| Soccer in Victoria | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Country | Australia |
| Governing body | Football Victoria |
| Representative team(s) | State team |
| First played | 1883 in Melbourne |
| Registered players | 243,956 (2023) [1] |
Club competitions | |
Women's competition Contents
| |
Audience records | |
| Single match | 99,382 (2015) International Champions Cup, Manchester City v Real Madrid, Melbourne Cricket Ground |
Soccer in the Australian state of Victoria is organised by Football Victoria (FV). FV is a member of the national Football Australia.
Many clubs represented Victoria in the now defunct National Soccer League (NSL), three of which, South Melbourne FC, Melbourne Knights and Brunswick Juventus became champions. Along with South Melbourne, Heidelberg United, Footscray JUST and Mooroolbark United were NSL foundation clubs. At various times the following Victorian sides also competed in the NSL: Preston Lions FC; Carlton SC; Gippsland Falcons (also known as Eastern Pride); Collingwood Warriors; Sunshine George Cross; and Green Gully.
Victoria is currently represented in the top-flight A-League Men by Melbourne Victory, Melbourne City and Western United. Victory and City also have associated teams in the A-League Women and A-League Youth.
| Level | Leagues | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | National Premier Leagues Victoria 14 clubs ↓ relegate 2 | |||
| 2 | Victorian Premier League 1 14 clubs ↑ promote 2 ↓ relegate 2 | |||
| 3 | Victorian Premier League 2 12 clubs ↑ promote 2 ↓ relegate 2 | |||
| 4 | Victorian State League 1 North-West 12 clubs ↑ promote 1 ↓ relegate 2 | Victorian State League 1 South-East 12 clubs ↑ promote 1 ↓ relegate 2 | ||
| 5 | Victorian State League 2 North-West 12 clubs ↑ promote 2 ↓ relegate 2 | Victorian State League 2 South-East 12 clubs ↑ promote 2 ↓ relegate 2 | ||
| 6 | Victorian State League 3 North-West 12 clubs ↑ promote 2 ↓ relegate 2 | Victorian State League 3 South-East 12 clubs ↑ promote 2 ↓ relegate 2 | ||
| 7 | Victorian State League 4 North 12 clubs ↑ promote 1 ↓ relegate 2 | Victorian State League 4 West 12 clubs ↑ promote 1 ↓ relegate 2 | Victorian State League 4 South 12 clubs ↑ promote 1 ↓ relegate 2 | Victorian State League 4 East 12 clubs ↑ promote 1 ↓ relegate 2 |
| 8 | Victorian State League 5 North 12 clubs ↑ promote 2 No Relegation | Victorian State League 5 West 12 clubs ↑ promote 2 No relegation | Victorian State League 5 South 12 clubs ↑ promote 2 No Relegation | Victorian State League 5 East 12 clubs ↑ promote 2 No Relegation |
| 9 | Metropolitan Leagues 9 divisions No promotion Regional Leagues | |||
The highest state based league is the National Premier Leagues Victoria, which forms a division of the National Premier Leagues. The winner of which enters a national play-off series against the winners of other NPL divisions. The league below that is the National Premier Leagues Victoria 2 and National Premier Leagues Victoria 3. Below that, State Leagues 1 and 2 are split into North/West and South/East divisions. Below that, three divisions of the Provisional Leagues follow, also split into North/West and South/East divisions. The participating clubs are almost entirely located within metropolitan Melbourne, however there are separate regional leagues organised by associations subsidiary to the FFV, such as the Geelong Regional Football Association, Ballarat & District Soccer Association and the Gippsland Soccer League.
The Dockerty Cup, a knockout cup competition for Victorian clubs, ran every year from 1909 until 1996, with the exception of the years 1916–18 owing to World War I. Since then it has been in recess, except for season 2004.
The idea of a Victorian Cup competition was revived in 2011 with the Mirabella Cup, which was to feature all Victorian clubs, from the A-League through to the regional leagues, however the FFA later pulled Melbourne Victory and Melbourne Heart from the competition. In 2012 and 2013 the competition was known as the FFV State Knockout Cup. In 2014 the competition returned to the traditional Dockerty Cup title. Since 2014 the Dockerty Cup has been used to qualify Victorian clubs, with the exception of A-League clubs which already automatically qualify, for the national FFA Cup.
Honours since reorganization with NPL in 2014.
| Year | Victoria League Champions | Victoria League Premiers | Dockerty Cup Winners | Community Shield Winners |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | South Melbourne | South Melbourne | Melbourne Knights | N/A |
| 2015 | Bentleigh Greens | South Melbourne | South Melbourne | South Melbourne |
| 2016 | South Melbourne | Bentleigh Greens | Bentleigh Greens | Bentleigh Greens |
| 2017 | Bentleigh Greens | Heidelberg United | Heidelberg United | Bentleigh Greens |
| 2018 | Heidelberg United | Heidelberg United | Bentleigh Greens | Heidelberg United |
| 2019 | Bentleigh Greens | Heidelberg United | Hume City | Bentleigh Greens |
| 2020 | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia | Bentleigh Greens | ||
| 2021 | Not Held (COVID-19) | Oakleigh Cannons | Avondale FC | Not Held |
| 2022 | Bentleigh Greens | Not Held | ||
| Club | National | Victoria | Total | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A-League Champions | NSL Champions | A-League Premiers | NSL Premiers | FFA Cup Winners | NSL Cup Winners | Victoria League Premiers | Victoria League Champions | Dockerty Cup Winners | State League Cup | Community Shield Winners | ||||
| South Melbourne | - | 4 | - | 3 | - | 2 | 10 | 1 | 8 | - | 1 | 28 | ||
| Melbourne Knights | - | 2 | - | 4 | - | 1 | 3 | - | 9 | 6 | - | 25 | ||
| Green Gully | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9 | 6 | 5 | 2 | - | 22 | ||
| Brunswick Zebras | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | 8 | - | 5 | 3 | - | 17 | ||
| Melbourne Hakoah | - | - | - | - | - | - | 4 | - | 8 | - | - | 12 | ||
| Footscray JUST | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5 | - | 3 | 3 | - | 11 | ||
| Heidelberg United | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | 5 | 3 | 1 | - | 1 | 11 | ||
| Bentleigh Greens | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3 | 1 | 3 | - | 4 | 11 | ||
| Preston Lions | - | - | - | - | - | - | 4 | 3 | 1 | - | - | 8 | ||
| Melbourne Victory | 4 | - | 3 | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8 | ||
| Altona Magic | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5 | 2 | - | - | - | 7 | ||
| George Cross | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | - | 3 | 3 | - | 7 | ||
Heidelberg United Alexander Football Club established in 1958 is a football (soccer) club based in the northern Melbourne suburb of Heidelberg West, Victoria, Australia. The team currently competes in the National Premier League Victoria.
The National Premier Leagues Victoria, commonly known as NPL Victoria, is a semi-professional soccer league in Victoria, Australia. The league is a part of the National Premier Leagues, and is the highest level within the Victorian soccer league system, serving jointly as the second tier within the overall Australian pyramid.
Oakleigh Cannons Football Club is a soccer club based in the south-east Melbourne suburb of Oakleigh, Victoria, Australia. The club, established by members of Oakleigh's Greek Australian community, currently competes in the NPL Victoria. The club's home ground is at Jack Edwards Reserve, on Edward Street, Oakleigh.
Preston Lions Football Club is a semi-professional soccer club from Preston, a northern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The club was established in 1947 to play non-professional soccer matches against other teams in the local community until 1959, and 12 years later, they joined the Victorian Soccer Federation, the club's first season in an officially sanctioned competition. The Lions currently compete in the Victoria Premier League 1 competition, which is the third tier in the Australian soccer league system, after being promoted in 2022 from NPL 3 Victoria. The club won the Victorian Premier League in seasons 1980, 1994, 2002 and 2007.
Falcons 2000 Soccer Club is an Australian semi-professional soccer club based in the regional Victorian city of Morwell in Latrobe Valley, Gippsland. The club currently participates in the Latrobe Valley Soccer League, currently rated as a Tier 9 league.
North Geelong Warriors Football Club, formerly known as North Geelong Croatia, is an Australian professional soccer club from the regional Victorian city of Geelong. The club currently competes in the Victoria Premier League 1, Australia's third division in the country's league system and second division in Victoria. The club was founded in 1967 by a large contingent of ethnic Croatians in the city of Geelong. The Warriors' home base is Elcho Park in the northern Geelong suburb of Lara.
Giannis "Johnny" Anastasiadis is a former Australian soccer player who spent the majority of his career playing for Greek club PAOK FC. He is currently the senior coach at NPL Victoria side Heidelberg United.
Port Melbourne SC is an Australian soccer club based in Port Melbourne, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria. The club was formed in 1968 by local Greek Australians, and was promoted over the years to the Victorian Premier League in 1994. It spent the years 1994–2003 in the Victorian Premier League, winning the minor premiership twice, but was unable to secure the title during its time in the VPL. The club currently competes in the National Premier Leagues Victoria.
The Dockerty Cup is an annual association football knock-out competition open to all Victorian clubs across the Victorian football league system. The tournament is named after the former president of Football Federation Victoria Harry Dockerty.
Bentleigh Greens Soccer Club is an Australian semi professional soccer club based in Cheltenham, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria. The club was formed in 1986, by the Greek Cypriot community and currently competes in the National Premier Leagues Victoria. Bentleigh made nationwide headlines when it became the first club below the A-League to make the semi-final of the FFA Cup in 2014. The Greens hit another milestone a year later when they claimed their first major trophy, the NPL Victoria title. In 2016, Bentleigh Greens became Victorian top-flight league premiers for the first time.
Hume City Football Club is a semi-professional Australian football club based in Broadmeadows, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria. Established by the local Turkish Australian community, the club competes in the National Premier Leagues Victoria.
The 2015 Dockerty Cup was a football (soccer) knockout-cup competition held between men's clubs in Victoria, Australia in 2015, the annual edition of the Dockerty Cup. Victorian soccer clubs from the 5 State League Divisions, regional, metros and masters leagues - plus the 12 Clubs from the National Premier Leagues Victoria - competed for the Dockerty Cup trophy.
The Victorian regional leagues are the ninth level of soccer in Victoria, Australia, and the tenth nationally. The league consists of eight separate regional senior leagues and is administered by the Football Federation Victoria.
The 2017 Football Federation Victoria season was the fourth season under the new competition format for state-level football (soccer) in Victoria. The competition consists of seven divisions across the state of Victoria.
The 2018 Dockerty Cup was a football (soccer) knockout-cup competition held between men's clubs in Victoria, Australia in 2018, the annual edition of the Dockerty Cup. Victorian soccer clubs from the 5 State League Divisions, regional, metros and masters leagues - plus the 12 Clubs from the National Premier Leagues Victoria - competed for the Dockerty Cup trophy.
The 2018 Football Federation Victoria season was the fifth season under the new competition format for state-level soccer in Victoria. The competition consists of seven divisions across the state of Victoria.
The 2019 Dockerty Cup was a football (soccer) knockout-cup competition held between men's clubs in Victoria, Australia in 2019, the annual edition of the Dockerty Cup. Victorian soccer clubs from the National Premier Leagues Victoria divisions, State League divisions, regional, metros and masters leagues competed for the Dockerty Cup trophy.
The 2019 Football Victoria season refers to the soccer competitions contested under the organisation of Football Victoria in 2019. Across seven senior men's and six senior women's divisions, this was the 111th season of organised soccer in Victoria and the sixth following the latest competition restructure in 2013.
The 2021 Dockerty Cup was a football (soccer) knockout-cup competition held between men's clubs in Victoria, Australia in 2021, the annual edition of the Dockerty Cup. Victorian soccer clubs from the National Premier Leagues Victoria divisions, State League divisions, regional, metros and masters leagues competed for the Dockerty Cup trophy.
The 2022 Dockerty Cup was a football (soccer) knockout-cup competition held between men's clubs in Victoria, Australia in 2022, the annual edition of the Dockerty Cup. Victorian soccer clubs from the National Premier Leagues Victoria divisions, State League divisions, regional, metros and masters leagues competed for the Dockerty Cup trophy.
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Soccer in Australia by state and territory | ||
|---|---|---|
| Australian Capital Territory |  | |
| New South Wales | ||
| Northern Territory | ||
| Queensland | ||
| South Australia | ||
| Tasmania | ||
| Victoria | ||
| Western Australia | ||
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