Soccer in Australia
In Australia, soccer, also known as football, and to a lesser extent as "association football", is the most played outdoor team sport, and ranked in the top ten for television audience as of 2015. The national governing body of the sport is Football Australia which comprises nine state and territory member federations, which oversee the sport within their respective region. The season in Australia is played during the summer, to avoid clashing with [Australian rules Football (word)|football in Australia|Australian rules football] and Rugby league which dominate spectator and media interest in the country.
Modern soccer was introduced in Australia in the late 19th century by mostly British immigrants. The first club formed in the country, Wanderers, was founded on 3 August 1880 in Sydney, while the oldest club in Australia currently in existence is Balgownie Rangers, formed in 1883 in Wollongong. Wanderers were also the first known recorded team to play under the Laws of the Game. A semi-professional national league, the National Soccer League, was introduced in 1977. The NSL was replaced by professional A-League Men, in 2004, which has contributed to a rise in popularity in the sport. Australia was a founding member of the Oceania Football Confederation before moving to the Asian Football Confederation in 2006. The main professional leagues are the A-League Men, A-League Women and the Australia Cup however foreign leagues such as the Premier League, the Championship and the Women's Super League are also popular.
The men's and women's national teams, known as the Socceroos and the Matildas respectively, compete globally. Australia cohosted the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup with New Zealand. The Matildas finished fourth in that tournament, and the majority of Australians watched them play on television or at the stadium. It had a major impact on Australian sport, and the phenomenon is commonly known as "Matildas fever".
History
19th century
An early match took place at the Woogaroo Lunatic Asylum, located in Wacol in suburban Brisbane, on 7 August 1875, when a team of inmates and wards men from the asylum played against the visiting Brisbane Australian rules football club; the rules of the match which clearly stated that the "ball should not be handled nor carried" was a direct reference to British Association Rules.A match was recorded to be played in Hobart on 10 May 1879, when members of the Cricketer's Club played a scratch match under English Association Rules, which were adopted by the club. The game was a return match to one played on 24 May by the clubs, under a variant of the Victorian rules; to prevent the disadvantage faced by the Cricketers, the clubs agreed that that Association rules would be adopted in the return match.
The first recorded match in Sydney under the Laws of the Game was contested between Wanderers and members of the Kings School rugby team at Parramatta Common on 14 August 1880. The Wanderers, considered the first soccer club in Australia, was established on 3 August 1880, by English-émigré John Walter Fletcher. Later, in 1882, Fletcher formed the New South Wales English Football Association, the very first administrative governing body of soccer within Australia and one of the first to be established outside the United Kingdom.
In 1883, Balgownie Rangers, the oldest existing club in Australia was founded; the club currently competes in the Illawarra regional league. Later that year, the first inter-colonial game was played at the East Melbourne Cricket Ground, between a representative Victorian team and one from the neighbouring colony of New South Wales.
As soccer continued to grow throughout Australia, John Fletcher's New South Wales soccer association gave inspiration to other states to establish their own governing bodies for the sport. In 1884, Victoria formed its own association, the Anglo-Australian Football Association, as did Queensland, in the Anglo-Queensland Football Association, and Northern New South Wales, in the Northern District British Football Association. In 1896, the Western Australian Soccer Football Association was formed. In 1900, a Tasmanian association was formed, and later, the South Australian British Football Association was formed in 1902.
20th century
It was not until 1911 that a governing body was formed to oversee soccer activities in the whole of Australia. The first such organisation was called the Commonwealth Football Association. However, this body was superseded by the Australian Soccer Association, which was formed in 1921.Australia is regarded as the first country where squad numbers in soccer were used for the first time when Sydney Leichardt and HMS Powerful players displayed numbers on their backs, in 1911. One year later, numbering in soccer would be ruled as mandatory in New South Wales.
On 17 June 1922, the first Australian national representative soccer team was constituted by the Australian Soccer Association to represent Australia for a tour of New Zealand. During the tour the Australia men's national team lost two out of the three matches against the newly formed New Zealand side.
After World War I, large numbers of British and southern European arrived seeking opportunities in new industries across parts of Australia which led to establishing soccer as a major sport in the country.
A distinct rise in popularity in New South Wales and Victoria, among other states, was linked to the post-World War II immigration. Migrant players and supporters were prominent, providing the sport with a new but distinct profile. Soccer served as a cultural gateway for many emigrants, acting as a social lubricant. Soccer transcended cultural and language barriers in communities which bridged the gap between minority communities and other classes within the country, thus bringing about a unique unity.
The most prominent soccer clubs in Australian cities during the 1950s and 1960s were based around migrant-ethnic groups, all of which expanded rapidly at that time: Croatian, Greek, Macedonian and Italian communities gave rise to most of the largest clubs, the most notable being South Melbourne, Sydney Olympic, Marconi Stallions, Adelaide City, Melbourne Knights, Sydney United and Preston Lions.In 1956, Australia became a FIFA member through the Australian Soccer Association, though Australia's membership was soon suspended in 1960 after disobeying FIFA mandate on recruiting foreign players without a transfer fee. In 1961, the Australian Soccer Federation was formed and later admitted to FIFA in 1963, after outstanding fines had been paid. In 1966, Australia became founding members of the Oceania Football Federation.
Pre-1960s, competitive soccer in Australia was state-based. In 1962, the Australia Cup was established, but its ambition of becoming an FA Cup style knockout competition went unfulfilled with its demise in 1968. In 1977, the first national soccer competition, the National Soccer League, was founded.
Migrants continued to boost interest in and player for the sport in the 1970s and 1980s, especially from the Middle East and from the former Yugoslavia.
In 1984, the National Soccer Youth League was founded as a reserve and academy league to run in parallel to the National Soccer League. In 1996, the first national women's soccer competition, the Women's National Soccer League was founded. The National Soccer League and those for women and youth flourished through the 1980s and early 1990s, though with the increasing departure of Australian players to overseas leagues.
Soccer reached notable popularity among Australian people during the second half of the 20th century. Johnny Warren, a prominent advocate for the sport, who was a member of the Australia national team at their first FIFA World Cup appearance in 1974, entitled his memoir Sheilas, Wogs, and Poofters, giving an indication of how Warren considered the wider Australian community viewed "wogball".
In the mid-1990s, Soccer Australia attempted under the Chairmanship of David Hill to shift soccer into the Australian mainstream and away from direct club-level association with migrant roots. Many clubs across the country were required to change their names and badges to represent a more inclusive community.
21st century
The sport experienced major change in the country in 2003, after the then Minister for Sport, Rod Kemp, and the Australian Parliament commissioned a report by the Independent Soccer Review Committee. Its findings in the structure, governance and management of soccer in Australia led the restructure of Football Federation Australia and later in 2005, the succeeding relaunched national competition, the A-League.The restructuring of the sport in Australia also saw the adoption of "football" by administrators, in preference to "soccer", to align with the general international name of the sport. Although the use of "football" was largely cultural, as part of an attempt to reposition the sport within Australia, there were also "practical and corporate reasons for the change", including a need for the sport to break away from the baggage left over from previous competitions. However, the move created problems within the wider community, engendering confusion due to the naming conflict with other football codes, and creating conflict with other sporting bodies.
Australia ended a 32-year absent streak when the nation team qualified for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The team's qualification and success in the tournament helped increase the profile and popularity of the sport in the country.
The national team qualified for second and third consecutive FIFA World Cups in 2010 and 2014; and placed second in the AFC Asian Cup. The joining of Western Sydney Wanderers to the A-League in 2012 saw a rise in interest for the league within Australia, particularly increasing mainstream interest and re-engagement with disaffected Western Sydney soccer fans. Also, the formation of the National Premier Leagues in 2013 and subsequent restructuring of state leagues as part of the National Competition Review and Elite Player Pathway Review has paved the way for the development of the sport throughout the country. The launch of the Australia Cup in 2014 has also similarly increased mainstream interest and grassroots development.
In the 21st century, a major migrant group furnishing new players in the A-League has been the African Australian community, with 34 players making an appearance in the 2020-2021 A-League season, up on 26 the previous year. These include Kusini Yengi and his brother, Tete Yengi, from South Sudan, and their friends, brothers Mohamed and Al Hassan Toure.
In 2020, Football Federation Australia officially unveiled a plan called "XI Principles for the future of Australian Football", shortened as Vision 2035, with the aim to restructure and expand football across the country, with the rebranding of the domestic league, establishment of a national second division, alignment with FIFA Domestic Match Calendar, restart and rebuilding of Australian football products, reducing costs of football in the country, possibility of establishing promotion and relegation system, and expansion of women's football, with the aim to achieve the Vision 2035 for football in the country.
In summer 2021, Football Australia officials announced a series of major reforms: the shift in calendar by aligning with Domestic Match Calendar and to avoid clashing with FIFA days so it could help the Socceroos to compete; establishment of a second-tier professional league; club licensing framework; domestic transfer system; as well a potential adoption of promotion-relegation system, expected to be implemented by 2022–23.
Organisation
Soccer in Australia is governed by Football Australia which is currently a member of the Asian Football Confederation and the regional ASEAN Football Federation, since leaving the Oceania Football Confederation in 2006.FA is underpinned by nine member federations which oversee all aspects of the sport within their respective region, including the organisation of state league and cup tournaments as opposed to national tournaments which are organised by FA. Member federations are state-based, although New South Wales is divided into a northern and southern federation.
Former and current Australian professional soccer players are represented by the Professional Footballers Australia, a trade union affiliated with the Australian Council of Trade Unions and a member of FIFPro, the global representative organisation for professional soccer players. The association tends to soccer players' pay and conditions, and also protects soccer players from unfair dismissal.
League system
A-League Men
The A-League Men was founded in 2005 after Australia's former top-flight national league National Soccer League was replaced. The A-League Men is contested between 12 clubs. The league covers the only competition controlled by the Australian Professional Leagues and the only professional league in Australia.Australian Championship
The Australian Championship is the upcoming Australian second-tier professional division, and is expected to begin from October 2025.National Premier Leagues
The National Premier Leagues has 90 clubs, divided into eight divisions by state. Despite the organisational split, promotion and relegation does not take place between the A-League and NPL.State-league soccer
Below the NPL, is what is commonly known as "state-league". This refers to clubs outside of NPL, although they still play in organised league competitions for each state in the Australian system.District soccer
There are many district leagues and soccer clubs in Australia, examples include NSW districts Bankstown, Blacktown, Eastern Suburbs with their own semi-professional leagues with clubs from their respective districts.Youth leagues
Many club sides have youth teams. The top level of youth soccer in Australia is the A-League Youth, founded for all A-League Men clubs that have Youth sides. The league, which currently has 10 teams, is divided into two groups each with five teams. The winners of both groups contest the end-of-season Grand Final to decide the league champions.Cup competitions
There are several cup competitions for clubs at different levels of the soccer pyramid. The only major cup competitions are the Australia Cup.- The Australia Cup, first held in 2014, is the only major cup competition in Australia. It is open to around 700 clubs in levels 1–9 of the soccer pyramid.
- The Federation Cup, first held in 1962, is a Capital Football cup played through all levels of Capital Football teams.
- The Waratah Cup, first held in 1991, is a New South Wales cup played through all levels of teams from the NSW league system.
- The Canale Cup, first held in 1894, is the oldest knockout competition in Australia and is played through Brisbane teams below the National Premier Leagues.
- The Dockerty Cup, first held in 1909, is a Victorian cup open to all clubs from Victoria in the Victorian league system.
- The Geelong Community Cup, first held in 1981, is an annual tournament held in the region for local team across all levels of Victorian league system.
- Australia Cup was for all teams from state leagues.
- NSL Cup was for all teams that participated in a season of the National Soccer League.
- Challenge Cup had teams from the A-League.
Participation
According to Ausplay in 2024, there were 1,232,726 adults and 632,249 children playing the sport of which about a quarter were female with an overall participation per capita of 6.9% making it the most participated team sport.According to FIFA's Big Count in 2006, a total of 970,728 people in Australia participated in the sport, with 435,728 registered players, and 535,000 unregistered players. These numbers were higher than the equivalents for other sports such as cricket, Australian rules football, rugby league and rugby union. In 2013, an audit on the sport by Gemba found that 1.96 million Australians were actively involved in the game as a player. When coaches, referees and fans are included it is estimated that involvement with the sport is around 3.1 million.
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 Men's national teamsNational Men's soccer teams of various age groups represent Australia in international competition. Australian national teams historically competed in the OFC, though since FFA's move in 2006, Australian teams have competed in AFC competitions.The Australia national soccer team, nicknamed the "Socceroos", represents Australia in international soccer. Australia is a four-time OFC champion, one time Asian champion and AFC National Team of the Year for 2006. The Men's team has represented Australia at the FIFA World Cup tournaments in 1974, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018 and 2022. In the Olympic arena, Australia first fielded a men's team at the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne. Australia did not compete again in the Olympic arena, until the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games. Apart from London 2012, where it failed to qualify a team, Australia has competed in all Olympic Men's Football competitions since 1988. There are also a number of national youth teams: Under-17 team, nicknamed the "Joeys"; Under-20 team, nicknamed the "Young Socceroos"; and the Under-23 team, nicknamed the "Olyroos". The latter is considered to be a feeder team for the national team. In addition there is a beach team, nicknamed the "Beach Socceroos", which represents Australia in international beach soccer and a Paralympic team, nicknamed the "Pararoos", which competes in international Paralympic association football. Women's soccerThe participation of Australian women in soccer was first recorded in the early 1920s. It has since become one of the country's most popular women's team sports. As with the men's game, the women's game in Australia saw a large expansion following the post-war immigration, though it is only in recent years that women's soccer has gained momentum, with such factors as the creation of the W-League and the success of the Australia women's national soccer team nicknamed "the Matildas" aiding the increasing popularity of the game. In 2021 the W-League was renamed to A-League Women.Women's soccer was added to the Olympic program in 1996, with Australia first fielding a Women's team at Sydney 2000. Australia fielded a team at the Athens 2004 Olympics, but did not qualify for the final Olympic tournament again until Rio 2016. Australia cohosted the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup with New Zealand. The Matildas finished fourth in that tournament, and the majority of Australians watched them play on television or at the stadium. It had a major impact on Australian sport, and the phenomenon is commonly known as "Matildas fever". In April 2024, the 2023–24 A-League Women season set the record for the most attended season of any women's sport in Australian history, with the season recording a total attendance of 284,551 on 15 April 2024, and finishing with a final total attendance of 312,199. Stadiums in AustraliaThe Melbourne Cricket Ground is the largest stadium in the country with a capacity of 100,000. It is owned by the Victorian Government and stages some of Australia's home matches. Stadium Australia is the largest stadium with a rectangular configuration, followed by Docklands Stadium and Lang Park.VariationsFutsal, an indoor variant of soccer, was introduced in Australia in the early 1970s and soon gained popularity after a wet period during the winter football season forced players indoors where they took up the new sport.Media coveragePay television is the predominant outlet for both domestic and international soccer in Australia. Some games can also be heard on local radio stations. The anti-siphoning list which controls what must be kept on free to air television in Australia includes only specific international matches, including all matches at the FIFA World Cup and FIFA Women's World Cup featuring Australia as well as both the FIFA World Cup Final and the FIFA Women's World Cup Final.In 2007, a A$120 million, seven-year broadcasting deal between FFA and Fox Sports Australia gave the subscription television exclusive rights to all Australia internationals, all A-League and AFC Asian Cup fixtures, FIFA World Cup qualifiers through the AFC, and all AFC Champions League matches. In 2013, FFA signed a joint A$160 million, four-year deal with Fox Sports and SBS for the A-League. SBS would show a delayed simulcast for the second round of 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification, before the Nine Network broadcast the live simulcast rights for the third round and intercontinental play-offs. In 2017, Fox Sports renewed its deal with FFA for a further six years, with Network 10 simulcasting one A-League match each week. ABC TV would later receive the simulcast rights for the 2019/20 and 2020/21 seasons. In 2020, Fox Sports terminated its contract following financial losses from the COVID-19 pandemic. Paramount+ currently holds the broadcasting rights for the A-Leagues and AFC Champions League competitions until the end of the 2025/26 season, along with all Socceroos and Matildas matches until 2028. Network 10 currently holds simulcast rights for some matches. Since 1986, SBS has been the official Australian broadcast rights holder for the FIFA World Cup, and the television network will continue to hold the rights to the competition until 2026. The Nine Network broadcast sixteen matches of the 2002 FIFA World Cup, including exclusive coverage of the final, and would also have shown all Australian matches had the Socceroos qualified. Similarly, Optus Sport briefly held exclusive rights to every game of the 2018 FIFA World Cup before relinquishing them to SBS due to technical issues. Optus Sport is Australia's primary broadcaster of foreign soccer leagues such as the Premier League and the Women's Super League, along with the UEFA European Championship and UEFA European Qualifiers. From 2016 to 2019, SBS held simulcast rights to one Premier League game per round. Stan Sport, which the Nine Network owns, holds the broadcast rights to the UEFA Champions League, Europa League and Conference League competitions. SupportSoccer is a widely supported sport in Australia, with many Australians following the Socceroos and the Matildas. Many Australians also follow an A-League club and/or other foreign clubs, most commonly English clubs that play in either the Premier League or the Championship.A study from 2018 has found that over 3.8 million Australians or 19% of Australians watch soccer of one sort or another on TV and the favoured TV viewing experience is the FIFA World Cup watched by over 3 million Australians. Many Australians, male and female, play for foreign clubs. The majority of both Socceroos and Matildas players play for clubs outside Australia, mostly for clubs in England. As of the 2024–25 season, fourteen Australians play in the Women's Super League, with three in the Premier League. Ange Postecoglou is the first ever Australian to manage a Premier League club, having managed Tottenham Hotspur since 2023. He has heavily contributed to the club's rising popularity in Australia. Seasons in Australian soccerThe following articles are an incomplete list of Seasons in Soccer in Australia since 1884. Each article covers the leagues and competitions played that season, as well as games played by all national teams during that period. National soccer in Australia was not played until the 1962 season as the first 78 seasons only played regional soccer.
Seasons in Top Flight53 teams have taken part in 47 National Soccer League and A-League seasons that have been played from the 1977 season until the 2023–24 season. The teams in bold compete in the A-League Men currently.30 seasons: Brisbane Roar28 seasons: Marconi Stallions, South Melbourne27 seasons: Adelaide City, Perth Glory, Sydney Olympic23 seasons: Newcastle United Jets, Wollongong Wolves21 seasons: Melbourne Knights, Sydney United20 seasons: Adelaide United19 seasons: Central Coast Mariners, Melbourne Victory, Sydney FC, West Adelaide17 seasons: Heidelberg United, Wellington Phoenix14 seasons: APIA Leichhardt, Melbourne City, St George FC13 seasons: Brisbane Strikers, Footscray JUST, Preston Lions12 seasons: Western Sydney Wanderers11 seasons: Hakoah Sydney City East10 seasons: Brisbane City, Canberra City9 seasons: Morwell Falcons, Newcastle Breakers 8 seasons: Sunshine George Cross7 seasons: Blacktown City, Brunswick Juventus, Newcastle KB United, Parramatta FC6 seasons: Canberra Cosmos, Northern Spirit5 seasons: Football Kingz, Parramatta Power, Western United4 seasons: Carlton SC, Macarthur FC3 seasons: Green Gully, Newcastle Rosebud, Gold Coast United2 seasons: Inter Monaro, Penrith City, Western Suburbs, New Zealand Knights, North Queensland Fury1 seasons: Canterbury Marrickville, Collingwood Warriors, Mooroolbark SC, Wollongong MacedoniaLargest Australian soccer stadiums by capacityAttendances2024-25The 2024-25 A-League clubs from Australia listed by average home league attendance:
Source: Historical attendancesThe average attendance per top-flight football league season and the club with the highest average attendance:
Sources: League pages on Wikipedia Overview by state or territory
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