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.
 | |
| First season | 2013 |
|---|---|
| Country | Australia |
| Confederation | AFC |
| Divisions | ACT NSW Northern NSW Queensland South Australia Tasmania Victoria Western Australia |
| Number of teams | 94 clubs (from 8 divisions) |
| Level on pyramid | 2 (3 from 2025) |
| Domestic cup(s) | Australia Cup |
| Current champions | Wollongong Wolves (2019) |
| Most championships | Sydney United 58 (2 titles) |
| Website | nationalpremierleagues.com.au |
| Current: 2024 National Premier Leagues | |
Up to the 2019 season, one representative from each regional participated in the NPL Championship, a knock-out competition to determine a national champion.
From the 2025 season, the NPL Premiers from each Member Federation will be invited to play in the new 16-team National Second Division (currently referred to as a National Second Tier), to be played between October and December 2025.[1][2]
History
In October 2010, Football Federation Australia (FFA) commenced a National Competition Review, its main objective being to review the current structure of soccer competitions in Australia, and to monitor and improve elite player development.[3] By May 2012 the results of the National Competition Review were released. In it, a proposal to re-brand and revitalise state-based competitions in Australia.[4]
On 13 February 2013, the establishment of the National Premier Leagues was announced. As a direct outcome of the National Competition Review, the league would rebrand the premier league in each state under a single banner.[5] Originally named Australian Premier League but due to a violation of naming rights held by Lawn Bowls Australia the original name was scrapped and replaced with National Premier Leagues.[6]
The inaugural season of the NPL began in March 2013. It included teams from five of the nine state-based federations:[5]
The other four of the nine state-based federations joined the NPL in 2014:
Those federations who joined in the 2014 season, were expected to adopt a partial model at some time in the future.[7][8] Although Victoria initially announced their teams would enter in 2014, a deferral was later announced in November 2013, after several clubs objected to the process for selecting teams. However, by December 2013, a resolution was reached whereby Victorian teams participated in the 2014 season.[9][10]
FFA announced their intentions of a promotion and relegation structure between the first tier A-League and second tier working title Australian Championship from late 2022 but move to 2025.[11]
The finals series for the 2020 competition was cancelled on 3 July 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia,[12] and has not been held since.
Competition format
The NPL competitions in each state and territory are run by the member federation, with a national playoff tournament at the end of each season.[5] Each member federation, or 'conference' contains various numbers of teams, and they play a full season with no inter-conference matches (an identical format to the individual State Leagues that preceded the NPL). The winner of each division is determined by the club in first position of each conference table at the end of the regular season, rather than the winner of the various state-based finals series.
Former NPL finals series
Up to the 2019 season, the winners of each respective Federation league (the regular home and away season) competed in a finals playoff tournament. These were all single match knock out matches. Between 2013 and 2015 the match ups were based on predetermined geographically adjacent Federations, with hosting rights for the quarter-finals alternating each year. From 2016 to 2019 the match ups were determined by an open draw.[13] The hosts for the semi-finals and Grand Final were determined by a formula based on the time of winning of the previous NPL Finals matches (normal time, extra time or penalties), goals scored and allowed, and yellow/red cards.
The finals series culminated in a Grand Final, where the winner was crowned National Premier Leagues Champions.[14] From 2014 to 2019, the NPL Champion also qualified for the following years' FFA Cup round of 32.
Promotion and relegation
Depending on the State Federation in charge, teams may be relegated from the NPL to a third-tier league in the same state (and vice versa), but there is currently no mechanism for a team to be promoted to the first tier of Australian soccer, the A-League. The number of teams promoted and relegated from third-tier leagues per state has varied over the existence of the NPL. The table below details the number of teams relegated automatically from the NPL at the end of the season and the number of NPL teams which go into a relegation playoff against a lower league team (subject to those lower league teams meeting additional eligibility criteria to be able to be promoted to the NPL).
| Federation | Number of clubs | |
|---|---|---|
| Automatic relegation | Relegation playoffs | |
| ACT | 1 | 0 |
| NSW | 1 | 1 |
| Northern NSW | 1 | 1 |
| Queensland | 2 | 0 |
| SA | 2 | 0 |
| Tasmania | none | |
| Victoria | 2 | 0 |
| WA | 1 | 1 |
Current clubs
Below are listed the National Premier Leagues clubs in each respective state member federation from the 2024 season.
In total, there are 94 clubs that compete in the top tier of the National Premier Leagues each season. Most NPL divisions involve promotion and relegation to leagues below the NPL and so participating clubs change annually.
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Honours
NPL Finals
| Season/s | Champions | Score | Runners-up | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 |  Sydney United 58 | 2–0 |  South Hobart | KGV Park | 1,150 |
| 2014 |  North Eastern MetroStars | 1–0 | Bonnyrigg White Eagles | Lambert Park | – |
| 2015 | Blacktown City | 3–1 |  Bayswater City | Dorrien Gardens | – |
| 2016 | Sydney United 58 | 4–1 | Edgeworth FC | Sydney United Sports Centre | – |
| 2017 |  Heidelberg United | 2–0 |  Brisbane Strikers | Perry Park | 1,105 |
| 2018 | Campbelltown City | 2–1 | Lions FC | Steve Woodcock Sports Centre | 1,518 |
| 2019 | Wollongong Wolves | 4–3 (a.e.t.) | Lions FC | Albert Butler Memorial Park | 1,362 |
| 2020 | Cancelled[lower-alpha 1] | ||||
| 2021 | Not held | ||||
| 2022 | Not held | ||||
| 2023 | Not held | ||||
| 2024 | Not held | ||||
Clubs reaching the finals
| Team | Champions | Runners-up | Semi-finalist | Quarter-finalist | Finals appearance/s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sydney United 58 |
2 (2013, 2016) | — | — | — | 2 |
| Campbelltown City |
1 (2018) | — | 1 (2013) | 1 (2019) | 3 |
| Heidelberg United |
1 (2017) | — | 1 (2018) | 1 (2019) | 3 |
| Blacktown City |
1 (2015) | — | — | — | 1 |
| North Eastern MetroStars |
1 (2014) | — | — | — | 1 |
| Wollongong Wolves |
1 (2019) | — | — | — | 1 |
| Lions FC |
— | 2 (2018, 2019) | — | — | 2 |
| Edgeworth |
— | 1 (2016) | 1 (2017) | 2 (2015, 2018) | 4 |
| Brisbane Strikers |
— | 1 (2017) | 1 (2016) | — | 2 |
| Bayswater City |
— | 1 (2015) | — | 2 (2014, 2017) | 3 |
| South Hobart |
— | 1 (2013) | — | 2 (2014, 2017) | 3 |
| Bonnyrigg White Eagles |
— | 1 (2014) | — | — | 1 |
| Perth SC |
— | — | 2 (2016, 2019) | 1 (2018) | 3 |
| South Melbourne |
— | — | 1 (2014) | 1 (2015) | 2 |
| APIA Leichhardt Tigers |
— | — | 1 (2017) | — | 1 |
| Maitland |
— | — | 1 (2019) | — | 1 |
| Moreton Bay United |
— | — | 1 (2015) | — | 1 |
| Olympia |
— | — | 1 (2015) | — | 1 |
| Olympic |
— | — | 1 (2013) | — | 1 |
| Palm Beach |
— | — | 1 (2014) | — | 1 |
| Sydney Olympic |
— | — | 1 (2018) | — | 1 |
 Canberra Croatia |
— | — | — | 3 (2013, 2015, 2018) | 3 |
| Canberra Olympic |
— | — | — | 3 (2016, 2017, 2019) | 3 |
| Devonport City |
— | — | — | 3 (2016, 2018, 2019) | 3 |
| Adelaide City |
— | — | — | 2 (2016, 2017) | 2 |
| Bentleigh Greens |
— | — | — | 1 (2016) | 1 |
| Cooma |
— | — | — | 1 (2014) | 1 |
| West Adelaide |
— | — | — | 1 (2015) | 1 |
| Weston Workers |
— | — | — | 1 (2014) | 1 |
Federation Premiers by season
| Season | ACT | New South Wales | Northern New South Wales | Queensland | South Australia | Tasmania | Victoria | Western Australia |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Canberra Croatia | Sydney United 58 | — [lower-alpha 2] | Olympic FC | Campbelltown City [lower-alpha 3] | South Hobart | — [lower-alpha 2] | — [lower-alpha 2] |
| 2014 | Cooma FC | Bonnyrigg White Eagles | Weston Workers [lower-alpha 4] | Palm Beach | North Eastern MetroStars | South Hobart | South Melbourne | Bayswater City |
| 2015 | Canberra Croatia | Blacktown City | Edgeworth FC | Moreton Bay United | West Adelaide | Olympia Warriors | South Melbourne | Bayswater City |
| 2016 | Canberra Olympic | Sydney United 58 | Edgeworth FC | Brisbane Strikers | Adelaide City | Devonport City | Bentleigh Greens | Perth SC |
| 2017 | Canberra Olympic | APIA Leichhardt | Edgeworth FC | Brisbane Strikers | Adelaide City | South Hobart | Heidelberg United | Bayswater City |
| 2018 | Canberra Croatia | Sydney Olympic | Edgeworth FC | Lions FC | Campbelltown City | Devonport City | Heidelberg United | Perth SC |
| 2019 | Canberra Olympic | Wollongong Wolves | Maitland FC | Lions FC | Campbelltown City | Devonport City | Heidelberg United | Perth SC |
| 2020 [lower-alpha 5] | — [lower-alpha 6] | Rockdale City Suns | Edgeworth FC | Peninsula Power | Adelaide Comets | Devonport City | — [lower-alpha 7] | — [lower-alpha 8] |
| 2021 | Cooma FC [lower-alpha 9] | — [lower-alpha 10] | Lambton Jaffas [lower-alpha 11] | Peninsula Power | Adelaide Comets | Glenorchy Knights | Oakleigh Cannons [lower-alpha 12] | Perth SC |
| 2022 | Canberra Croatia | Sydney Olympic | Maitland FC | Lions FC | Adelaide City | Devonport City | South Melbourne | Floreat Athena |
| 2023 | O'Connor Knights | APIA Leichhardt | Lambton Jaffas | Gold Coast Knights | North Eastern MetroStars | Devonport City | Avondale FC | Perth RedStar |
| 2024 | Gungahlin United | Rockdale Ilinden | Broadmeadow Magic | Gold Coast Knights | North Eastern MetroStars | Glenorchy Knights | South Melbourne | Olympic Kingsway |
Performance by Federation
| Federation | Best Performance | Multiple Champions |
|---|---|---|
| Football NSW | Champions (4) | Sydney United 58 (2) |
| Football South Australia | Champions (2) | |
| Football Victoria | Champions (1) | |
| Football Queensland | Runners-up (3) | |
| Football Tasmania | Runners-up (1) | |
| Football West | Runners-up (1) | |
| Northern NSW Football | Runners-up (1) | |
| Capital Football | Quarter Finalists (7) |
Individual honours
The John Kosmina Medal is presented to the best player in the NPL final and is named in honour of former Australian international John Kosmina.[23]
See also
Notes
- The 2020 Finals Series and the 2020 FFA Cup were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia. Wollongong Wolves had already qualified for the 2020 FFA Cup prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, so were given an automatic entry into the 2021 FFA Cup.[15]
- North Eastern MetroStars won its league season, but did not proceed to the NPL Finals series (that year's Champion qualified instead).
- Newcastle Jets Youth team won its league season, but were ineligible for the NPL Finals series (the runner-up qualified instead).
- Competition Premiers only, as finals series cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia.[12]
- 2020 for Victoria cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[16]
- No Premier declared.[17]
- Season cancelled, but Premier declared.[18]
- 2021 for NSW cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[19]
- Season cancelled, but Premier declared.[20]
- 2021 for Victoria initially cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[21] However, as a result of a court challenge involving Avondale FC and Football Victoria, it was agreed that eight rounds of games from the 2022 NPL Season would also count towards the 2021 NPL league table, enabling sufficient matches to be played to "complete" the season, and be able to declare a Premier for 2021.[22]
References
External links
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