A-League Men | |
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Country | ![]() (other club(s) from) ![]() |
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Confederation | AFC/OFC |
Founded | April 2004 |
Number of teams | 10 |
Levels on pyramid | 1 |
Domestic cup(s) | FFA Cup |
AFC/OFC cup(s) | AFC Champions League |
Current champions | Melbourne Victory (4th title) (2017-18) |
Most successful club | Melbourne Victory (4 titles) |
TV | Fox Sports & SBS (Australia) Sky Sport (New Zealand) |
Website | Official website |
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The A-League Men is a professional men's association football league, run by Football Federation Australia (FFA). At the top of the Australian league system, it is the country's primary competition for the sport. The A-League was established in 2004 as a successor to the National Soccer League (NSL) and competition commenced in August 2005. The league is currently contested by ten teams; nine based in Australia and one based in New Zealand. It is known as the Hyundai A-League (HAL) through a sponsorship arrangement with the Hyundai Motor Company.
Seasons run from October to May and include a 27-round regular season and an end-of-season finals series playoff tournament involving the highest-placed teams, culminating in a grand final match. The winner of the regular season tournament is dubbed 'premier' and the winner of the grand final is 'champion'. This differs from the other major football codes in Australia, where 'premier' refers to the winner of the grand final and the winner of the regular season is the 'minor premier'. The A-League's non-standard terminology is reflective of the increased prestige associated with winning the regular season in soccer compared to other football codes in Australia.
Successful A-League clubs gain qualification into the continental competition, the Asian Football Confederation Champions League (ACL). Since the league's inaugural season, a total of six clubs have been crowned A-League Premiers and five clubs have been crowned A-League Champions.
The current premier and champion is Melbourne Victory, who finished first in 2014–15, and won the 2015 A-League Grand Final.
Clubs[]
The A-League is currently contested by 10 teams: nine from Australia and one from New Zealand. A total of 13 teams have competed at some stage in the league's short history. Only four of these clubs – Adelaide United, Brisbane Roar (as Queensland Lions), Newcastle Jets, and Perth Glory – existed before the A-League was formed. Gold Coast United, New Zealand Knights and North Queensland Fury have formerly competed in the league.
Unlike most European leagues, there is no system for promotion and relegation of teams. The A-League system thus shares some franchising elements with most other professional leagues in Australia, Major League Soccer and other major North American-based sports leagues.
Current clubs | |||||||
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Team | City | Stadium | Capacity | Founded | Joined | Head coach | Captain |
Adelaide United | Adelaide, South Australia | Coopers Stadium | 16,500 | 2003 | 2005 | ![]() |
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Brisbane Roar | Brisbane, Queensland | Suncorp Stadium | 52,500 | 1957 | 2005 | ![]() |
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Central Coast Mariners | Gosford, New South Wales | Central Coast Stadium | 20,059 | 2004 | 2005 | ![]() |
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Melbourne City | Melbourne, Victoria | AAMI Park | 30,050 | 2009 | 2010 | ![]() |
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Melbourne Victory | Melbourne, Victoria | AAMI Park Etihad Stadium |
30,050 56,347 |
2004 | 2005 | ![]() |
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Newcastle Jets | Newcastle, New South Wales | McDonald Jones Stadium | 33,000 | 2000 | 2005 | ![]() |
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Perth Glory | Perth, Western Australia | nib Stadium | 20,500 | 1995 | 2005 | ![]() |
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Sydney FC | Sydney, New South Wales | Allianz Stadium | 45,500 | 2004 | 2005 | ![]() |
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Wellington Phoenix | Wellington, New Zealand | Westpac Stadium | 34,500 | 2007 | 2007 | Vacant | ![]() |
Western Sydney Wanderers | Sydney, New South Wales | Spotless Stadium ANZ Stadium |
24,000 83,500 |
2012 | 2012 | Vacant | ![]() |
Defunct teams | ||||||
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Team | City | Stadium | Capacity | Founded | Joined | Dissolved |
Gold Coast United | Gold Coast, Queensland | Skilled Park | 27,400 | 2008 | 2009 | 2012 |
New Zealand Knights | Auckland, New Zealand | North Harbour Stadium | 25,000 | 1998 | 2005 | 2007 |
North Queensland Fury | Townsville, Queensland | Dairy Farmers Stadium | 26,500 | 2008 | 2009 | 2011 |
External links[]
A-League seasons |
2005-06 · 2006-07 · 2007-08 · 2008-09 · 2009-10 · 2010-11 · 2011-12 · 2012-13 · 2013-14 · 2014-15 · 2015-16 · 2016-17 · 2017-18 · 2018-19 · 2019-20 · 2020–21 · 2021–22 · 2022–23 · 2023–24 · 2024–25 · |
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Football in Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Top level football leagues of Asia (AFC) |
Afghanistan · Australia · Bahrain · Bangladesh · Bhutan · Brunei · Cambodia · China PR · Chinese Taipei · East Timor · Guam · Hong Kong · India · Indonesia · Iran · Iraq · Japan · Jordan · Kuwait · Kyrgyzstan · Laos · Lebanon · Macao · Malaysia · Maldives · Mongolia · Myanmar · Nepal · North Korea · Northern Mariana Islands† · Oman · Pakistan · Palestine: Gaza Strip–West Bank · Philippines · Qatar · Saudi Arabia · Singapore · South Korea · Sri Lanka · Syria · Tajikistan · Thailand · Turkmenistan · United Arab Emirates · Uzbekistan · Vietnam · Yemen |