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The
A-League is the top
AustralasiaAustralasia is a region of Oceania comprising Australia, New Zealand, the island of New Guinea, and neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term was coined by Charles de Brosses in Histoire des navigations aux terres australes...
n professional football (soccer) league. Run by
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n governing body
Football Federation AustraliaFootball Federation Australia is the governing body for the sport of football in Australia. Before 1 January 2005, it was known as the Australian Soccer Association , which succeeded Soccer Australia in this role in 2003...
(FFA), it was founded in 2004 following the folding of the
National Soccer LeagueThe National Soccer League is the former national association football competition in Australasia, overseen by Soccer Australia and later the Australian Soccer Association. The NSL spanned 28 seasons from its inception in 1977, until its demise in 2004...
and staged its inaugural season in 2005–06. It is sponsored by
Hyundai Motor Company AustraliaHyundai Motor Company is a Korean multinational automaker based in Seoul, South Korea which, along with Kia, comprises the Hyundai Kia Automotive Group, the world's fourth largest automaker as of 2009. As of 2011, it is the world's fastest growing automaker for two years running...
and
QantasQantas Airways Limited is the flag carrier of Australia. The name was originally "QANTAS", an initialism for "Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services". Nicknamed "The Flying Kangaroo", the airline is based in Sydney, with its main hub at Sydney Airport...
, and is officially known as the
Hyundai A-League. The league is contested by ten teams: nine located across
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and one from
New ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. Related leagues include a
National Youth LeagueThe A-League National Youth League is an Australian national football league run in parallel to the A-League. The aim of a league is to provide a pathway for young players and state league players to play regular high-level football, and allow reserve players from senior A-League teams to remain...
and the Women's Westfield
W-LeagueThe W-League is the preeminent women's semi-professional football league in Australia. Established in 2008, it is composed of eight teams - seven of them are affiliated with seven of the Australian clubs currently in the A-League, with the eighth team based in Canberra...
.
Pre-Season Cup
Prior to the 2009–10 season, a pre-season competition was held in August, as a precursor to the main season. In the Pre-Season Cup, the teams were evenly placed into two groups. Each team played the others in the group once over three rounds.
Beginning in 2006, an additional bonus round was then held, with each team playing a cross-over match with a team from a different group. In addition to the standard points (3 for a win, 1 for a draw), there were special bonus points on offer for the bonus round matches:
- 1 bonus point for 2 goals scored by a team,
- 2 bonus points for 3 goals scored by a team, or
- 3 bonus points for 4 or more goals scored by a team.
- 4 bonus points for scoring 5 goals by a player.
This format was edited for the 2007 competition. The bonus round was removed, and the bonus points system introduced into each of the first three rounds. All eight teams then entered a knock-out round, culminating in the final in late August.
The Pre-Season Cup was removed from 2009-10's A-League schedule in order to give the clubs more control over their own pre-season training.
Regular season
The regular season runs mainly during the Australian summer, from early October to February of the following year. The competition consists of 30 home-and-away rounds, with each team playing each other team three times – twice at one team's home stadium and once at the other's. The teams which are 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, or in the case of a
drawTo tie or draw is to finish a competition with identical or inconclusive results. The word "tie" is usually used in North America for sports such as American football. "Draw" is usually used in the United Kingdom, Ireland and the Commonwealth of Nations and it is usually used for sports such as...
, the teams receive one point each. At the end of the season, the teams are ranked firstly in terms of competition points accumulated, then
goal differenceIn sports such as ice hockey and association football, goal difference is often the first tiebreaker used to rank teams which finish a league competition with an equal number of points....
, total goals scored, head-to-head records between tying teams and finally the number of
cardsMisconduct in association football is any conduct by a player that is deemed by the referee to warrant a disciplinary sanction in accordance with Law 12 of the Laws of the Game. Misconduct may occur at any time, including when the ball is out of play, during half-time and before and after the...
each team has received. The club at the top of this ladder is crowned A-League Premiers, and as of the 2006–07 season, will be entered into the
AFC Champions LeagueThe AFC Champions League is the premier Asian club football competition hosted annually by Asian Football Confederation . The tournament is contested among the top thirty-two clubs from the top 10 Asian leagues, two of which must qualify through the playoffs...
.
At the completion of the regular season teams are ranked from one through to ten with the top six teams progressing 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 accumulated, the following criteria are applied, in order, until one of the teams can be determined as the higher ranked:
- Highest goal difference;
- Highest number of goals scored;
- Highest number of points accumulated in matches between the teams concerned;
- Highest goal difference in matches between the teams concerned;
- Highest number of goals scored in matches between the teams concerned;
- Lowest number of red cards accumulated;
- Lowest number of yellow cards accumulated;
- Toss of a coin.
Finals series
The top-six-ranked teams at the end of the regular season are entered into a finals series, where the top two ranked teams in the regular season compete over
two legsIn sport , a two-legged tie is a contest between two teams which comprises two matches or legs, with each team as the home team in one leg. The winning team is usually determined by aggregate score, the sum of the scores of the two legs...
(with ties decided by the
away goals ruleThe away goals rule is a method of breaking ties in association football and other sports when teams play each other twice, once at each team's home ground. By the away goals rule, the team that has scored more goals "away from home" will win if scores are otherwise equal...
, including extra time), the winner progressing straight to and hosting the Grand Final.
On the same weekend, the third and sixth-ranked teams play against each other; the same for the fourth and fifth-ranked teams. The winner of each of these matches plays against each other, the winner of which goes ahead to play in a Preliminary Final against the loser of the two-legged match between the top two teams. The winner of this match progresses to the Grand Final. As of the 2006–07 season, this team will also contest the
AFC Champions LeagueThe AFC Champions League is the premier Asian club football competition hosted annually by Asian Football Confederation . The tournament is contested among the top thirty-two clubs from the top 10 Asian leagues, two of which must qualify through the playoffs...
, although if the team that wins the Premiership goes through to the Grand Final then the other Grand Final competitor will be awarded the second spot in the competition, win or lose. In previous seasons the finals series had four teams, which was extended to accommodate for the increased number of clubs in the competition.
FFA Cup
Details and format of the
FFA CupThe FFA Cup is a proposed knock-out style cup which has been announced by Football Federation Australia that will bring together A-League clubs as well as local state sides to compete in a knock-out competition in which all state and territory football clubs will be allowed to enter the cup...
have been declared finalised and it will be a knock-out style cup. The FFA Cup has been announced to launch in March 2012 to January 2013 during the 2012-13 A-League season with games to be played midweek and the final to be held on Australia Day. All football clubs will be available to enter the cup and smaller teams will have to survive earlier knockout rounds before mixing with A-League clubs in the last-32 stage.
The winner of the cup is expected to gain qualification to the
AFC Champions LeagueThe AFC Champions League is the premier Asian club football competition hosted annually by Asian Football Confederation . The tournament is contested among the top thirty-two clubs from the top 10 Asian leagues, two of which must qualify through the playoffs...
. It is hoped that the cup will help engage local football fans in the community, subsequently boosting interest in the A-League.
Promotion
The A-League logo, designed by
Coast Design Sydney, is a three-dimensional sphere. The two-toned ochre colours represent the
sunThe Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields...
,
earthEarth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
and
desertA desert is a landscape or region that receives an extremely low amount of precipitation, less than enough to support growth of most plants. Most deserts have an average annual precipitation of less than...
while the 'glow' emanating from the centre of the logo depicts the playing season's Spring and Summer time span. The eight 'A' figures that make up the ball shape represent the eight foundation clubs.
At the start of the inaugural season, an 3 million dollar advertising campaign was launched, with the television and film advertisements produced by
Ridley ScottSir Ridley Scott is an English film director and producer. His most famous films include The Duellists , Alien , Blade Runner , Legend , Thelma & Louise , G. I...
's production company. The theme for the campaign was: "Football, but not as you know it".
A new television advertisement was created for the start of the 2007–08 season, which debuted on Foxtel's program, Total Football. It was filmed at Bob Jane Stadium in Melbourne. The theme of the current campaign is "90 minutes, 90 emotions". This promotional campaign continued into the 2008–09 season, along with music track "My People" from Australian act
The PresetsThe Presets are an Australian electronic duo formed in 2003, consisting of Julian Hamilton on vocals and keyboards, and Kim Moyes on drums and keyboards. They released their debut album Beams in 2005 to positive critical response. Their 2008 release Apocalypso debuted at number-one on the ARIA...
.
The A-League has been featured in the
FIFA seriesFIFA, also known as FIFA Football or FIFA Soccer, is a series of association football video games, released annually by Electronic Arts under the EA Sports label...
by
EA SPORTSEA Sports is a brand of Electronic Arts that creates and develops sports video games. Formerly a marketing gimmick of Electronic Arts, in which they tried to mimic real-life sports networks by calling themselves "EA Sports Network" with pictures or endorsements of real commentators such as John...
since the
2008FIFA 08 is the 2008 installment of EA Sports' series of football video games. Developed by EA Canada, it is published by Electronic Arts worldwide under the EA Sports label. It was released on all popular gaming formats in September 2007 in Europe, Australia, and Asia, and in October 2007 in North...
edition of the game, as well as the
Football Manager seriesFootball Manager is a series of football management simulation games developed by Sports Interactive and published by Sega. The game began its life in 1992 as Championship Manager; however, following the break-up of their partnership with original publishers Eidos Interactive, Sports Interactive...
by SI Games and the
Championship Manager seriesThe Championship Manager series is a series of British football-management simulation computer games, the first of which was released in 1992.The Championship Manager brand and game was conceived by two brothers: Paul and Oliver Collyer...
by
Beautiful Game StudiosBeautiful Game Studios is a computer game development studio based in London, England. The studio is an internal development team within Square Enix and was set up in late 2003 by Eidos Interactive to develop the Championship Manager series...
.
In 2008, 2009 and 2010 a Fox reality show,
Football SuperstarFootball Superstar is an Australian reality television series that airs on FOX8. It is hosted by Lee Furlong and Kris Smith. The show aims to find a new football star from male contestants aged 16 to 21...
, offered as a prize, to the winner, a contract with an A-League club. The clubs that have participated so far are
Sydney FCSydney FC is a professional football club based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia and competes in the country's premier football competition, the A-League...
,
Melbourne VictoryMelbourne Victory Football Club is an Australian professional football club based in Melbourne, Victoria, that plays in the A-League....
and Brisbane Roar
Current Clubs
There are currently nine clubs from
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and one
New ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
playing in the A-League. Only four of these clubs, ,
Brisbane Roar (as Queensland Roar)Queensland Lions Football Club is an football club based in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.-History:The club was founded in 1957 as Hollandia-Inala Soccer Club by Dutch immigrants. From the start they were based at grounds in the Brisbane suburb of Richlands, where they still play...
, Newcastle Jets, and , existed before the A-League was formed.
Unlike most European leagues, there is no system for
promotion and relegationIn many sports leagues around the world, promotion and relegation is a process that takes place at the end of each season. Through it, teams are transferred between divisions based on their performance that season...
of teams nor a national knockout cup competition along the lines of the
FA CupThe Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
. The A-League system thus shares some franchising elements with most other professional leagues in
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, as well as
Major League SoccerMajor League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation . The league is composed of 19 teams — 16 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada...
and other major American based sports leagues.
Wellington PhoenixWellington Phoenix Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wellington, New Zealand. The club competes in the Football Federation of Australia A-League. Ricki Herbert has been the coach since the club's inception to the A-League in July 2007. The current club captain is...
replaced the at the start of the
2007–08 seasonThe A-League 2007-08 season was the third season of the Australian A-League football competition, won by the Newcastle Jets. Football Federation Australia hoped to build on the success of the previous two seasons and on the interest generated by and playing in the 2007 AFC Champions League, and...
.
On March 1, 2011 the
FFAFootball Federation Australia is the governing body for the sport of football in Australia. Before 1 January 2005, it was known as the Australian Soccer Association , which succeeded Soccer Australia in this role in 2003...
officially announced that the licence held by franchise
North Queensland FuryNorth Queensland Fury FC were a professional football club based in Townsville, Queensland, Australia, which competed in the A-League. North Queensland played its home fixtures at Dairy Farmers Stadium. The club was closed on 1 March 2011, due to financial instability.-History:A Townsville bid was...
had been revoked due to financial reasons.
| Team |
City |
Stadium |
Founded |
Joined |
Head Coach |
Captain |
| Current A-League Clubs |
Adelaide UnitedAdelaide United Football Club is a professional football club based in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. It currently participates in the A-League as the sole team from the state of South Australia. Adelaide is one of the most successful clubs in the A-League. The club's home ground is...
|
 AdelaideAdelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
, SASouth Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
|
Hindmarsh StadiumHindmarsh Stadium is a rectangular stadium located in Adelaide, South Australia. It is the home of the Australian A-League team, Adelaide United....
|
2003 |
2005 |
 Rini CoolenRini Coolen is a former football defender from the Netherlands, who played for Go Ahead Eagles, Heracles Almelo, De Graafschap and AZ Alkmaar.-Biography:...
|
 Jon McKain |
| Brisbane Roar |
 BrisbaneBrisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
, QLDQueensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
|
Suncorp Stadium |
1957 |
2005 |
Ange PostecoglouAngelos "Ange" Postecoglou is a former Australian football player and manager of Brisbane Roar.-Club career:Postecoglou played 193 games from 1984 to 1993 for South Melbourne in the National Soccer League, where he was involved in their 1984 and 1990–91 titles, the latter as captain, before moving...
|
Matt Smith Matt Smith is an English-Australian professional football player, currently playing with the Brisbane Roar in the Hyundai A-League...
|
| Central Coast Mariners |
 GosfordGosford is a city located on the Central Coast of New South Wales, Australia, approximately 76 km north of the Sydney central business district...
, NSWNew South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
|
Bluetongue Stadium |
2004 |
2005 |
Graham ArnoldGraham James Arnold is a former coach of the Australian national football team. He was appointed to work as an assistant to Frank Farina in 2000. The two replaced Raul Blanco, who was the interim coach in charge after Terry Venables decided not to renew his contract with Soccer Australia after...
|
Alex WilkinsonAlexander Wilkinson is an Australian football player. He is currently plays for Central Coast Mariners in the A-League...
|
| Gold Coast United |
Gold CoastGold Coast is a coastal city of Australia located in South East Queensland, 94km south of the state capital Brisbane. With a population approximately 540,000 in 2010, it is the second most populous city in the state, the sixth most populous city in the country, and also the most populous...
, QLDQueensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
|
Skilled Park |
2008 |
2009 |
 Miron BleibergMiron Bleiberg is an Israeli-Australian football manager, currently the head coach and director of football operations at A-League club Gold Coast United.-Biography:...
|
Michael Thwaite Michael Errol Thwaite is an Australian football player from Cairns who plays for Gold Coast United.-Club career:His career began at Sydney University in the New South Wales Winter Super League...
|
| Melbourne Heart Melbourne Heart FC is an Australian professional football club based in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 2008, the club has competed in the A-League, the highest division of football in Australia, since its inaugural 2010–2011 season. It is the twelfth club to have played in the league...
|
 MelbourneMelbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, VICVictoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
|
AAMI Park The Melbourne Rectangular Stadium is an outdoor sports stadium on the site of Edwin Flack Field on Olympic Boulevard in the Sports and Entertainment Precinct, in inner Melbourne, Victoria, Australia....
|
2008 |
2010 |
John van 't SchipJohannes Nicolaas "John" van 't Schip is a former Dutch international footballer. He is the manager for the A-League team Melbourne Heart.- Early life :Born in Fort St...
|
 FredHelbert Frederico Carreiro da Silva, commonly known as Fred is a Brazilian footballer who currently plays for A-League club Melbourne Heart, and is also the team captain.-Brazil:...
|
| Melbourne Victory |
MelbourneMelbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, VICVictoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
|
AAMI Park The Melbourne Rectangular Stadium is an outdoor sports stadium on the site of Edwin Flack Field on Olympic Boulevard in the Sports and Entertainment Precinct, in inner Melbourne, Victoria, Australia....
& Etihad Stadium |
2004 |
2005 |
Mehmet Durakovic Mehmet Duraković is a retired Australian-Albanian soccer player and currently serving football manager. As of June 2011, he is the currently serving head manager of Melbourne Victory...
|
Adrian Leijer Adrian Leijer is an Australian football player who currently plays as a centre back for A-League team Melbourne Victory and is also the Captain of the side.-Early years:...
|
| Newcastle Jets |
NewcastleThe Newcastle metropolitan area is the second most populated area in the Australian state of New South Wales and includes most of the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie Local Government Areas...
, NSWNew South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
|
Ausgrid Stadium |
2000 |
2005 |
Gary van EgmondGary van Egmond is an Australian football manager of Dutch heritage who is currently the manager of Newcastle Jets in the A-League.-Playing career:Van Egmond began his playing career with APIA Leichhardt in 1982...
|
Jobe WheelhouseJobe Wheelhouse is an Australian football player. He currently plays as an attacking midfielder for the Australian A-League club Newcastle United Jets.-Club career:...
|
Perth GloryPerth Glory Football Club is a professional football club in Perth, Western Australia, Australia, competing in Australia's top football competition the A-League. Perth Glory is one of only three clubs to survive from the now defunct National Soccer League...
|
 PerthPerth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
, WAWestern Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
|
NIB Stadium |
1995 |
2005 |
 Ian Ferguson |
Jacob BurnsJacob Geoffrey Burns is an Australian football player. He currently plays for A-League club Perth Glory.-Club career:...
|
Sydney FCSydney FC is a professional football club based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia and competes in the country's premier football competition, the A-League...
|
SydneySydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, NSWNew South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
|
Sydney Football Stadium |
2004 |
2005 |
 Vítězslav LavičkaVítězslav Lavička is a Czech football manager and former player currently in charge of Australian A-League club Sydney FC.-Playing career:...
|
 Terry McFlynnTerence Martin "Terry" McFlynn is a football player from Swatragh, Northern Ireland. He plays as a central midfielder for the Australian A-League team Sydney FC. He is the current captain.-Club career:...
|
Wellington PhoenixWellington Phoenix Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wellington, New Zealand. The club competes in the Football Federation of Australia A-League. Ricki Herbert has been the coach since the club's inception to the A-League in July 2007. The current club captain is...
|
 WellingtonWellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
, NZLNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
|
Westpac StadiumWestpac Stadium, is a major sporting venue in Wellington, New Zealand. Due to its shape and silver coloured external walls, it is colloquially known as The Cake-Tin to the locals and other New Zealanders...
|
2007 |
2007 |
Ricki Herbert Ricki Lloyd Herbert, CNZM is a New Zealand former association football player who represented his country at the 1982 FIFA World Cup in Spain...
|
Andrew DuranteAndrew Durante is an Australian football player. He currently plays as a central defender and Captain for the New Zealand based A-League club Wellington Phoenix.- Newcastle Jets :...
|
| Team |
City |
Stadium |
Founded |
Joined |
Ceased Operations |
Last Head Coach |
Last Captain |
| Defunct Franchises |
New Zealand KnightsThis page details the history of the club. For information on seasons and results see New Zealand Knights seasons 2005-06 and 2006-07New Zealand Knights Football Club were the only professional football club in New Zealand before they became defunct...
|
AucklandThe Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
, NZLNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
|
North Harbour StadiumNorth Harbour Stadium is a stadium, situated in Albany, in North Shore City, in New Zealand. It was opened in 1997, after nearly a decade of discussion, planning and construction. Rugby union, football and rugby League are the only sports played on the main ground, as it is rectangular in shape....
|
1998 |
2005 |
2007 |
Ricki Herbert Ricki Lloyd Herbert, CNZM is a New Zealand former association football player who represented his country at the 1982 FIFA World Cup in Spain...
|
 Darren BazeleyDarren Shaun Bazeley is an English association football player who most recently played for Waitakere United of New Zealand. He played as either a right full back or right-sided defensive midfielder...
|
| North Queensland Fury North Queensland Fury FC were a professional football club based in Townsville, Queensland, Australia, which competed in the A-League. North Queensland played its home fixtures at Dairy Farmers Stadium. The club was closed on 1 March 2011, due to financial instability.-History:A Townsville bid was...
|
Townsville, QLDQueensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
|
Dairy Farmers Stadium |
2008 |
2009 |
2011 |
František Straka František Straka is a Czech former football player and manager.-Playing career:Straka played most notably for Sparta Prague. In 1988 he moved to Germany and spent the rest of his playing career there. He played for Czechoslovakia and was a participant in the 1990 FIFA World Cup...
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Ufuk Talay Ufuk Talay is an Australian football player who plays for Sydney United FC. Talay is suited to play in central midfield and is known for his good distribution and on-field vision.-Club career:...
|
Expansion
While making a relatively modest start in order to ensure future stability, both
Football Federation AustraliaFootball Federation Australia is the governing body for the sport of football in Australia. Before 1 January 2005, it was known as the Australian Soccer Association , which succeeded Soccer Australia in this role in 2003...
and the media have indicated significant interest in expanding the league. The eight foundation clubs had exclusivity clauses for their respective cities valid for five years, but this does not exclude teams from other areas. Some have questioned the logic in expanding the league so soon as many clubs are struggling to stay afloat and think by expanding they are only diluting the playing talent even further.
Before the introduction of the A-League, FFA chairman
Frank LowyFrank Lowy, AC is an Australian-Israeli businessman. He is a co-founder of the Westfield Group, operator of over 100 shopping centres in Australia, New Zealand, the United States and Great Britain...
speculated that he hoped to expand the league into other cities, mentioning
CanberraCanberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
,
HobartHobart is the state capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Founded in 1804 as a penal colony,Hobart is Australia's second oldest capital city after Sydney. In 2009, the city had a greater area population of approximately 212,019. A resident of Hobart is known as...
,
WollongongWollongong is a seaside city located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. It lies on the narrow coastal strip between the Illawarra Escarpment and the Pacific Ocean, 82 kilometres south of Sydney...
, Geelong, Bendigo, Cairns, Ballarat,
AlburyAlbury is a major regional city in New South Wales, Australia, located on the Hume Highway on the northern side of the Murray River. It is located wholly within the boundaries of the City of Albury Local Government Area...
,
WodongaWodonga is a small city on the Victorian side of the border with New South Wales, north-east of Melbourne, Australia. Adjacent to Wodonga across the border is the New South Wales city of Albury. Wodonga is located wholly within the boundaries of the City of Wodonga LGA...
,
LauncestonLaunceston is a city in the north of the state of Tasmania, Australia at the junction of the North Esk and South Esk rivers where they become the Tamar River. Launceston is the second largest city in Tasmania after the state capital Hobart...
,
ChristchurchChristchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...
,
AucklandThe Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
,
Sunshine CoastThe Sunshine Coast is an urban area in South East Queensland, north of the state capital of Brisbane on the Pacific Ocean coastline. Although it does not have a central business district, by population it ranks as the 10th largest metropolis in Australia and the third largest in...
and possibly
DarwinDarwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. Situated on the Timor Sea, Darwin has a population of 127,500, making it by far the largest and most populated city in the sparsely populated Northern Territory, but the least populous of all Australia's capital cities...
.
On 29 September 2009 West Sydney were given an A-League license for the 2011–12 season. On 2 October, the club was officially named
Sydney Rovers FCSydney Rovers Football Club was a proposed professional football club based in Western Sydney, New South Wales, Australia and the 12th official franchise in the A-League. The club was supposed to kick off in the 2011-2012 season....
. This was to be short lived as on the 10 December 2010 it was officially announced that
Sydney Rovers FCSydney Rovers Football Club was a proposed professional football club based in Western Sydney, New South Wales, Australia and the 12th official franchise in the A-League. The club was supposed to kick off in the 2011-2012 season....
would not be admitted to the competition and that the league administration would commence the search for a new Western Sydney Franchise. Consortiums from
WollongongSouth Coast Football is a New South Wales community based group bidding to enter a team in the Hyundai A-League for the 2010-11 season. The bid, led by local businessman Eddy De Gabriele, aims to represent a population of 500,000 in the South Coast, New South Wales region, taking in the Wollongong,...
, Tasmania and
CanberraA-League4Canberra is the working name for a proposed Canberra-based A-League association football club.-History:A Canberra based consortium led by TransACT CEO Ivan Slavich is determined to apply for and receive a license to compete in the A-League, commencing in the 2010-11 season...
are seeking to convince the FFA to instead award the 12th licence to their bids.
Squad and salary cap
An A-League squad must have between 20 and 23 players, with a maximum of 5 players from outside Australia (and New Zealand, in the case of Wellington Phoenix). The squad must also include at least three under-20 players and may have one additional player from the
Asian Football ConfederationThe Asian Football Confederation is the governing body of association football in Asia. It has 46 member countries, mostly located on the Asian continent. However, due to the disputed boundary of Europe and Asia, nations such as Russia and Turkey which are located mostly in geographic Asia are...
.
For the 2010-11 season, each club has a
salary capIn professional sports, a salary cap is a cartel agreement between teams that places a limit on the amount of money that can be spent on player salaries. The limit exists as a per-player limit or a total limit for the team's roster, or both...
of 2.35 million (excluding Marquee, guest and replacement players) on top of Additional Services Agreements (ASA's) that can be worth up to 275,000 – much less than the millions of dollars a year that individual star players earn in Europe's top football leagues. The average annual salary for an A-league player excluding Marquee players is A$106,608 and the minimum salary is A$46,215.
| Club |
Visa 1 |
Visa 2 |
Visa 3 |
Visa 4 |
Visa 5 |
Non-Visa Foreign |
 |
CássioCássio José de Abreu Oliveira known as Cássio is a Brazilian professional football player who currently plays for Adelaide United in the Australian A-League.-Biography:...
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Sergio van Dijk |
 Yevhen LevchenkoYevhen Viktorovych Levchenko also known as Evgeniy Levchenko is an Ukrainian footballer who currently plays for A-League side Adelaide United.-Club career:...
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 Francisco UsúcarFrancisco "Pancho" Usúcar, is a Uruguayan footballer who plays for Australian A-League club Adelaide United.-Adelaide United:...
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None |
 Ricardo Da SilvaRicardo da Silva is a Portuguese-born Australian footballer. He currently plays as an attacking midfielder for A-League club Adelaide United.-Club career:...
1 |
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 Besart BerishaBesart Berisha is an Albanian footballer who plays for Brisbane Roar in the A-League and internationally as a striker for the Albania national football team.-Youth and Hamburger SV:...
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 Sayed Mohamed AdnanSayed Mohamed Adnan is a Bahrani footballer currently playing for the Brisbane Roar in A-League. He is known for joining up in attacks during open play to help score using his height advantage.-Club career:...
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HenriqueHenrique De Andrade Silva is a Brazilian footballer currently playing for Hyundai A-League club Brisbane Roar. He is nicknamed the Slippery Fish.-Biography:...
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 Issey Nakajima-Farran |
 Thomas BroichThomas Broich is a German football player with Brisbane Roar in the Australian A-League as an attacking midfielder. A documentary about Thomas Broich, titled "Tom meets Zizou" was released in 2011, after 9 years in the making....
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None |
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Patrick Zwaanswijk Patrick Zwaanswijk is a Dutch professional footballer currently playing for Central Coast Mariners as a central defender.-Club career:Zwaanswijk played for 11 seasons in the Dutch Eredivisie including 5 years with NAC Breda....
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Michael McGlinchey Michael Ryan McGlinchey is an association footballer currently playing for A-League club Central Coast Mariners....
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None |
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 John HutchinsonJohn Hutchinson is a Maltese-Australian football player. He currently plays as a central midfielder for the Australian A-League club Central Coast Mariners...
2 |
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RobsonRobson Alves da Silva, known as Robson, , is a Brazilian football player, currently under contract with A-League expansion club, Gold Coast United.-Club career:...
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 Adama Traore |
Maceo Rigters Maceo Rigters is a Dutch footballer, who currently plays for Gold Coast United in the Australian A-League. His previous clubs include Heerenveen, Dordrecht, NAC Breda and Blackburn Rovers...
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Paul Beekmans Paul Beekmans is a Dutch footballer who currently plays for Gold Coast United.-FC Den Bosch:Beekmans played in 195 games for FC Den Bosch, from 2002 until 2008 in the Eredivisie and Eerste Divisie and scored 23 goals.-SC Cambuur:...
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Peter Jungschläger Peter Jungschläger is a Dutch footballer who plays as a midfielder for A-League club Gold Coast United.He previously played for VVV-Venlo, RBC Roosendaal and ADO Den Haag....
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Glen MossGlen Moss is a New Zealand association football goalkeeper who currently plays for A-League club Gold Coast United, and has represented New Zealand at international level.-Return to the A-League:...
2
 Samuel Tesfagabr1
Ambesager Yosief1
 Ante RožićAnte Rožić is an Australiafootballer of Croatian footballer descent who currently plays for Gold Coast United in the Australian A-League-Early life:...
1
Jonas SalleyGyawe Jonas Salley is an Australian football midfielder who plays for Gold Coast United in the Hyundai A-League, on loan from Chengdu Blades F.C. in the Chinese Super League.-Club career:...
1,3 |
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 Jonatan Germano |
Alex Terra |
FredHelbert Frederico Carreiro da Silva, commonly known as Fred is a Brazilian footballer who currently plays for A-League club Melbourne Heart, and is also the team captain.-Brazil:...
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Maycon Maycon Carvalho Inez is an Brazilian footbal player who currently plays for Melbourne Heart in the A-League. He is known for his pace and ability to position himself inside the 18-yard box.-Career:...
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Rutger Worm Rutger Worm is a Dutch footballer who currently plays for Melbourne Heart in the A-League.-NEC:Rutger started his career in the youth program, Quick 1888, in Nijmegen. He subsequently moved to the Vitesse youth squad in Arnhem for two years before ending up at the NEC football academy in 2000...
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None |
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Fabio Fabio Alves Macedo commonly known as Fabio, is a Brazilian footballer who currently plays for A-League club Melbourne Victory.-Club Career:...
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 Carlos Hernández |
Jean Carlos Solórzano Jean Carlos Solórzano Madrigal is a Costa Rican footballer who plays for Melbourne Victory in the Australian A-League, on loan from LD Alajuelense. He plays as a forward.-Club career:...
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Marco Rojas Marco Rodrigo Rojas is a New Zealand association football player who plays as a midfielder for A-League team Melbourne Victory, and for the New Zealand national team.-Wellington Phoenix:...
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None |
 Grant BrebnerGrant Ian Brebner is a Scottish association football player, who currently plays for Australian A-League side Melbourne Victory. Born in Edinburgh, Brebner joined Manchester United as a 16-year-old in 1994, and although he was a member of the club's successful youth side, he failed to break into...
1 |
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Tiago Tiago Coelho Branco Calvano , commonly known as Tiago, is a Brazilian footballer who currently plays for Newcastle Jets in the Hyundai A-League.-Career:...
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 Michael BridgesMichael Bridges is an English football striker who currently plays for A-League club, Newcastle Jets. Bridge has previously played over 200 Premier League games.-Sunderland:...
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Francis Jeffers Francis Jeffers is an English football striker who currently plays for Newcastle United Jets in the A-League. In his career Jeffers has played for Barclays Premier League teams Everton and Arsenal...
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 Byun Sung-HwanByun Sung-Hwan is a South Korean footballer player who plays for the A-League club Newcastle Jets.-Sydney FC:...
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Jeremy BrockieJeremy Russell Brockie is a New Zealand football player who was recently signed by the Newcastle Jets in the Hyundai A-League...
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 Ali Abbas Al-Hilfi1 |
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Billy Mehmet Billy Mehmet is an Irish professional football player who plays for Australian A-League club Perth Glory. Born in England, Mehmet is of part English, Irish and Turkish Cypriot descent and has played for the Republic of Ireland U21 team.Mehmet is the youngest ever player to have played in a first...
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Liam MillerWilliam Peter "Liam" Miller is an Irish footballer who plays for Perth Glory in the A-League. Miller began his career with Celtic; at an early stage after injury he was loaned to Aarhus in 2001, making 18 appearances for the Danish Superliga club. He returned to Celtic Park and broke into the...
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Bas van den Brink Bas Van den Brink is a Dutch football player who currently plays for Perth Glory in the Hyundai A-League.-Club career:On 14 January 2009, he was the 21st player signed to Gold Coast United's inaugural squad...
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Victor Sikora Victor Tadeusz Sikora is a Dutch football player who plays for Perth Glory in the Australian A-League.-Biography:His hobbies include golf and deep sea fishing....
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Steven McGarry Steven McGarry is currently signed by A-League club Perth Glory FC.McGarry, a midfielder who can also play as a striker, previously played for St Mirren and Ross County in Scotland and also had a loan spell at Boston United in England during his time with St Mirren...
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Andrezinho André Luiz Rodrigues Lopes, or simply Andrezinho , is a Brazilian midfielder who currently plays for Perth Glory in the A-League.-Perth Glory:...
3
Shane SmeltzShane Edward Smeltz is a New Zealand professional association football player. He plays as a striker for Perth Glory FC.-Club career:...
2 |
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Bruno Cazarine Bruno Cazarine Constantin, also known as Bruno Cazarine , is a Brazilian footballer that plays for Australian A-League club Sydney FC...
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 Hirofumi Moriyasuis an American-born professional footballer. He currently plays for Sydney FC in the A-League. Although being born in the U.S., Moriyasu grew up in Japan.-Club career:...
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Pascal Bosschaart Pascal Bosschaart is a Dutch footballer who is playing for A-League club Sydney FC. Prior to this, he played and captained Dutch side ADO Den Haag which played in the Eredivisie...
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 Karol KiselKarol Kisel is a Slovak footballer who is currently playing for Sydney FC in the Australian A-League. He is the Vice-Captain of Sydney.-Club career:...
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 Juho MäkeläJuho Mäkelä is a Finnish footballer who plays for Sydney FC in A-League. He is a striker especially known for his pace.-Early career:...
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Terry McFlynnTerence Martin "Terry" McFlynn is a football player from Swatragh, Northern Ireland. He plays as a central midfielder for the Australian A-League team Sydney FC. He is the current captain.-Club career:...
1 |
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 Paul IfillPaul Everton Ifill is a Barbadian British footballer who plays for Wellington Phoenix in the Australian A-League.-Club career:...
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Chris Greenacre Chris Greenacre is an English footballer who plays as a striker for Wellington Phoenix in the A-League.-Club career:...
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 Dani Sánchez |
 Tony WarnerAnthony Randolph "Tony" Warner is a Trinidad and Tobago international football goalkeeper who currently plays for the Wellington Phoenix.-Footballing career:...
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None |
Daniel Daniel Lins Côrtes , nicknamed Daniel, is a Brazilian-born New Zealand football player who currently plays for Wellington Phoenix in the Australian A-League.-Club career:...
1
Emmanuel MuscatEmmanuel "Manny" Muscat is an Australian born Maltese football player who usually plays as a Defensive Midfielder or Right Back for in the A-League.-Early career:...
2
 Alex SmithAlex Smith is an English-American footballer who plays for Wellington Phoenix in the A-League. He was briefly contracted to Gold Coast United, however was released pre-season without making a single appearance for the club. He plays as a striker.-College football:Smith was born in Windsor,...
3 |
These players do not fill a Visa position:
1Those players who were born and started their professional career abroad but have since gained Australian Residency (and New Zealand Residency, in the case of Wellington Phoenix);
2Australian residents (and New Zealand residents, in the case of Wellington Phoenix) who have chosen to represent another national team;
3Injury Replacement Players;
4Guest Players (eligible to play a maximum of ten games).
Marquee player
In order to combat fears that the salary cap would reduce the capacity of the clubs to attract crowds through big-name players, the league allows each team to have one "marquee" player, whose salary is exempt from the salary cap. Arguably the best-known example of a marquee player in the A-League was the prominent former
FA Premier LeagueThe Premier League is an English professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the English football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with The Football League. The Premier...
player
Dwight YorkeDwight Eversley Yorke is a Trinidad and Tobago former football player. He played for Aston Villa for most of his career, followed by stints with Manchester United, Blackburn Rovers, Birmingham City, Sydney FC and Sunderland...
, who played for
Sydney FCSydney FC is a professional football club based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia and competes in the country's premier football competition, the A-League...
in the inaugural season. From the 2008–09 season, A-League clubs may have a Junior Marquee player who is under the age of 23. The Junior Marquee's wages can be subsidised with A$150,000 outside the salary cap. On 19 April 2010 the A-League announced that in addition to marquee players and junior marquee, the 2010-11 season would also allow for an Australian marquee player.
| Club |
Australian Marquee |
International Marquee |
Junior Marquee player |
Captain |
Vice-Captain |
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Dario Vidošić Dario Vidošić is an Australian football player who currently plays for A-League club Adelaide United.- Club career :- Early life :...
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Sergio van DijkSerginho "Sergio" van Dijk is a Dutch-born Indonesian footballer player, who currently plays for Adelaide United in the A-League...
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None |
Jon McKain |
Eugene GalekovićEugen-Josip "Eugene" Galeković is an Australian football player who currently plays as a goalkeeper for Adelaide United in the A-League and internationally for Australia.-Club career:...
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None |
None |
Matt Smith Matt Smith is an English-Australian professional football player, currently playing with the Brisbane Roar in the Hyundai A-League...
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Shane Stefanutto Shane Stefanutto is an Australian football defender who plays for .-Club career:Stefanutto trained at the Queensland Academy of Sport before playing for the Brisbane Strikers in the defunct National Soccer League from 1998–2004, before transferring Lillestrøm S.K. in Norway...
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Oliver BozanicOliver John Bozanic is an Australian football player who currently plays for Central Coast Mariners in the Australian A-League...
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Alex WilkinsonAlexander Wilkinson is an Australian football player. He is currently plays for Central Coast Mariners in the A-League...
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John HutchinsonJohn Hutchinson is a Maltese-Australian football player. He currently plays as a central midfielder for the Australian A-League club Central Coast Mariners...
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None |
Tahj Minniecon Tahj James Rodney Minniecon is an Indigenous Australian football striker who plays for in the A-League. He is known for his speed around the penalty box.-Early life:...
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Michael Thwaite Michael Errol Thwaite is an Australian football player from Cairns who plays for Gold Coast United.-Club career:His career began at Sydney University in the New South Wales Winter Super League...
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Glen MossGlen Moss is a New Zealand association football goalkeeper who currently plays for A-League club Gold Coast United, and has represented New Zealand at international level.-Return to the A-League:...
Paul BeekmansPaul Beekmans is a Dutch footballer who currently plays for Gold Coast United.-FC Den Bosch:Beekmans played in 195 games for FC Den Bosch, from 2002 until 2008 in the Eredivisie and Eerste Divisie and scored 23 goals.-SC Cambuur:...
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None |
FredHelbert Frederico Carreiro da Silva, commonly known as Fred is a Brazilian footballer who currently plays for A-League club Melbourne Heart, and is also the team captain.-Brazil:...
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None |
FredHelbert Frederico Carreiro da Silva, commonly known as Fred is a Brazilian footballer who currently plays for A-League club Melbourne Heart, and is also the team captain.-Brazil:...
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Matt Thompson |
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Archie ThompsonArchibald Gerald Thompson is a New Zealand-born Australian professional football player, currently playing for Melbourne Victory in the Hyundai A-League, where he holds the League all time scoring record...
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Harry KewellHarold "Harry" Kewell is an Australian professional football midfielder who plays for Melbourne Victory in the A-League. Internationally he has received 55 caps, and scored 16 goals, while playing for the Australian national team...
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None |
Adrian Leijer Adrian Leijer is an Australian football player who currently plays as a centre back for A-League team Melbourne Victory and is also the Captain of the side.-Early years:...
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Grant Brebner Grant Ian Brebner is a Scottish association football player, who currently plays for Australian A-League side Melbourne Victory. Born in Edinburgh, Brebner joined Manchester United as a 16-year-old in 1994, and although he was a member of the club's successful youth side, he failed to break into...
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Jason CulinaJason Culina is an Australian footballer who plays for the Australia national football team.- Club career :Culina started off with Sydney United under his father, Branko, before moving on to Ajax where he struggled in the reserves. Only after moving to FC Twente did Culina begin to shine at the...
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None |
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Jobe WheelhouseJobe Wheelhouse is an Australian football player. He currently plays as an attacking midfielder for the Australian A-League club Newcastle United Jets.-Club career:...
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Kasey Wehrman Kasey Wehrman is an Australian football midfielder who currently plays for the Newcastle Jets in Australia's Hyundai A-League. Wehrman is an Indigenous Australian...
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Mile SterjovskiMile Sterjovski is an Australian football player, who currently plays for Perth Glory and played for the Australian national team from 2000 to 2010, before he retired from international football after his non-selection for the 2010 FIFA World Cup...
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Shane SmeltzShane Edward Smeltz is a New Zealand professional association football player. He plays as a striker for Perth Glory FC.-Club career:...
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None |
Jacob BurnsJacob Geoffrey Burns is an Australian football player. He currently plays for A-League club Perth Glory.-Club career:...
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Chris CoyneChristopher "Chris" Coyne is an Australian professional football player who currently plays for Perth Glory FC and the Australian national football team as a centre back.-Club career:...
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Nick Carle Nicholas Alberto "Nick" Carle is an Australian football player who currently plays as an attacking midfielder for Sydney FC.- Club career :...
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Brett Emerton Brett Michael Emerton is an Australian football player who plays for Sydney FC and the Australia national team...
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Terry Antonis Terry Antonis is an Australian football player who currently plays for A-League team Sydney FC.-Early life:...
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Terry McFlynnTerence Martin "Terry" McFlynn is a football player from Swatragh, Northern Ireland. He plays as a central midfielder for the Australian A-League team Sydney FC. He is the current captain.-Club career:...
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Brett Emerton Brett Michael Emerton is an Australian football player who plays for Sydney FC and the Australia national team...
Karol KiselKarol Kisel is a Slovak footballer who is currently playing for Sydney FC in the Australian A-League. He is the Vice-Captain of Sydney.-Club career:...
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Andrew DuranteAndrew Durante is an Australian football player. He currently plays as a central defender and Captain for the New Zealand based A-League club Wellington Phoenix.- Newcastle Jets :...
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Tim Brown |
Youth league
Before the
A-League 2008-09The 2008–09 A-League season was the fourth season of the Australasian A-League association football competition. Two new clubs, North Queensland Thunder and Gold Coast Galaxy had received tentative licences from the FFA but these were revoked for the 2008–09 season on 12 March 2008. Expansion...
season, a national youth league was set up in conjunction with the A-League in order to continue to blood young Australian talent into the league as well as into the Australian national team and its affiliates such as the under 17, under 20 and under 23 teams. The league's inaugural season was made up of seven teams, each linked to the corresponding Australian club in the A-League (excluding ) and had strong links to players training at the
Australian Institute of SportThe Australian Institute of Sport is a sports training institution in Australia with world class facilities and support services. The Institute's headquarters is situated in Canberra, the capital city of Australia. The 66.0 hectare site campus is in the northern suburb of Bruce, but some of the...
(AIS). Some changes were implemented for the 2009–10 season, including the addition of the and a team from the AIS. Wellington Phoenix does not have a team in the youth league.
The original format of the youth league was similar to the previous A-league, made up of 21 rounds (18 games each plus three byes) corresponding with the A-League fixtures and occasionally used as
curtain raiserA curtain raiser is a performance, stage act, show, actor or performer that opens a show for the main attraction. The term is derived from the act of raising the stage curtain...
s. The new format has 27 rounds, however each team has three byes over the season.
Stadiums
Primary venues used in the A-League:
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| Suncorp Stadium |
Sydney Football Stadium |
Westpac StadiumWestpac Stadium, is a major sporting venue in Wellington, New Zealand. Due to its shape and silver coloured external walls, it is colloquially known as The Cake-Tin to the locals and other New Zealanders...
|
Ausgrid Stadium |
AAMI Park The Melbourne Rectangular Stadium is an outdoor sports stadium on the site of Edwin Flack Field on Olympic Boulevard in the Sports and Entertainment Precinct, in inner Melbourne, Victoria, Australia....
|
| Capacity: 52,500 |
Capacity: 45,500 |
Capacity: 36,000 |
Capacity: 33,000 |
Capacity: 30,050 |
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| Skilled Park |
nib Stadium |
Bluetongue Stadium |
Hindmarsh StadiumHindmarsh Stadium is a rectangular stadium located in Adelaide, South Australia. It is the home of the Australian A-League team, Adelaide United....
|
| Capacity: 27,400 |
Capacity: 20,500 |
Capacity: 20,119 |
Capacity: 17,000 |
.jpg) |
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Other venues used by A-League clubs include:
| Stadium | Location | Capacity | Christchurch Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...
, NZ
| 38,628 |
Used by for two A-League matches against on 30 January and 5 December 2010 |
| Adelaide Oval The Adelaide Oval is a sports ground in Adelaide, South Australia, located in the parklands between the Central Business District and North Adelaide...
|
Adelaide Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
, SA |
40,000 |
Used by for three A-League matches against on 28 December 2007, 3 January 2009 and 29 December 2010 and for an A-League match against on 11 February 2011 |
Arena ManawatuArena Manawatu is the current name of the 180,000 square metre publicly owned recreational complex just west of the Palmerston North city centre in the Manawatu-Wanganui region of New Zealand.It has three linked indoor stadiums, with movable tiered seating...
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Palmerston NorthPalmerston North is the main city of the Manawatu-Wanganui region of the North Island of New Zealand. It is an inland city with a population of and is the country's seventh largest city and eighth largest urban area. Palmerston North is located in the eastern Manawatu Plains near the north bank...
, NZ |
18,000 |
Used by for an A-League match against on 12 December 2009 |
| Aurora Stadium |
LauncestonLaunceston is a city in the north of the state of Tasmania, Australia at the junction of the North Esk and South Esk rivers where they become the Tamar River. Launceston is the second largest city in Tasmania after the state capital Hobart...
, TAS |
20,000 |
Set to host a Regional Round fixture between and on 1 February 2012 |
| Campbelltown Stadium Campbelltown Stadium, formerly Orana Park and Campbelltown Sports Ground, is a rugby league stadium in Campbelltown, New South Wales, Australia. It is the full time home ground for the Western Suburbs Magpies District Rugby League Football Club and is one of three home grounds for the Wests Tigers...
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SydneySydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, NSW |
21,000 |
Set to host a Regional Round fixture between and on 7 December 2011 |
Canberra StadiumCanberra Stadium is a facility primarily used for rugby league and rugby union games, located adjacent to the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra, the capital of Australia...
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CanberraCanberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
, ACT |
25,011 |
Used by for an A-League match against on 4 September 2009 and again for an A-League match against on 31 October 2009 |
| Carrington Park Carrington Park is a rugby and football stadium in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia- Football:Carrington Park is planned to host an A-League Regional Round clash between and on the 25th of January, 2012....
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Bathurst-CBD and suburbs:Bathurst's CBD is located on William, George, Howick, Russell, and Durham Streets. The CBD is approximately 25 hectares and surrounds two city blocks. Within this block layout is banking, government services, shopping centres, retail shops, a park* and monuments...
, NSW |
13,000 |
Set to host a Regional Round fixture between and on 25 January 2012 |
| Docklands Stadium |
MelbourneMelbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, VIC |
53,359 |
Used by for eight matches during 2006–07 season, then served as team's permanent home venue for three following seasons. In 2010–11 season The 2010–11 A-League season is the sixth season of the Australian football championship since its establishment in 2004. The home and away season began on 5 August 2010 and concluded on 13 February 2011. The addition of brought the total number of teams to 11...
it was used for five matches, and five more games are scheduled for 2011–12 seasonThe A-League's 2011–12 season is the seventh season of the Australasian A-League football competition since its establishment in 2004. At the end of the previous season, the North Queensland Fury were cut from the competition by the governing body, Football Federation Australia, due to financial...
. |
Dairy Farmers StadiumThe Willows Sports Complex, currently known as Dairy Farmers Stadium due to sponsorship rights, is a grass football stadium situated in Townsville, Queensland, Australia. It has historically been used mainly for rugby league, and is the home ground of the National Rugby League club the North...
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Townsville, QLD |
26,500 |
Used by in the 2009–10 and 2010–11 The 2010–11 A-League season is the sixth season of the Australian football championship since its establishment in 2004. The home and away season began on 5 August 2010 and concluded on 13 February 2011. The addition of brought the total number of teams to 11...
seasons |
Eden ParkEden Park is the biggest stadium in Auckland, New Zealand. It is used primarily for rugby union in winter and cricket in summer . The ground also occasionally hostts rugby league matches. To accommodate all three sports, the cricket pitch is removable...
|
AucklandThe Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
, NZ |
50,000 |
Used by for an A-League match against on 19 November 2011 |
| Falcons Park LaTrobe City Stadium, previously known as Mobil Park, is a football stadium in Morwell, Victoria, Australia. It is mainly used for football and was the home ground for the now defunct Gippsland Falcons during their tenure in the also defunct National Soccer League. The stadium has a capacity of...
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Morwell -Transport:The main form of transport in Morwell is the automobile. The Princes Freeway now bypasses the town to the south while the old Princes Highway which once passed through east-west through its centre is now Princes Drive and Commercial Road. The highway connects Morwell with other...
, VIC |
12,000 |
Set to host a Regional Round fixture between and on 4 December 2011 |
| Forsyth Barr Stadium |
Dunedin Dunedin is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the Otago Region. It is considered to be one of the four main urban centres of New Zealand for historic, cultural, and geographic reasons. Dunedin was the largest city by territorial land area until...
, NZ |
30,748 |
Set to host a Regional Round fixture between and on 14 December 2011 |
| Jubilee Oval |
SydneySydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, NSW |
22,000 |
To be used by for an A-League match against on 4 December 2011. |
North Harbour StadiumNorth Harbour Stadium is a stadium, situated in Albany, in North Shore City, in New Zealand. It was opened in 1997, after nearly a decade of discussion, planning and construction. Rugby union, football and rugby League are the only sports played on the main ground, as it is rectangular in shape....
|
Albany Albany is a northern suburb of Auckland, one of the several cities in northern New Zealand. The name derives from Alba and its Latinisation. It is located to the north of the Waitemata Harbour, 15 kilometres northwest of the Auckland city centre. The suburb is in the Albany ward, one of the...
, NZ |
25,000 |
Used by in the 2005–06 and 2006–07 seasons |
Olympic Park StadiumOlympic Park Stadium was a multi-purpose outdoor stadium located on Olympic Boulevard in inner Melbourne. The stadium was built as an athletics training venue for the 1956 Olympics, a short distance from the MCG, which served as the Olympic Stadium...
|
Melbourne, VIC |
18,500 |
Used by in the 2005–06 season and part of the 2006–07 season |
| Parramatta Stadium Parramatta Stadium is a sports stadium situated in Parramatta, New South Wales, Australia.The stadium is used primarily as the home ground of Australian National Rugby League club the Parramatta Eels...
|
SydneySydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, NSW |
21,487 |
Used by for an AFC Champions League The AFC Champions League is the premier Asian club football competition hosted annually by Asian Football Confederation . The tournament is contested among the top thirty-two clubs from the top 10 Asian leagues, two of which must qualify through the playoffs...
game on 25 April 2007 and in two A-League matches against on 7 February and 21 November 2010. |
| Port Macquarie Regional Stadium The Port Macquarie Regional Stadium was constructed in 1992 with funding assistance by NSW Sport & Recreation, NSW Country Rugby League and Hastings Council, making the venue become a primary location of rugby league in the New South Wales' North Coast region....
|
Port Macquarie, NSW |
10,000 |
Used by for an A-League match against on 31 October 2010 (as the emergency replacement venue) |
Notes:
Crowds
Average crowds for the regular season are listed below. These figures do not include finals, international friendlies or AFC Champions League matches.
| Team |
Crowd average |
| 2005–06 |
2006–07 |
2007–08 |
2008–09 |
2009–10 |
2010–11 The 2010–11 A-League season is the sixth season of the Australian football championship since its establishment in 2004. The home and away season began on 5 August 2010 and concluded on 13 February 2011. The addition of brought the total number of teams to 11...
|
2011–12 The A-League's 2011–12 season is the seventh season of the Australasian A-League football competition since its establishment in 2004. At the end of the previous season, the North Queensland Fury were cut from the competition by the governing body, Football Federation Australia, due to financial...
|
| |
13,684 |
12,162 |
12,697 |
11,712 |
10,765 |
11,552 |
10,374 |
| |
14,785 |
16,465 |
16,951 |
12,995 |
8,652 |
9,279 |
14,884 |
| |
7,899 |
9,828 |
12,738 |
10,465 |
7,426 |
7,713 |
8,688 |
| |
– |
– |
– |
– |
5,392 |
3,434 |
3,697 |
| |
– |
– |
– |
– |
– |
8,312 |
6,270 |
| |
14,158 |
27,728 |
26,064 |
24,516 |
21,105 |
15,234 |
27,881 |
| |
8,912 |
11,442 |
13,177 |
9,729 |
6,340 |
8,429 |
13,111 |
| |
3,909 |
3,0141 |
– |
– |
– |
– |
– |
 |
– |
– |
– |
– |
6,723 |
4,245 |
– |
| |
9,734 |
7,671 |
7,606 |
7,942 |
9,209 |
8,488 |
8,932 |
| |
16,669 |
14,999 |
16,382 |
12,380 |
12,987 |
7,656 |
13,596 |
| |
– |
–1 |
11,684 |
7,193 |
8,965 |
7,981 |
9,694 |
| Whole season |
11,281 |
12,985 |
14,608 |
12,181 |
9,831 |
8,393 |
12,472 |
1New Zealand Knights' A-league licence was taken away and awarded to the new Wellington Phoenix franchise after 2006–07 season.
Referees
The A-League also features some of Australia and New Zealand's top match officials. Referees include:
| A Panel Referees: |
B Panel Referees: |
Chris BeathChris Beath is an Australian football referee in the A-League.He has refereed at the National Youth Championships in 2003 and in 2004.Beath was the referee of the tournament at the 2002 Kanga Cup....
, FIFA
Matthew BreezeMatthew Christopher Breeze is an Australian association football referee. He is also a barrister and a former police prosecutor.-Domestic career:He officiates in the Australian A-League football competition....
, FIFA/AFC
Strebre DelovskiStrebre Delovski is an Australian association football referee in the A-League.He previously officiated in the Illawarra Premier League and during the A-League off-season has been refereeing in the NSW Premier League competition...
, FIFA
Peter GreenPeter Daniel Green is a football referee in the Australian A-League. He has been refereeing in the A-League since 2002. Green was awarded a FIFA badge in 2006 and is now eligible to referee international matches...
, FIFA/AFC
Peter O'LearyPeter O'Leary is a New Zealand Association football referee, previously of Wellington but now residing and working in Whangarei. He operates in the Australian A-League and the New Zealand Football Championship, and his other occupation is as a secondary school biology teacher.-Career:He first took...
, FIFA
Gerard ParsonsGerard Parsons is an Australian association football referee currently officiating in the Australian A-League and NSW Premier League.-History:Parsons has officiated many games in the NSW Premier League....
 Ben WilliamsBenjamin Jon Williams , better known as Ben Williams, is an Australian football referee. He is also a physical education teacher at Belconnen High School in Hawker, Canberra....
, FIFA/AFC
|
Kurt AmsKurt Ams is a Australian association football referee who currently officiates in the A-League.-History:Ams was selected to referee his first ever A-League game during the 2010-11 A-League season, in the Round 4 clash between Melbourne Heart and Perth Glory....
Chris BoyleChris Boyle is an association football Referee who currently referees in the Australian A-League.-History:...
Kevin DochertyKevin Docherty, , is a Australian association football referee who currently officiates in the Australian A-League.-History:...
Jarred Gillett
Matthew GillettMatthew Gillett is an Australian association football referee currently officiating in the Australian A-League. He was selected to officiate selected football matches at the 2007 Australian Youth Olympic Festival.-History:...
Kris Griffiths-JonesKris Griffiths-Jones is an Australian association football referee who currently officiates NSW Premier League matches. He made his debut in the Hyundai A-League for the first time in the 2010-11 A-League season.-History:...
Allan Milliner
Ryan ShepheardRyan Shepheard is an Australian association football referee who currently officiates in the A-League. He holds a FIFA Futsal badge.-History:...
Jamie Cross, FIFA/A-League 4th Official
Matthew Conger, A-League 4th Official |
| A Panel Assistant Referees |
B Panel Assistant Referees |
Rodney Allen, FIFA/AFC
Hakan Anaz, FIFA/AFC
Brent Best, FIFA
Luke Brennan, FIFA
Paul Cetrangolo
Matthew Cheeseman
Matthew CreamMatthew Cream is an Australian football referee. He is the Referee Development Officer in South Australia.Cream has been a FIFA international assistant referee since 2000. He will accompany Matthew Breeze and fellow assistant referee Ben Wilson to the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup in South Africa...
, FIFA/AFC
Daniel Dewhurst
Scott Edeling
Shaun Evans
Joe Fusari, FIFA
Alex Glasgow, FIFA
Daniel Goodwin
Jan Hintz, FIFA
Sarah HoSarah May Yee Ho is an Australian association football referee. Ho is an Assistant Referee in both the Australian men's and women's national leagues, the A-League and the W-League....
, FIFA
Brad Hobson, FIFA
Glen Lochrie, FIFA
Mark Rule, FIFA
Denis Silk, FIFA/AFC
Ben Wilson, FIFA/AFC
Murray Wilson
|
Ashley Beecham
Graham Buzzi
Allyson Flynn, FIFA
Ryan Gallagher
Nathan Macdonald
James Nicolopoulos
Michael Nugus
Josh Manella
David Walsh
Curtis Wordsworth
|
Champions and premiers
The club that accumulates the most points during the regular season receives the title of Premiers. Media reports sometimes erroneously refer to the Premiers as the minor premiers, a term used in other football codes in Australia. The team that wins the
Grand FinalGrand Final is a predominantly Australian sport term used to describe a match that decides a league champion.It originated in Victoria and South Australia and has become specifically significant Australian culture...
receives the title of Champions.
No team has ever successfully defended the Premiership or Championship.
See also the list of champions from 1977 to 2004 in the previous
National Soccer LeagueThe National Soccer League is the former national association football competition in Australasia, overseen by Soccer Australia and later the Australian Soccer Association. The NSL spanned 28 seasons from its inception in 1977, until its demise in 2004...
competition.
Premiership Winners
| Titles |
Team |
Years |
| 2 |
|
2007, 2009 |
| 1 |
|
2006 |
| 1 |
|
2011 |
| 1 |
|
2008 |
| 1 |
|
2010 |
Championship Winners
| Titles |
Team |
Years |
| 2 |
|
2007, 2009 |
| 2 |
|
2006, 2010 |
| 1 |
|
2011 |
| 1 |
|
2008 |
Oceania Club Championship
In 2004–2005 Australia was still a part of the
Oceania Football ConfederationThe Oceania Football Confederation is one of the six continental confederations of international association football, consisting of Papua New Guinea, New Zealand and island nations such as Tonga, Fiji and other Pacific Island countries...
and Sydney FC won the right to compete in the Oceania Club Championship after defeating the Central Coast Mariners in a qualifying tournament. It has been suggested that the Wellington Phoenix should compete in the
OFC Champions LeagueThe Oceania Champions League 2007 was held in January 2007 with six clubs from five member associations of the Oceania Football Confederation: New Zealand, New Caledonia, Tahiti, Fiji and the Solomon Islands. The six clubs were split into two groups of three for home and away matches.Auckland City...
after 2011, as the club will no longer be eligible for
AFC Champions LeagueThe AFC Champions League is the premier Asian club football competition hosted annually by Asian Football Confederation . The tournament is contested among the top thirty-two clubs from the top 10 Asian leagues, two of which must qualify through the playoffs...
football.
| Season |
Qualified clubs |
| Team |
Final Position |
2004–05
Details |
|
Winners
Details |
AFC Champions League
See also: Australian clubs in the AFC Champions League-Results:*q = Qualified, G = Group stage, Ro16 = Round of 16, Q = Quarter-finals, S = Semi-finals, R/U = Runners-up, C = Champions, - = Did not qualify-Statistics:- Statistics by season :-Statistics by club:...
Two A-League clubs have participated in the
AFC Champions LeagueThe AFC Champions League is the premier Asian club football competition hosted annually by Asian Football Confederation . The tournament is contested among the top thirty-two clubs from the top 10 Asian leagues, two of which must qualify through the playoffs...
competition each season since the 2007 competition. Theses teams were determined by finishing positions in the 2005–06 A-League season, the 2008 competition by finishing positions in the 2006–07 season, and so on.
The Champions and Premiers qualify for the cup. In the case where the same team is Champion and Premier, the losing grand finalist qualifies. The fact that a whole season passes before clubs compete in the Champions League is controversial, as the next season passes before the Champions League begins. For example, Newcastle Jets competed in the 2009 Champions League, even though they finished last in the 2008–09 A-League season.
All Time A-League Leaders
Appearances
Regular Season and Finals
Rank |
Player |
Team |
Years |
Apps |
| 1 |
Matt Thompson * |
|
2005— |
158 |
| 2 |
Alex WilkinsonAlexander Wilkinson is an Australian football player. He is currently plays for Central Coast Mariners in the A-League...
|
|
2005— |
150 |
| 3 |
Clint BoltonClint Brian Bolton is an Australian football player who plays as a goalkeeper for Melbourne Heart in the Australian A-League. He was one of the most experienced goalkeepers in the history of the National Soccer League, which preceded the A-League...
* |
|
2005— |
145 |
| 4 |
Travis DoddTravis Dodd is an Indigenous Australian football player who plays for Perth Glory in the A-League. He plays as an attacking midfielder or winger.-Club career:...
* |
|
2005— |
143 |
| 5 |
Iain FyfeIain Fyfe is an Australian football player who currently plays as defender for Busan I'Park in the K-League.- Club career :On completion of his SASI program in 2000, Iain joined hometown NSL club Adelaide City...
* |
|
2005— |
140 |
| 6 |
Rodrigo Vargas Rodrigo Alejandro "Roddy" Vargas is a Australian football player. He currently plays as a central defender for the Australian A-League club Melbourne Victory.-Club career:...
|
|
2006— |
134 |
| 7 |
Tom Pondeljak Tomislav Pondeljak is an Australian football player, who is currently playing for A-league club Melbourne Victory.-Club career:...
* |
|
2005— |
133 |
| 8 |
Terry McFlynnTerence Martin "Terry" McFlynn is a football player from Swatragh, Northern Ireland. He plays as a central midfielder for the Australian A-League team Sydney FC. He is the current captain.-Club career:...
|
|
2005— |
132 |
| 9 |
Matt McKay Matthew Graham "Matt" McKay is an Australian football player who plays for Scottish Premier League side Rangers and the Australia national team....
|
|
2005— |
131 |
| 10 |
Danny VukovicDanny Vukovic is an Australian football player of Serbian decent. Who has recently signed a three year contract with the Perth Glory, an Australian-based A League franchise.-Club career:...
* |
|
2005— |
129 |
Shows Players at current club or last club played for.
Bold denotes players still playing in the A-League.
(*) Denotes players who have played for more than one A-League team.
Last updated 28 November 2011
Goals
Regular Season and Finals
Rank |
Player |
Team |
Years |
Goals |
| 1 |
Archie ThompsonArchibald Gerald Thompson is a New Zealand-born Australian professional football player, currently playing for Melbourne Victory in the Hyundai A-League, where he holds the League all time scoring record...
|
|
2005— |
56 |
| 2 |
Shane SmeltzShane Edward Smeltz is a New Zealand professional association football player. He plays as a striker for Perth Glory FC.-Club career:...
* |
|
2007— |
53 |
| 3 |
Sergio van DijkSerginho "Sergio" van Dijk is a Dutch-born Indonesian footballer player, who currently plays for Adelaide United in the A-League...
* |
|
2008— |
43 |
| 4 |
Daniel AllsoppDaniel Lee "Danny" Allsopp is an Australian professional football player.He is a full international for the Australia national football team, and is Melbourne Victory's second highest, and the A-League's third highest all-time goalscorer, behind teammate Archie Thompson and Shane Smeltz.-Club...
|
|
2005— |
42 |
| 5 |
Alex BrosqueAlex Brosque is an Australian professional football player who currently plays for J. League side Shimizu S-Pulse...
* |
|
2005— |
38 |
| 6 |
Sasho PetrovskiSasho Petrovski is an Australian football player. He is a striker who last played for the Newcastle Jets in the Hyundai A-League. Petrovski has two caps for the Australian national team...
* |
|
2005— |
36 |
| 7 |
Matt SimonMatthew Simon is a football player. Simon currently plays as a striker for the Australian A-League club Central Coast Mariners.-Club career:...
|
|
2006— |
32 |
| 8 |
Travis DoddTravis Dodd is an Indigenous Australian football player who plays for Perth Glory in the A-League. He plays as an attacking midfielder or winger.-Club career:...
* |
|
2005— |
31 |
| 9 |
Carlos Hernández |
|
2007— |
30 |
| 10 |
Adam KwasnikAdam Kwasnik is an Australian football player. He currently plays as a striker for the Australian A-League club the Central Coast Mariners.-Club career:...
* |
|
2005— |
29 |
Shows Players at current club or last club played for.
Bold denotes players still playing in the A-League.
(*) Denotes players who have played for more than one A-League team.
Johnny Warren Medal
The
Johnny Warren MedalThe Johnny Warren Medal is the award for best player in the Australian national football club competition. It was first awarded in the National Soccer League in 1990, and upon the NSL's demise in November 2004, was carried forward into the A-League, the competition in Australia...
, named after the late former Socceroo and media advocate
Johnny WarrenJohn Norman Warren, MBE, OAM was an Australian football player, coach, administrator, writer and broadcaster. He was known as Captain Socceroo for his passionate work to promote the game in Australia...
, is presented to the player who is deemed to be the best player overall at the end of the season as judged by his fellow players. Each player in the A-League votes three times over the season: after Round 7, Round 14 and Round 21. Players are not allowed to vote for players from their own team.
Joe Marston Medal
The
Joe Marston MedalThe Joe Marston Medal is an A-League award given to the player of the match in the A-League Grand Final each year. Introduced in 1990, previously the award was also given to the best player in the National Soccer League grand final. The medal is named after Joe Marston, who played for Australia...
is given to the best player in an
A-League Grand Final. It is named after
Joe MarstonJoe Marston MBE was the first Australian to appear in a FA Cup Final when he turned out for Preston North End in their 1954 defeat to West Bromwich Albion.-Preston North End:...
, a Socceroo in the 1950s.
| Year |
Player |
Club |
2006The 2006 A-League Grand Final took place at Aussie Stadium in Sydney on 5 March 2006. It was a South NSW derby. had the home ground advantage after beating over 2 semifinal legs. Sydney FC would eventually go on to take the honours of being crowned the first ever A-League Champions...
|
Dwight YorkeDwight Eversley Yorke is a Trinidad and Tobago former football player. He played for Aston Villa for most of his career, followed by stints with Manchester United, Blackburn Rovers, Birmingham City, Sydney FC and Sunderland...
|
|
2007-Finals series:The 2007 A-League Grand Final took place at Etihad Stadium in Melbourne, Australia, on 18 February 2007. The match was contested by premiers Melbourne Victory and Adelaide United...
|
Archie ThompsonArchibald Gerald Thompson is a New Zealand-born Australian professional football player, currently playing for Melbourne Victory in the Hyundai A-League, where he holds the League all time scoring record...
|
|
2008The 2008 A-League Grand Final took place at Sydney Football Stadium in Sydney, Australia on 24 February 2008. It was the first A-League Grand Final played at a neutral home ground, due to Bluetongue Stadium being deemed by the FFA to not have a sufficient capacity to hold the centrepiece of the...
|
Andrew DuranteAndrew Durante is an Australian football player. He currently plays as a central defender and Captain for the New Zealand based A-League club Wellington Phoenix.- Newcastle Jets :...
|
|
2009The 2009 A-League Grand Final took place at Telstra Dome in Melbourne, Australia on 28 February 2009.It was the final match in the A-League 2008–09 season, and was played between premiers and runners-up...
|
Tom Pondeljak Tomislav Pondeljak is an Australian football player, who is currently playing for A-league club Melbourne Victory.-Club career:...
|
|
| 2010 The 2010 A-League Grand Final took place at Etihad Stadium in Melbourne, Australia on 20 March 2010.It was the final match in the A-League 2009–10 season, and was played between premiers and runners-up...
|
Simon ColosimoSimon Colosimo is an Australian football player who plays as a central defender for Melbourne Heart. He has represented the Australia national team on over twenty-five occasions.-Club career:...
|
|
| 2011 The 2011 A-League Grand Final was the sixth A-League Grand Final taking place on 13 March 2011 at Suncorp Stadium. It was the final match in the A-League 2010–11 season, played between premiers and runners-up .-The match:...
|
Matthew Ryan Mathew Ryan is an Australian football goalkeeper currently playing for A-League club Central Coast Mariners.-Club Career:...
|
|
NAB Young Footballer
The NAB Young Footballer Award is awarded to a youth (under 20) player judged by a panel of experts to be the best young performer throughout the season.
Reebok Golden Boot
The Reebok Golden Boot is presented to the player who scores the most goals during the season. Only regular A-League matches between Round 1 and Round 27 (or to Round 21 before season 2009–10) are included.
| Year |
Player/s |
Club |
Goals |
| 2005–06 |
Alex BrosqueAlex Brosque is an Australian professional football player who currently plays for J. League side Shimizu S-Pulse...
Bobby DespotovskiSlobodan "Bobby" Despotovski is an Australian football player of Serbian origin.-Biography:Only nine months after his birth his family moved to Yugoslavia because his mother, Valentina, was home-sick...
Stewart PetrieStewart Petrie is a former Scottish football player who is currently assistant manager of Arbroath F.C. who compete in the Irn Bru Scottish Third Division.-Career:...
Archie ThompsonArchibald Gerald Thompson is a New Zealand-born Australian professional football player, currently playing for Melbourne Victory in the Hyundai A-League, where he holds the League all time scoring record...
|
|
8 |
| 2006–07 |
Daniel AllsoppDaniel Lee "Danny" Allsopp is an Australian professional football player.He is a full international for the Australia national football team, and is Melbourne Victory's second highest, and the A-League's third highest all-time goalscorer, behind teammate Archie Thompson and Shane Smeltz.-Club...
|
|
11 |
| 2007–08 |
Joel Griffiths Joel Griffiths is an Australian football player who currently plays for Beijing Guoan.-Club career:He played for Sydney United, Parramatta Power and Newcastle United in the now defunct National Soccer League...
|
|
12 |
| 2008–09 |
Shane SmeltzShane Edward Smeltz is a New Zealand professional association football player. He plays as a striker for Perth Glory FC.-Club career:...
|
|
12 |
| 2009–10 |
Shane SmeltzShane Edward Smeltz is a New Zealand professional association football player. He plays as a striker for Perth Glory FC.-Club career:...
|
|
19 |
| 2010–11 |
Sergio van DijkSerginho "Sergio" van Dijk is a Dutch-born Indonesian footballer player, who currently plays for Adelaide United in the A-League...
|
|
16 |
Goalkeeper of the Year Award
| Year |
Player |
Club |
| 2005–06 |
Clint BoltonClint Brian Bolton is an Australian football player who plays as a goalkeeper for Melbourne Heart in the Australian A-League. He was one of the most experienced goalkeepers in the history of the National Soccer League, which preceded the A-League...
|
|
| 2006–07 |
Michael Theoklitos Michael Theoklitos is an Australian football player for the Brisbane Roar.-Early career:Theoklitos made several appearances in the Australian National Soccer League before moving away to Blackpool in England as a youngster, where he only played three games due to an injury sustained shortly after...
|
|
| 2007–08 |
Michael Theoklitos Michael Theoklitos is an Australian football player for the Brisbane Roar.-Early career:Theoklitos made several appearances in the Australian National Soccer League before moving away to Blackpool in England as a youngster, where he only played three games due to an injury sustained shortly after...
|
|
| 2008–09 |
Eugene GalekovićEugen-Josip "Eugene" Galeković is an Australian football player who currently plays as a goalkeeper for Adelaide United in the A-League and internationally for Australia.-Club career:...
|
|
| 2009–10 |
Eugene GalekovićEugen-Josip "Eugene" Galeković is an Australian football player who currently plays as a goalkeeper for Adelaide United in the A-League and internationally for Australia.-Club career:...
|
|
| 2010–11 |
Michael Theoklitos Michael Theoklitos is an Australian football player for the Brisbane Roar.-Early career:Theoklitos made several appearances in the Australian National Soccer League before moving away to Blackpool in England as a youngster, where he only played three games due to an injury sustained shortly after...
|
|
Manager of the Year Award
Fair Play Award
The Fair Play Award goes to the team with the lowest points on the fair play ladder at the conclusion of the home and away season (Yellow Card = 1 point, Direct Red Card = 3 points, 2nd Caution Red Card = 2 points).
| Year |
Club |
| 2005–06 |
|
| 2006–07 |
|
| 2007–08 |
|
| 2008–09 |
|
| 2009–10 |
|
| 2010–11 |
|
Zurich Referee of the Year
| Year |
Referee |
| 2005–06 |
Mark Shield Mark Shield is a former Australian Football referee. He most recently refereed in Australia's A-League. He first played soccer for the Innisfail Tigers at the age of six. Not showing much promise as a player, he began refereeing at age 12, and by 16 was officiating adult matches in Townsville...
|
| 2006–07 |
Mark Shield Mark Shield is a former Australian Football referee. He most recently refereed in Australia's A-League. He first played soccer for the Innisfail Tigers at the age of six. Not showing much promise as a player, he began refereeing at age 12, and by 16 was officiating adult matches in Townsville...
|
| 2007–08 |
Mark Shield Mark Shield is a former Australian Football referee. He most recently refereed in Australia's A-League. He first played soccer for the Innisfail Tigers at the age of six. Not showing much promise as a player, he began refereeing at age 12, and by 16 was officiating adult matches in Townsville...
|
| 2008–09 |
Matthew Breeze Matthew Christopher Breeze is an Australian association football referee. He is also a barrister and a former police prosecutor.-Domestic career:He officiates in the Australian A-League football competition....
|
| 2009–10 |
Strebre Delovski Strebre Delovski is an Australian association football referee in the A-League.He previously officiated in the Illawarra Premier League and during the A-League off-season has been refereeing in the NSW Premier League competition...
|
| 2010–11 |
Matthew Breeze Matthew Christopher Breeze is an Australian association football referee. He is also a barrister and a former police prosecutor.-Domestic career:He officiates in the Australian A-League football competition....
|
Foreign Player of the Year
Solo Goal of the Year
TV Coverage
From the start of the inaugural 2005 season, TV coverage has been restricted to the subscription-only Fox Sport channel which obtained exclusive rights until 2012, which means that A-League games, as well as Socceroos matches, cannot be viewed free-to-air. That decision has been the source of much debate among the football community in Australia. On one hand, it is recognised that the injection of funds from the Fox contract assisted the league in its inception years, however, on the other hand the lack of free-to-air viewing prevented the majority of Australians, without pay-TV, from accessing the A-League on TV. The point of debate is whether the combination of Fox cash plus restrictions to free-to-air TV has either helped or hindered the A-League more in those crucial early years.
- Australia – Fox Sports
Fox Sports is an Australia group of sports channels. They are owned by the Premier Media Group, which is in turn owned by News Corporation, and Consolidated Media Holdings. Its main competitors are ESPN, which has little local content and the free-to-air digital channel One HD...
(live coverage & highlights)
- New Zealand – SKY Sport (New Zealand)
Sky Sport is a group of sports-oriented television channels operated by New Zealand's satellite pay-TV company, Sky Network Television. Sky Sport 1 was launched in 1990...
(live coverage & highlights)
- United States – Fox Soccer Channel
Fox Soccer is an American television specialty channel, owned by News Corporation's Fox Entertainment Group, that specializes in soccer. It formerly broadcast rugby and Australian rules football, but is now dedicated strictly to soccer...
(1 game per week + highlights)
- Hong Kong – Cable TV Hong Kong
Cable TV Hong Kong , previously known as Wharf Cable before October 1998, is owned and operated by i-CABLE Communications Limited...
(1 / 2 game per week + highlights)
- Canada – Fox Sports World
Fox Sports World Canada is a Canadian English language Category B specialty channel owned by Shaw Media. FSWC's programming primarily features association football with select programming on other world sports such as rugby....
(highlights)
- United Kingdom – Sky Sports
Sky Sports is the brand name for a group of sports-oriented television channels operated by the UK and Ireland's main satellite pay-TV company, British Sky Broadcasting. Sky Sports is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland...
(highlights + Play offs and Final live)
Rivalries
Although there is only one
local derbyIn many countries the term local derby, or simply just derby means a sporting fixture between two, generally local, rivals, particularly in association football...
in the history of the A-league (the two Melbourne-based clubs) many 'rivalries' have formed between A-League sides:
- v : "Melbourne derby
The Melbourne Derby is currently the only intra-city local derby in Australia's premier Association football competition, the A-League, between the two Melbourne teams in the competition, Melbourne Victory and Melbourne Heart. It is the A-League's first intra-city derby, and although only one...
" The two teams first met on 8 October 2010 in a lively game at AAMI Park in front of 25,897 fans. Melbourne Heart came out on top with a 2-1 victory. Although the crowd was dominated by Victory fans, the Heart fans made their presence known. Aziz BehichAziz Behich is an Australian football player who currently plays for Melbourne Heart in the A-League and the Australia Under-23 national team. He was the first player to play for both Melbourne Victory and Melbourne Heart having being transferred in 2010.-Green Gully:Behich played in the junior...
was sent off after receiving two yellow cards. Even though they have only played three games, the rivalry is one of the most intense and well respected in the A-league, producing noticeable atmosphere and the largest crowds in the league, along with controversy with 11 goals and 2 reds cards in only three games.
- v : "The Big Blue
The Big Blue, also known as The City Derby, is a football match between rivals Sydney FC and Melbourne Victory. It is one of the biggest football rivalries in Australia, perhaps only falling short of The Melbourne Derby between cross-town rivals Melbourne Victory and Melbourne Heart...
" The clash between Australia's two biggest cities is considered one of the biggest rivalries in the league by both sets of fans. Sydney and Melbourne have been historical rivals for over a century, and their football teams are no exception. These contests are often full of spite and controversy on and off the pitch, the most recent example being a clash between Daniel AllsoppDaniel Lee "Danny" Allsopp is an Australian professional football player.He is a full international for the Australia national football team, and is Melbourne Victory's second highest, and the A-League's third highest all-time goalscorer, behind teammate Archie Thompson and Shane Smeltz.-Club...
and Sydney coach John KosminaAlexander John Kosmina , known as John Kosmina, is a former Australian football player and manager of Polish Australian ethnicity. He was most recently the manager of Sydney FC...
.
- v : "The Cross Border Rivalry" Contested the 2006–07 and 2008–09 A-League Grand Finals, in which Melbourne won 6–0 and 1–0 respectively. The Adelaide vs Melbourne rivalry stems from the traditional rivalry between sporting teams from Victoria and South Australia but was strengthened by incidents in the 2006–07 season, such as the confrontation between Melbourne Victory captain Kevin Muscat
Kevin Muscat is an Australian football player who currently plays for Victorian State League Division 1 side Sunshine George Cross and is assistant coach of Melbourne Victory...
and then Adelaide United coach John KosminaAlexander John Kosmina , known as John Kosmina, is a former Australian football player and manager of Polish Australian ethnicity. He was most recently the manager of Sydney FC...
.
- v : Labelled "The F3 Derby
The F3 Derby involves Australia's Newcastle Jets and Central Coast Mariners. They are considered to be a fierce rivalry in the A-League due to being two of the closest teams geographically...
" by commentators, the two regional clubs, only an hour apart, are also big rivals. The derby was intensified when the two teams played each other in the 2008 Finals series and eventually met in the Grand FinalThe 2008 A-League Grand Final took place at Sydney Football Stadium in Sydney, Australia on 24 February 2008. It was the first A-League Grand Final played at a neutral home ground, due to Bluetongue Stadium being deemed by the FFA to not have a sufficient capacity to hold the centrepiece of the...
, which was won 1–0 by the Jets.
- v : "The M1" or "South East Queensland Derby". Before their first encounter there were big media reports and controversy in the lead up to their first matchup in round 1 of the 2009–10 season. Hype was also surrounding Gold Coast United coach Miron Bleiberg
Miron Bleiberg is an Israeli-Australian football manager, currently the head coach and director of football operations at A-League club Gold Coast United.-Biography:...
(Former Queensland Roar Coach) returning to Suncorp Stadium. One of the most famous clashes, 26 December 2009, was hotly contested after former Roar star Charlie MillerCharles "Charlie" Miller is a Scottish football player who is currently without a club following his release from Clyde...
left the club to join the Gold Coast.
- v : The South NSW derby
The NSW derby involves two of the teams from NSW in the Australian A-League, the Central Coast Mariners and Sydney FC. The rivalry has developed due to the relatively short distance between the clubs as well as a number of notable games contested between the two.The rivalry began when the two sides...
. The two clubs, close geographically, contested two of the first finals for A-League teams- the 2005 Oceania Club Championship and the inaugural A-League grand final, both won by Sydney 1-0. The two have a reputation for playing high scoring games, including a 5-4 win to Sydney.
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