State league

Last updated

A state league is a level of competition in Australian sport directly below that of a national league. Most of these competitions are based in a single state or territory, and from this the term originates. State leagues are generally semi-professional and of a lower playing standard compared to national leagues. Several state leagues act as quasi-reserves competitions for teams that also compete in national leagues, while others are entirely separated from their national counterparts.

Contents

History

The Australian federation consists of six states and two territories. Historically, the highest level of club-based sports were the various leagues based in each state and territory. The change to national leagues began in 1977 when the National Soccer League was formed with clubs in most capital cities. Australian football and rugby leagues followed suit during the 1980s when the Victorian and New South Welsh leagues began to admit clubs from other states.

State leagues by sport

Association football (soccer)

The state league system in men's association football (soccer) is generally underpinned by the National Premier Leagues (NPL), which administers individual competitions in eight state-based member federations. Each of the state league competitions represent the second tier in the Australian soccer league system. Following the imminent introduction of the National Second Division in 2024, the premier NPL competitions will shift down to level 3 in the system. The term 'state league' is also used as a divisional name in several member federations' lower-tier competitions.

In women's soccer, the state league system is largely operated by National Premier Leagues Women's, which currently consists of seven state-based member federations.

State leagues in association football (soccer)
State or territoryMen's state leagueWomen's state league
Australian Capital Territory NPL Men's Capital Football NPL Women's Capital Football
New South Wales NPL NSW Men's NPL NSW Women's
NPL Men's Northern NSW NPL Women's Northern NSW
Northern TerritoryWomen's Premier League
Queensland NPL Queensland Men's NPL Queensland Women's
South Australia NPL South Australia Men's Women's NPL South Australia
Tasmania NPL Tasmania Women's Super League
Victoria NPL Victoria Men's NPL Women's Victoria
Western Australia NPL Western Australia Men NPL Western Australia Women

Australian rules football

State leagues in Australian rules football
State or territoryMen's state leagueWomen's state league
Australian Capital Territory AFL Canberra Men AFL Canberra Women
New South Wales AFL Sydney Men's AFL Sydney Women's
Northern Territory Northern Territory Football League Women's Premier League
Queensland Queensland Australian Football League QAFL Women's
South Australia South Australian National Football League SANFL Women's League
Tasmania Tasmanian State League
Victoria Victorian Football League VFL Women's
Western Australia West Australian Football League WAFL Women's

Rugby league

State leagues in rugby league
State or territoryMen's state leagueWomen's state league
Australian Capital Territory Canberra Raiders Cup Katrina Fanning Shield
New South Wales NSW Cup NSWRL Women's Premiership
Northern Territory NRL NT Men's NRL NT Women's
Queensland Queensland Cup QRL Women's Premiership
South Australia NRL SA Metro NRL SA Women's
Tasmania
Victoria Storm Premiership Men's Storm Premiership Women's
Western Australia NRL WA Premiership NRL WA Women's Premiership

Rugby union

State leagues in rugby union
State or territoryMen's state leagueWomen's state league
Australian Capital Territory John I Dent Cup Premier Women's 15s
New South Wales Shute Shield
Northern Territory
Queensland Hospital Challenge Cup Women's Premier Rugby
South Australia Rugby Union SA Premier Grade Rugby Union SA Women's Grade
Tasmania
Victoria Dewar Shield Lindroth Cup
Western Australia RugbyWA Premier Grade RugbyWA Women's Premier Grade

Netball

State leagues in women's netball form the third tier of competition in Australia, below the elite Super Netball and the second-tier Australian Netball Championships (ANC). However, unlike the ANC – which has been reduced to a week-long series of matches held largely between Super Netball reserves and academy sides – state league netball competitions operate throughout the winter months and provide consistent pathways to players aiming to reach a higher level in the sport.

While men's netball is growing in popularity, the sport is yet to establish a strong history of state league competitions. Half of the current men's state leagues are branded under the M-League name and are operated by the various state-based men's and mixed netball associations.

State leagues in netball
State or territoryMen's state leagueWomen's state league
Australian Capital Territory Netball ACT State League Men's League Netball ACT State League
New South WalesNetball NSW Men's Metro League Netball NSW Premier League
Northern Territory
QueenslandQLD M-League Men's Sapphire Series
South AustraliaSA M-League Men's Netball SA Premier League
TasmaniaTasmanian Netball League
VictoriaVIC M-League Men's Victorian Netball League
Western Australia West Australian Netball League Men's West Australian Netball League

Cricket

State leagues in cricket are traditionally referred to as grade cricket, with most state-based organisations now operating competitions under the Premier Cricket name following a move by Cricket Australia in 2016 to standardise branding. [1] These leagues form the third tier of Australian cricket, below the elite Sheffield Shield and Women's National Cricket League for men and women respectively, and the second-tier Second XI competition for men.

State or territoryMen's state leagueWomen's state league
Australian Capital TerritoryACT Premier Cricket Men'sACT Premier Cricket Women's
New South Wales NSW Premier Cricket Men's NSW Premier Cricket Women's
Northern Territory
Queensland Queensland Premier Cricket Men's Queensland Premier Cricket Women's
South Australia South Australian Premier Cricket Men's South Australian Premier Cricket Men's
TasmaniaCricket Tasmania Premier League Men'sCricket Tasmania Premier League Women's
Victoria Victorian Premier Cricket Men's Victorian Premier Cricket Women's
Western Australia Western Australian Premier Cricket Men's Western Australian Female Premier Cricket

Related Research Articles

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 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.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Football NSW</span>

Football NSW is the governing body for soccer in the Australian state of New South Wales, with the exception of the northern regions of NSW. Football NSW is a member of the national governing body, Football Australia. Football NSW's premier football competition is the National Premier Leagues NSW. The premier futsal competition is the Futsal Premier League. Prior to 1 April 2007, Football NSW was known as Soccer NSW.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Soccer in Western Australia</span>

Soccer in Western Australia is the most participated code of football, though it is a distant second in overall interest behind Australian rules football in Western Australia. It is governed by Football West. Football West runs the National Premier Leagues Western Australia, State Leagues, Sunday League and Metropolitan League. There are also numerous casual and school competitions, as well as futsal and indoor soccer in competitive and social games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Capital Football</span>

Capital Football is the trading name for the ACT Football Federation Incorporated, the state governing body for soccer in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), but also has affiliated clubs based in surrounding areas of New South Wales. It is affiliated with Football Australia, the national governing body.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Soccer in Australia</span> Association football in Australia

Soccer, also known as football, is the most played outdoor club sport in Australia, and ranked in the top ten for television audience as of 2015. The national governing body of the sport is Football Australia (FA), which until 2019, organised the A-League Men, A-League Women, and still organises the Australia Cup, as well as the men's and women's national teams. The FA comprises nine state and territory member federations, which oversee the sport within their respective region.

The National Premier Leagues South Australia is a semi-professional football competition in the Australian state of South Australia. The league is a subdivision of the second tier National Premier Leagues, which sits below the A-League on the national pyramid. The competition is controlled by Football South Australia, the governing body for the sport in the state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Soccer in New South Wales</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Soccer in the Australian Capital Territory</span>

Soccer in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) is predominantly amateur with a local, interstate, national and international history. Football 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sport in South Australia</span>

Sport plays an important role in the business, community, social and cultural life in South Australia.

Sport in Tasmania is participation in and attendance at organised sports events in the state of Tasmania in Australia.

The National Premier Leagues Capital Football 1 is a soccer competition contested by clubs affiliated to Capital Football. The league is the highest level competition in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) region. It is a subdivision of the National Premier Leagues and sits in Level 2 in the overall Australian league system.

The National Premier Leagues Western Australia is a regional Australian semi-professional soccer league comprising teams from Western Australia. The league name is often abbreviated to NPL Western Australia or NPL WA. As a subdivision of the National Premier Leagues, the league is the highest level of the Western Australian league system. The competition is administered by Football West, the governing body of the sport in the state. In 2014, the league – formerly known as the Football West State League Premier Division – was rebranded into what exists today.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australian soccer league system</span> Mens Soccer leagues in Australia

The Australian soccer league system is the league structure for soccer clubs in Australia. The league system in Australia since 1977 has involved one top divisional league controlled by Football Australia and many leagues run within each state below. The National Soccer League stood from 1977 to 2004 as the top nationwide tier above the current state-based league systems, in 2005, the A-League was established as its successor. The introduction of the National Premier Leagues in 2013 introduced a direct second tier of soccer in Australia, underpinning the A-League. The National Premier Leagues incorporated the existing state leagues as divisions with a nationwide end of season finals series. In 2013, the National Premier Leagues rebranded 5 of the 9 top state leagues, and the remainder – with the exception of the Northern Territory – joined in 2014. There is no promotion and relegation to and from the top-tier A-League, and promotion and relegation at other levels varies between different state systems.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Premier Leagues</span> Football league

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monaro Panthers FC</span> Football club

Monaro Panthers FC is an Australian association football 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.

The 2016 Football Queensland season was the fourth season since NPL Queensland commenced as the top tier of Queensland men’s football. Below NPL Queensland is a regional structure of ten zones with their own leagues. The strongest of the zones is Football Brisbane with its senior men’s competition consisting of five divisions.

The National Premier Leagues Women's (NPLW) are regional association football competitions in some states and territories in Australia, which act as the second tier of the sport in the country below the A-League Women. The WNPL consists of the highest level state league in a subset of the state-based federations within Australia, and is overseen by Football Australia (FA) in partnership with participating member federations.

The 2020 Football Queensland season was the eight season since NPL Queensland commenced as the top tier of Queensland men’s football. This season was also the third season of the Football Queensland Premier League which occupied the second tier in Queensland men’s football in 2020.

References

  1. "Australian Premier Cricket: Club Accreditation Scheme (CAS-02) – Season 2016|17". Cricket Australia (PDF). 2016-08-08. p. 6. Archived from the original on 2017-02-25. Retrieved 2023-08-24.