A-League

A national round-robin tournament existed in various forms prior to the formation of the A-League, with the most notable being the National Soccer League (NSL). The formation of the NSL came after Australia's qualification for the 1974 FIFA World Cup, which led to discussion of a national league, with 14 teams eventually chosen to participate in the inaugural season of the NSL in 1977.[1]

Under the guidance of the then-governing body, the Australian Soccer Federation (later Soccer Australia), the NSL flourished through the 1980s and early 1990s but then fell into decline with the increasing departure of Australian players to overseas leagues, a disastrous television deal with the Seven Network and the resulting lack of sponsorship.[2] Few clubs continued to grow with Sydney Olympic, Perth Glory, and the newly established Adelaide United the exception in a dying league.[3][4][5]

In April 2003, the Australian Federal Government initiated the Independent Soccer Review Committee to investigate the governance and management of the sport in Australia, including that of the NSL.[6] In December 2003, the Crawford Report found that the NSL was financially unviable, and in response the chairman of the sports new governing body, Frank Lowy of Football Federation Australia, announced that a task force would be formed to create a new national competition as a successor to the NSL which dissolved at the conclusion of the 2003–04 season after 27 years of operation.[7]

The A-League was announced in April 2004, as a successor to the NSL.[7] Eight teams would be part of the new national competition, with one team from each city of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Newcastle, plus a New Zealand team and one from a remaining expressions of interest from either Melbourne or Sydney. The competition start date was set for August 2005.[8][9]

By June 2004, 20 submissions had been received and a month later 12 consortiums sent in their final bids for the eight spots. Three bids were received from Melbourne, two each from Sydney and Brisbane, one from each of the remaining preferred cities and a bid from the New South Wales Central Coast city of Gosford. Over the next three months, each bid was reviewed and on 1 November 2004, the eight successful bidders and the major sponsor were revealed, for what would be known as the Hyundai A-League, with the Hyundai Motor Company unveiled as the official naming rights sponsor for the league.[9]

The eight founding teams for the league were Adelaide United, Central Coast Mariners, Melbourne Victory, Newcastle Jets, New Zealand Knights, Perth Glory, Queensland Roar and Sydney FC, with four former NSL clubs taking part, those being Adelaide United, Newcastle Jets and Perth Glory, as well as NSL club Brisbane Lions who withdrew their first team from the Queensland State league and entered it in to the competition as Queensland Roar[10] plus New Zealand Knights who were formed from New Zealand Football Kingz. Each club was given a five-year exclusivity deal in its own market as part of the league's "one-city, one-team" policy. This was intended to allow clubs to grow and develop an identity in their respective region without local competition.[11]

On 26 August 2005, 16 months after the demise of the NSL, the inaugural season of the A-League began.[9] The first season would see Adelaide United win the premier's plate by seven points over Sydney FC with Central Coast and Newcastle filling the final two spots in the final series.[12] In the final series, it was Sydney that took out the title after they defeated Central Coast by a Steve Corica goal to claim the first title on 5 March 2006.[13] The following season saw Melbourne Victory claim the A-League premiers plate when they smashed Adelaide United 6–0 in the final at the Telstra Dome with Archie Thompson scoring five goals in the rout.[14] But the season wasn't without a change with the New Zealand Knights being replaced by the Wellington Phoenix after the Knights were taken over by New Zealand Football after the team only won six times in forty-two games and selected overseas talent instead of local.[15][16]

Both Gold Coast United and North Queensland Fury joined the league in the 2009–10 season. On 12 June 2009, Melbourne Heart was awarded a licence to join the 2010–11 season.[17] On 1 March 2011 North Queensland Fury's A-League licence was revoked for financial reasons.[18] On 29 February 2012, Gold Coast United also had its licence revoked.[19][20] On 4 April 2012 it was announced that a new Western Sydney-based club, Western Sydney Wanderers, would join the league for the 2012–13 season.[21] In January 2014, Melbourne Heart was acquired by the City Football Group and was renamed Melbourne City ahead of the 2014–15 season.[22] In February 2018, officials announced that the league would expand to 12 teams for the 2019–20 season.[23] Later that year, the league announced that Western United FC would join the competition in 2019–20 and Macarthur would enter the following season (2020–21).[24]

In the lead-up to the expansion announcements in 2019, club stakeholders entered into discussions with Football Federation Australia (FFA) to take over ownership of the competition. The league had been created and operated by the FFA since its inception in 2004, though by 2018 the FFA and clubs were at loggerheads over the permanent ownership structure of the league.[25] A FIFA-backed congress review working group issued a sweeping 100-page report in August 2018, recommending an expanded domestic congress and an independent A-League, controlled and operated by the clubs.[26] On 1 July 2019, the FFA and Australian Professional Football Clubs Association (the body representing the A-League clubs) announced an agreement had been reached for the FFA to relinquish control of the league to the clubs by the following month, in time for the start of the 2019–20 season.[27] The agreement brought the sport in line with the governance structure utilised in most European leagues.[27][28]

In 2020, football experts concluded A-League is entering a new crisis era, due to lack of major competitiveness and that total reforms must be done to improve the league, including the introduction of promotion and relegation system, and this has started to be debated.[29][30]

The regular season runs mainly during the Australian summer, from early October to April of the following year. The competition consists of 33 rounds, with each team playing every other team three times. The teams allotted two home matches against an opponent in one season are allotted one home match against that opponent in the following season. Each match sees the winning team awarded three competition points, with one point each for a draw. The club at the top of this ladder is crowned A-League Premiers, and since the 2005–06 season has been entered into the AFC Champions League.[31][32] The Premier is presented with a trophy known as the Premier's Plate.[33]

At the completion of the regular season the top six placed teams on the league table progress to the finals series. The position of each team is determined by the highest number of points accumulated during the regular season. If two or more teams are level on points, the following criteria are applied in order until one of the teams can be determined as the higher ranked:[34]

1. Highest goal difference;
2. Highest number of goals scored;
3. Highest number of points accumulated in matches between the teams concerned;
4. Highest goal difference in matches between the teams concerned;
5. Highest number of goals scored in matches between the teams concerned;
6. Lowest number of red cards accumulated;
7. Lowest number of yellow cards accumulated;
8. Toss of a coin.[34]

Melbourne Victory celebrating after their 2007 A-League Grand Final victory.

The top six clubs at the conclusion of the regular season progress to the finals series. The finals series culminates to the A-League grand final, where the winner is crowned A-League champion and receives a place in the AFC Champions League. The club that wins the grand final is presented with the A-League Trophy.

The finals series consists of six teams who are placed by rank, as determined at the end of the regular season. The finals series runs over three weeks, with all games being sudden death, leading to a sudden-death grand final to decide the overall A-League competition. The first and second placed teams at the conclusion of the regular season are rewarded with a bye in the first week of the Finals Series and the advantage of hosting each of their semi-finals in the second week of the finals series.[34]

Of the two grand finalists, the team that finished higher on the ladder at the conclusion of the regular season hosts the grand final. The only exception to this is if the FFA deems that team's home ground to be an inappropriate. For example, in 2008, Central Coast Mariners (as the higher-placed team) hosted the grand final against the Newcastle Jets at Sydney Football Stadium, due to FFA deciding that Central Coast Mariners home stadium, Central Coast Stadium with a capacity of 20,000, was too small for the event.[35]

Grand final host stadium

Adelaide United against Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors in the AFC Champions League in 2010.

In 2004–05 Australia was still a part of the Oceania Football Confederation and Sydney FC won the right to compete in the Oceania Club Championship after defeating the Central Coast Mariners in a qualifying tournament.

A-League clubs are eligible for participation in the AFC Champions League competition each season since the 2007 edition of the tournament.[36] Wellington Phoenix are not eligible to compete in the Asian Champions League, nor do they compete in the OFC Champions League. The only Australian side to win the Asian Champions League are the Western Sydney Wanderers FC.

Qualification is determined by league finishing positions and who wins the A-League Grand Final, and the number of positions determined by the Asian Football Confederation club competition ranking. The ACL is split into West & East Asian halves until the Grand Final, and Australia has generally been 4th placed in East Asia and received two direct entry positions and one qualification play-off berth. It is unlikely the A-League will receive more than 3 positions until the competition expands beyond 10 teams.[37][38][39][40][41]

Since 2014 clubs also compete in the annual FFA Cup knock-out tournament.[42] From 2020, the top nine teams qualify for the 2020 FFA Cup – entering at the Round of 32 – while the bottom two teams will play-off for a spot in the Round of 32.[43]

Between 2005 and 2008 clubs participated in the A-League Pre-Season Challenge Cup prior to each A-League regular season. In 2013 and 2014 an A-League All Stars Game was also played as a pre-season friendly game between the league's finest players and a high-profile international team.[44][45]

Most A-League clubs have teams in the National Youth League (Y-League), which runs in conjunction with the A-League as a national youth developmental and reserve league. All players in the youth teams are between the ages of 16 and 21 as of the start of the calendar year for each new season, while four over-age players from each of the senior teams also allowed to be selected. In addition, the W-League operates as the top division of women's league with affiliations to the men's competition.[46]

League member Former member Future member

While making a relatively modest start to ensure future stability, both the FFA and the soccer media indicated significant interest in expanding the league. The eight foundation clubs had exclusivity clauses for their respective cities valid for five years, but this did not exclude teams from other areas joining the league.

Before the introduction of the A-League, FFA chairman Frank Lowy speculated that he hoped to expand the league into other cities, mentioning Canberra, Hobart, Wollongong, Geelong, Bendigo, Cairns, Ballarat, Albury–Wodonga, Launceston, Christchurch, Auckland, Sunshine Coast and possibly Darwin and later Singapore.[47][48][49][50]

In February 2018, officials announced that the league would expand to 12 teams for the 2019–20 season.[23][51][52] In December 2018, the FFA announced they accepted the bids of Western United who joined the league in the 2019–20 season and of Macarthur, who joined the league in the 2020–21 season.[53]

There are several key rivalries and local derbies that have formed in the A-League, including:

"Melbourne Derby" – Melbourne City v Melbourne Victory v Western United
The two Melbourne clubs first met on 8 October 2010 in a lively game at AAMI Park in front of 25,897 fans. Melbourne City (known at the time as Melbourne Heart) came out on top with a 2–1 victory.[54] A significant narrative in derby history is the role of Melbourne Victory as a more successful club both on and off the field, having joined the A-League five years earlier than City. The rivalry is one of the most intense and well respected in the A-League, producing noticeable atmosphere and some of the largest attendances in the league.[55]

"The Original Rivalry" – Adelaide United v Melbourne Victory
The rivalry stems from the traditional cross-border rivalry between sporting teams from South Australia and Victoria but was strengthened by multiple incidents in the 2006–07 season, such as the confrontation between Melbourne Victory captain Kevin Muscat and then Adelaide United coach John Kosmina. The two clubs contested the 2007 and 2009 A-League Grand Finals, with Melbourne winning the 2009 Grand Final 1–0 very controversially against a 10-man Adelaide United. The match will always be marred by the 10th minute sending off of Adelaide United striker Cristiano, which ultimately contributed to the loss. The two clubs were also involved in the first and only occasion in the A-League during the 2008–09 A-League season, where they both finished on the top of the ladder equal on both points and goal difference. The rivalry between both sets of fans remains very strong.

"Sydney Derby" – Sydney FC v Western Sydney Wanderers v Macarthur FC
The derby was contested for the first time in the 2012–13 season with the introduction of the second Sydney-based club, Western Sydney Wanderers, into the league. Sydney FC grabbed bragging rights by winning the first derby 1–0 at Parramatta Stadium,[56] however Western Sydney Wanderers won the return match at Allianz Stadium 2–0. A Sydney Derby held early in the 2015 season broke the Allianz Stadium record for attendance during a regular season in any football code, dating back to the stadium's opening in 1988.[57] A match in 2016 between the two teams broke the record A-League crowd with 61,880 fans attending the match at ANZ Stadium.[58] Sydney Derby is intensified by the geographic distinction between the two clubs within Sydney, as well as historical grievances related to the foundation of Sydney FC.

"The Big Blue" – Melbourne Victory v Sydney FC
This match is so named because blue is the main colour of both teams' playing kits, and is also Australian slang for a fight or a contest.[59] The rivalry has emerged as a result of a number of spiteful encounters between the teams in recent years, and due to the longstanding rivalry between Sydney and Melbourne, Australia's two largest cities. The teams have competed against each other in three grand finals; in 2010 & 2017, with Sydney winning 4–2 on penalties after a 1–1 draw on both occasions and in 2015, with Victory winning 3–0.[60] In 2010, Sydney FC won the A-League Premiership on the final day of the season by defeating Victory 2–0. A Big Blue match is traditionally played on Australia Day each year.

"The F3 Derby" – Central Coast Mariners v Newcastle Jets
Named after the former name of the freeway that connects the cities of Newcastle and Gosford,[61] this match features the only two clubs in the A-League that are not based in state capital cities. The two teams' stadiums are just one hour apart, and the derby was intensified when they competed against each other for the premiership in the 2007–08 A-League season and eventually met in the Grand Final, which was won 1–0 by the Jets.

"The Distance Derby" – Perth Glory v Wellington Phoenix
Originally conceived as a joke, based upon the two teams being considered as having the longest road trips in the world for a domestic league (5,255 km/3,270 mi). This is considered to be the longest distance regular top-flight domestic league fixtures in professional soccer. This distinction was previously held by Zenit St Petersburg and Luch Vladivostok in the Russian Premier League, before the latters' relegation in 2008. The distance between Perth and Auckland, home of the Phoenix's predecessors, the New Zealand Knights, is slightly longer than Perth-Wellington. The two teams have had two tense finals games in the A-League, most recently with Perth Glory winning a finals match in 2011–12 in extra time. The rivalry was formally resurrected in the 2015–16 A-League season by means of awarding a new trophy called the Long Distance Derby Cup, based on the cumulative results from the 3 league games for the season.[62] Perth Glory won this cup in its inaugural year.

The original Hyundai A-League logo (in use from 2004 to 2017)

Hyundai A-League logo (in use from 2017 to 2020)

The A-League Trophy was designed to resemble a laurel wreath.

The Premier's Plate is awarded to the highest finishing team in the regular season.

The current A-League logo was unveiled in January 2017 by Football Federation Australia. The logo formed part of a wider rebranding branding of the A-League and its subsidiary competitions, the W-League and Youth League. The logo design was "inspired by football's three outstanding features – atmosphere, diversity and unity" and has colour alterations tailored to each of the 12 A-League clubs. The changes came into effect before the 2017/18 season.[63] The original A-League logo was designed by Coast Design Sydney. It was the inaugural logo of the league. The two-toned ochre colours represented the sun, earth and desert while the 'glow' emanating from the centre of the logo depicted the playing season's spring and summer time span. The eight 'A' figures that made up the ball shape represented the eight foundation clubs of the league.[64]

The A-League has two trophies which are competed for during the season: the Premier's Plate and the A-League Trophy.[65] The Premier's Plate is awarded to the A-League Premiers, the regular season winners, and the A-League Trophy is awarded to the A-League Champions, the winner of the Grand Final. Both pieces of silverware were designed by Sydney design company D3 Design. The A-League Trophy is nicknamed the "Toilet Seat" due to its shape.[66][67][68] Where as the Premier's Plate follows a traditional trophy design, the A-League Trophy differs. In 2005, John O'Neill, FFA CEO commented during the unveiling of the A-League Trophy, "We have a new national league and we feel it is important to re-define the conventional view of a trophy to reflect this". Clive Solari of D3 Design explained the trophy's design, saying "We wanted our trophy concept to embody the historical significance of sport in a contemporary design. So we looked to history to see how great achievements have been rewarded across all types of games for thousands of years. The winners of the world's original sporting competition, the Olympic Games, were presented with a laurel wreath on their heads. We used this model as a basis for a unique, cutting-edge design – our trophy is a modern and versatile translation of the wreath. The winners can hold it above their heads as a symbol of success".[69]

Alessandro Del Piero joined the league in 2012, as Sydney FC's marquee player.

The A-League match-day squad includes the typical 11 players, and five substitutes of which one must be a goalkeeper. Prior to the 2013–14 season, just four substitutes including one goalkeeper were allowed to be named in the starting line-ups for the teams.[70]

An A-League squad must comprise a minimum of 20 players with a maximum of 26, subject to several limitations. Within the squad, there can be a maximum of five "foreign" or "Visa" players, from outside Australia (and New Zealand, in the case of Wellington Phoenix), that hold a temporary working-visa. Three players in the squad must also be under 20 years of age. In addition to these three under 20 players, clubs are allowed to sign an additional three youth players onto full-time contracts at a lower pay rate than the rest of the squad.[71][72][73] The A-League had initially proposed that the quota of five visa players per A-League club be reduced to four in the 2015–16 season, with the limit of four possibly become "3+1", which means three imports from anywhere and one from Asia (following regulations in the AFC Champions League).[74] However, after opposition to the proposal by both players and managers, the move was placed on hold.[75]

Although A-League clubs have restricted salaries (salary cap), the league allows each club to have two "marquee" players whose salaries are exempt from the cap, plus a number of other 'exemptions' or 'allowances' to incentivise clubs to spend in specific areas. Guest players are also excluded for up to a maximum of 14 league matches.[76] From the formation of the league, clubs have been allowed to sign one international marquee player. From the 2008–09 season, A-League clubs have been permitted a junior marquee player; one that is under the age of 23. Now known as the 'Homegrown Player allowance', clubs can spend up to a collective $150,000 on three Australian players aged 23 or younger that have come through the club's youth system.[77] On 19 April 2010, the A-League announced that, in addition to the international marquee and junior marquee, clubs would be allowed an Australian marquee player from the 2010–11 season.[78] Notable marquee and guest players in the A-League have included Alessandro Del Piero, William Gallas, Dwight Yorke, Emile Heskey, Robbie Fowler, Shinji Ono, David Villa and former FIFA World Player of the Year Romário. Famous Australian Marquees include Harry Kewell, John Aloisi, Brett Emerton, Joshua Kennedy and Tim Cahill.

Commencing in the 2015–16 season, players who have played at their club for 5–10 years will be covered by a "loyalty player allowance", allowing up to $200,000 of their salary to be exempted from the cap. Additionally, clubs are now permitted a mature-age rookie whose wages are outside the salary cap.[76]

The 2016–17 season saw the introduction of a third 'Full Season Guest Marquee' spot, designed to attract high-profile players on short-term deals.[79]

The salary cap for A-League clubs is $2.1 million for the 2020–21 season. In the case for Western United and debuting Macarthur FC, they are entitled to a $333,000 allowance thus increasing their salary cap to $2.433 million. Clubs must spend at least the salary floor which is $1.7 million. The salary cap applies to the 18 to 23 players that clubs have registered to their A-League player roster, the top 2 highest-paid players (Designated Players) don't count in the cap. Unless specifically exempt, all payments and benefits (e.g. cars, accommodation, etc.) provided by a club to a player are included in the club's salary cap. Players registered at a club for more than 4 consecutive years as a professional are considered as Loyalty Players and have the following amounts exempt from a club's salary cap; Year 4 – 12.5%, Year 5 – 25%, and 5% increments after that up until a max of 50%. Teams can spend an unlimited amount on 4 U-23 Australian players who have come from the youth team, called Homegrown Players. Teams can sign up to 9 U-20 players on minimum wage called Scholarship Players who don't count in the squad unless they are one of the 3 U21's in the squad, any payments above the national minimum wage to these Players are included in the Club's Salary Cap.[80]

A-League games have been played in 33 stadiums since the inaugural season of the A-League in 2005. Hindmarsh Stadium, the home of Adelaide United, is currently the smallest used in the A-League, with a capacity of 16,500. Docklands Stadium, one of the homes of Melbourne Victory, has the greatest seating capacity (56,347) of any stadium currently used by an A-League club.

Since its formation up until 2020, the A-League has been sponsored by an official naming rights partner.[9] In 2004, the Hyundai Motor Company was announced as the sponsor for the first three seasons of the league, known for commercial purposes as the "Hyundai A-League". In 2008, Hyundai renewed its initial contract with FFA for another four seasons until 2012, and that contract was further extended by four seasons until 2016.[93] This sponsorship deal was then further extended to the end of the 2019–20 A-League season.[94]

On 23 December 2020, it was announced that the new major sponsor of the A-League and W-League would be home improvement store Bunnings Warehouse.[95]

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