2003–04 | ||
Marconi Stallions | 4 | 1972, 1973, 2012, 2024 | ||
Auburn | 1 | 1957 | ||
YUGAL Ryde | 1 | 1970 |
As of 2012, all matches have been filmed and a weekly highlights package has been made available online, while the grand final has been streamed live through Football NSW since 2013.
Sydney United 58 Football Club is a semi-professional soccer club and current NSW NPL Champions based in Edensor Park, Sydney, New South Wales Australia. The club was formed as Sydney Croatia in 1958, by Croatian Australians in the area, but it was renamed in 1993 as Sydney United after having the name Sydney CSC for a season.
Sydney Olympic Football Club is an Australian semi-professional soccer club, based in Belmore, Sydney, New South Wales, that plays in the National Premier Leagues NSW. The club was founded as Pan-Hellenic Soccer Club in 1957 by Greek immigrants. In 1977, the club changed its name to Sydney Olympic and became a founding member of the Phillips Soccer League, later named the National Soccer League (NSL), the inaugural national football league of Australia, remaining a member of the competition until its demise in 2004.
North West Sydney Spirit FC is an Australian soccer club. It was the successor of the defunct Northern Spirit FC, a professional soccer club based in North Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales. Northern Spirit entered the National Soccer League in the 1998–99 season. Its founding was inspired in part by the success Perth Glory was enjoying as a mainstream club, as well as an opportunity to tap into the previously unrepresented northern suburbs of Sydney.
Marconi Stallions Football Club is an Australian semi-professional association football club based in Fairfield, Sydney, New South Wales. The club has been crowned Australian champion four times.
APIA Leichhardt Football Club, also known simply as APIA, is a semi-professional soccer club based in the suburb of Leichhardt in Sydney, Australia. The club was formed in 1954 as APIA Leichhardt, by Italian Australians. APIA, winner of the national Australian championship of 1987, is currently a member of the NPL NSW. APIA Leichhardt are one of just three winners of the 1960s Australia Cup that are still active, the other being Caroline Springs George Cross FC and Hakoah Sydney City East FC.
Bankstown City Lions Football Club, commonly referred to as Bankstown City Lions or simply Bankstown City, is an Australian football club from Bankstown, a suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. They compete in the NSW League One Men's, playing their home games at Jensen Oval.
St George FC, commonly called Saints or Budapest, is a semi-professional Australian soccer club based in the St George district in the south of Sydney. The club was founded by Hungarian immigrants in 1957 as Budapest Club and by 1965 was renamed to St. George-Budapest Club.
Maccabi Hakoah Sydney City East FC, commonly known as Maccabi Hakoah, is an Australian semi-professional soccer club based in Sydney, New South Wales. The club was formed in 1939 as Sydney Hakoah by members of Sydney's Jewish community. They played between 1977 and 1986 in the National Soccer League as Eastern Suburbs (1977–1979) and Sydney City (1979–1987). One of the most successful sides in New South Wales and interstate competitions in the 1960s and early 1970s coached by the now retired Bob Szatmari, Hakoah were also one of the main instigators for the establishment of a national league. The club currently competes in the National Premier Leagues NSW, with games played from Hensley Athletic Field.
Branko Culina is a soccer coach and former player. He previously managed Sydney FC and the Newcastle Jets in the A-League.
Soccer in New South Wales is a popular participation and spectator sport. It is organised and managed on a state level by two separate governing bodies; Football NSW and Northern New South Wales Football which are affiliated at a national level to Football Federation Australia.
Soccer in the Australian Capital Territory is predominantly amateur with a local, interstate, national and international history. Soccer in the ACT is organised and administered by Capital Football and involves teams from within the ACT and surrounding NSW regions, Monaro, Southern Tablelands and Riverina.
Broadmeadow Magic Football Club is a soccer club based in Broadmeadow a suburb of Newcastle, Australia. The club currently competes in the National Premier Leagues Northern NSW.
The Canterbury Bankstown Football Club is a soccer club based in Bankstown, New South Wales. It competes in the NSW League One after gaining promotion at the end of the 2022 season. The club was formed in 1886 and was an original member of the NSW Federation of Soccer Clubs when it broke away from the New South Wales Soccer Football Association and competed in its inaugural season in 1957.
The Waratah Cup is a knockout cup competition in New South Wales, run by the governing body of football in NSW, Football NSW. Teams competing in the Waratah Cup come from the National Premier Leagues NSW, NSW League One, NSW League Two, and numerous other semi professional & amateur association clubs within New South Wales. The Cup is held during the NPL NSW seasons. Since 2014 preliminary rounds of the Waratah Cup have been used to determine the NSW entrants to the national FFA Cup competition, now known as the Australia Cup.
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.
Monaro Panthers FC is an Australian soccer club based in the city of Queanbeyan, New South Wales. The club was founded in 1967, and currently competes in the National Premier Leagues Capital Football in the Australian Capital Territory.
Edgeworth Football Club is an Australian semi-professional football club based in the suburb of Edgeworth, near Newcastle, New South Wales. The club currently competes in the National Premier Leagues Northern NSW.
The Football NSW 2014 season was the second season under the new competition format for state-level football (soccer) in New South Wales. The competition consisted of four divisions across the State of New South Wales. The overall premier for the new structure qualified for the National Premier Leagues finals series, competing with the other state federation champions in a final knockout tournament to decide the National Premier Leagues Champion for 2014.
The Football NSW 2015 season was the third season of football in New South Wales under the banner of the National Premier Leagues. The competition consisted of four divisions across the state of New South Wales, excluding those regions affiliated with the Northern NSW Football federation.