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The '''A-League''' is the premier domestic [[Australia]]n [[football (soccer)]] competition. Founded in 2004 and staging its [[A-League 2005-06|inaugural season]] in 2005&ndash;06, the league is contested by nine teams covering Australia's major cities and regional centres, as well as one from [[New Zealand]]. The A-League was created in the wake of the disbandment of the [[National Soccer League]] as part of a restructure of association football in Australia, seeking to provide a more professional and more popular national club competition. The league is based on a "one team per city" model, and features a [[salary cap]] and maximum squad size for each team with provision for "marquee" and "guest" players in order to produce concentration of player talent within regions as well as equity across the competition, whilst still allowing for differentiability and marketability of the teams.  Although still not as popular as the [[Australian Football League]] and [[National Rugby League]] in terms of attendance figures, it has typically proven more successful than its predecessor, attracting an average crowd of over 14,000 in its second season compared to less than 5,000 for the final season of the NSL.<ref>{{cite web | title = 2006&ndash;07 attendances | url = http://www.ausfootballreview.com/afr/pmwiki.php/ALeague/2006_2007 | work = AusFootballReview | accessmonthday = April 8 | accessyear = 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title = 2003&ndash;04 attendances | url = http://www.ausfootballreview.com/afr/pmwiki.php/NSL/2003_2004 | work = AusFootballReview | accessmonthday = April 8 | accessyear = 2007}}</ref>
The '''A-League''', founded in 2004, is the premier domestic [[association football|football]] competition in Australia.<ref>[https://www.a-league.com.au/ Hyundai A-League.]</ref>
 
The A-League consists of a 21-round regular season followed by a four-team finals series. The leading team at the end of the regular season is awarded the Premiership, and the winners of the end-of-season Grand Final are awarded the Championship. [[Melbourne Victory FC]] are the current Premiers and Champions, winning both titles in the [[A-League 2008-09|2008&ndash;09]] season.
 
==History==
===Origins===
Prior to 2004, the [[National Soccer League]] had been Australia's leading national football competition. Founded in 1977, the league was beset by poor management and struggled for acceptance within the wider Australian community, a fact often attributed to the prominence of "ethnic-based" clubs in the competition. This viewpoint was highlighted by, among others, stakeholder Stephen Stacey, who said in the 2003 Crawford Report, "The major problem was and still is the inability of existing clubs, many of which are oriented around the specific ethnic communities, to appeal to the wider community."<ref>''Australian Sports Commission'', 2003: 62</ref> The lack of support for the NSL, especially in its latter years,  became obvious in the fact that the league was without a sponsor or television coverage, with all of the thirteen clubs who contested the [[National Soccer League 2002-03|2002&ndash;03 season]] losing money.<ref name="timerunningout">{{cite web|last=Howe|first=Andrew|title=Why not one national league? |url=http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/howe-opinion-display/Why-not-one-national-league/57271|publisher=Football Federation Australia|date=4 January 2013|accessdate=4 October 2013}}</ref> The league average attendance figure for the 2002&ndash;03 season was slightly more than 4,000, with [[Perth Glory FC|Perth Glory]], described as one of the league's few "multi-ethnic" clubs,<ref>''Australian Sports Commission'', 2003: 53</ref> the only team to average over 5,000 per match.<ref>{{cite web | title = 2002&ndash;03 attendances | url = http://www.ausfootballreview.com/afr/pmwiki.php/NSL/2002_2003 | work = AusFootballReview | accessmonthday = March 3 | accessyear = 2007}}</ref> During the 2002&ndash;03 season, serious concerns about the viability of the NSL in the long term became prevalent, with chairman [[Remo Nogarotto]] describing the league's position as "[[Doomsday Clock|five minutes to midnight]]",<ref name="timerunningout"/> and the [[Professional Footballers' Association]] preparing a model for a new national competition.
 
The formation of the A-League was foreshadowed by the publication of the [[Crawford Report]], a government-funded independent review of the state of football in Australia, in April 2003. The report concluded that the National Soccer League was "unsustainable" in its current form,<ref>''Australian Sports Commission'', 2003: 87</ref> whilst recommending an overhaul of the governance system of football in Australia, including the appointment of an interim board headed by [[Frank Lowy]],<ref>''Australian Sports Commission'', 2003: 5</ref> one of the main backers for the establishment of the NSL nearly thirty years prior. A month after the release of the Crawford Report, both Nogarotto and [[Soccer Australia]] board member Bill Walker stepped down from their positions, and at 10:45am on July 19, 2003 the final three remaining directors were unanimously deposed and Lowy took over the reigns of the embattled organisation.<ref>{{cite web|title=NSL clubs back Lowy|url=http://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/news/817010/nsl-clubs-back-lowy|publisher=SBS News|date=13 February 2008|accessdate=4 October 2013}}</ref> With Soccer Australia officially declared bankrupt in September 2003 and replaced immediately by the Australian Soccer Association (now [[Football Federation Australia]]), the [[Australian Government]] provided [[Australian dollar|$]]15&nbsp;million in grants and funds to the new governing body in an attempt to revive the game.<ref>{{cite web|title=New body to replace Soccer Australia|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2003-09-26/new-body-to-replace-soccer-australia/1484214|date=26 September 2003|accessdate=4 October 2013}}</ref> A taskforce to assess the future of the national competition was set up by Lowy, and reported back in December 2003, recommending a "fresh start for the way top-level soccer is to be organised and played in Australia".<ref name="nsltaskforce">{{cite web | date = December 9, 2003 | title = Chairman welcomes new report on the future of NSL | url = http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/default.aspx?s=insideffa_newsfeatures_newsitem&id=7019 | work = [[Football Federation Australia]] | accessmonthday = March 4 | accessyear = 2007}}</ref> The initial structure suggested by the taskforce included that the new league consists of ten clubs,<ref name="nsltaskforce"/> although this figure was reduced to eight when the final structure for the league was confirmed in March 2004.<ref name="leaguestructure">{{cite web | date = March 22, 2004 | title = ASA announce several significant initiatives | url = http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/InsideFFA/default.aspx?s=insideffa_newsfeatures_newsitem&id=14493 | work = [[Football Federation Australia]] | accessmonthday = March 4 | accessyear = 2007}}</ref>
 
===Establishment===
On March 22, 2004 it was announced that the eight-team league would feature one club from each of [[Sydney]], [[Melbourne]], [[Adelaide]], [[Perth, Western Australia|Perth]], [[Brisbane]], [[Newcastle, New South Wales|Newcastle]] and [[New Zealand]], with the final team to be selected from other expressions of interest.<ref name="leaguestructure"/> An initial twenty submissions<ref>{{cite web | date = June 12, 2004 | title = 20 submissions received for new national competition | url = http://www.a-league.com.au/default.aspx?s=hal_newsdisplay&id=14489 | work = A-League.com.au | accessmonthday = March 4 | accessyear = 2007}}</ref> were whittled down to twelve by late July, with a [[Central Coast, New South Wales|Central Coast]] bid being the only one outside the originally nominated cities.<ref>{{cite web | date = July 21, 2004 | title = ASA delighted with number of bids for new league | url = http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/InsideFFA/default.aspx?s=insideffa_newsfeatures_newsitem&id=14487 | work = [[Football Federation Australia]] | accessmonthday = March 4 | accessyear = 2007}}</ref> The formation of the A-League was officially announced on November 1, 2004, with the eight teams selected including five previously established clubs and three entirely new entities.<ref>{{cite web | date = November 1, 2004 | title = ASA announces the Hyundai A-League | url = http://www.a-league.com.au/default.aspx?s=hal_newsdisplay&id=14482 | work = A-League.com.au | accessmonthday = March 4 | accessyear = 2007}}</ref> The FFA announced "modest" expectations for crowd attendances, set at an average of 10,000 per game, with financial turnover forecasted to be $50&nbsp;million for the first season.
 
The season launch was backed by a $3 million advertising campaign based on the slogan "It's Football. But not as you know it", referring to the common use of the word 'football' in Australia to describe any of [[Australian rules football]], [[rugby league]] or [[rugby union]], whilst also attempting to draw a clear distinction between this 'new football'<ref>{{cite web | date = August 8, 2005 | title = Hyundai A-League officially launched | url = http://www.a-league.com.au/default.aspx?s=hal_newsdisplay&id=13554 | work = A-League.com.au | accessmonthday = March 22 | accessyear = 2008}}</ref> and what soon became widely referred to as 'old soccer'.
 
==Format==
===Regular season===
The regular season of the A-League is played mainly during the Australian [[summer]], from late [[August]] through to [[February]] of the following year. From [[A-League 2009-10|2009&ndash;10]], it will be made up of 27 rounds, with each of the ten teams playing each of the others three times &ndash; twice at one team's home stadium and once at the other's. The winner of each match is awarded three competition points, or in the case of a draw, the competing teams gain one point each. At the end of the 27 rounds the teams are ranked by the number of competition points they have accumulated over the course of the season. If two or more teams have an equal amount of points, they are then ranked based on [[goal difference]], total goals scored, head-to-head records between tying teams and finally on the number of [[Misconduct (football)|cards]] each team received.<ref name="Rules">{{cite web | url = http://www.a-league.com.au/default.aspx?s=hal_rules | title = Hyundai A-League &ndash; Rules | work = A-League.com.au | accessmonthday = November 3 | accessyear = 2006}}</ref> The top-ranked club is awarded the title of "Premiers", and is entered into the following season's [[AFC Champions League]].<ref name="AFCCL">{{cite web | url = http://www.a-league.com.au/default.aspx?s=hal_newsdisplay&id=10984 | title = Grand Final rematch to open HAL season | work = A-League.com.au|date = May 1, 2006 | accessmonthday = November 3 | accessyear = 2006}}</ref>
 
===Finals series===
The top teams (those who have been confirmed to have finished in the top six positions<ref>{{cite web|title=Hyundai A-League finals revamped|url=http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/news-display/Hyundai-ALeague-finals-revamped/47768|publisher=Football Federation Australia|date=19 June 2012|accessdate=4 October 2013}}</ref>) at the end of the regular season are then entered into a finals series to determine the Champions. In the first three seasons, the series was played under the [[McIntyre final four system]], with the top two teams playing off for a direct place in the Grand Final, whilst the third- and fourth-placed teams vie for a spot in the preliminary final against the loser of the major semi-final. The first round of matches were played over [[two-legged match|two legs]], with the winner determined by goals scored over the two matches, and then, if equal, the [[away goals rule]]. If no winner emerges via this method, the tie progressed to [[extra time]], and finally to a [[penalty shootout]].<ref name="Rules"/> The preliminary final was played at the home stadium of the losing team from the major semi-final, with the winning team progressing to the Grand Final. The winner of the Grand Final is declared "Champions", and gains qualification for the [[AFC Champions League]]. Where the same team wins both the Premiership and Championship, the Grand Final runner-up is awarded Australia's second position in the AFC Champions League.<ref name="AFCCL"/>
 
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==Clubs==
The clubs participating in the A-League are determined via a licensing system, similar to franchising used in many major North American leagues. Upon the launch of the A-League, each of the eight foundation clubs were allotted guaranteed five-year tenures, along with territorial exclusivity for the same length of time.<ref name="leaguestructure"/><ref>{{cite web|last=Lewis|first=David|title=Calls to extend A-League licences|url=http://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/news/1166665/calls-to-extend-a-league-licences|publisher=SBS News|date=7 September 2013|accessdate=4 October 2013}}</ref> With the A-League as the only national football competition in Australia, there is no provision for the [[promotion and relegation]] of clubs to and from lower leagues, unlike the majority of European national systems. The original eight licenses were renewed for a further five years in June 2008,<ref>{{cite web | date = February 16, 2007 | last = Hand | first = Guy | title = Hope for A-League problem kids | work = [[Fox Sports (Australia)|Fox Sports]] | url = http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,8659,21237960-23215,00.html | accessmonthday = February 25 | accessyear = 2007}}</ref> and on August 27, the FFA announced that two further teams &mdash; [[Gold Coast United FC]] and [[North Queensland Fury FC]] &mdash; would join the league in [[A-League 2009-10|2009&ndash;10]].<ref>{{cite web | date = August 28, 2008 | title = Expansion gets go ahead | url = http://www.a-league.com.au/default.aspx?s=newsdisplay&id=23378 | work = A-League.com.au | accessmonthday = March 4 | accessyear = 2009}}</ref>
 
Football Federation Australia does however retain control over the licences through a "Club Participation Agreement", a breach of which allows the FFA to revoke any holder's licence. This occurred during the 2006&ndash;07 season, where Octagon Sports Limited, owners of [[New Zealand Knights FC]], were found to have breached an insolvency clause in the agreement.<ref>{{cite web | date = December 14, 2006 | title = FFA Statement regarding New Zealand Knights | url = http://www.a-league.com.au/default.aspx?s=hal_newsdisplay&id=16358 | work = A-League.com.au | accessmonthday = February 25 | accessyear = 2007}}</ref> The licence was immediately returned to the FFA, who subsequently offered it to [[New Zealand Soccer]] in order to retain a New Zealand-based club in the competition.<ref>{{cite web | date = February 15, 2007 | title = NZ Soccer offered Hyundai A-League licence | url = http://www.a-league.com.au/default.aspx?s=hal_newsdisplay&id=16173 | work = A-League.com.au | accessmonthday = February 25 | accessyear = 2007}}</ref>
 
===Expansion===
Even at the first announcement of the A-League, the FFA signalled its intention to pursue an expansion plan in order to create a "truly national competition" &mdash; naming [[Canberra]], [[Hobart]], [[Wollongong]] and North Queensland as potential sites for future clubs.<ref name="leaguestructure"/> Having added two clubs for the 2009&ndash;10 season, chairman Frank Lowy confirmed that the FFA will continue this trend, saying that they hoped to have a twelve-team competition in 2010&ndash;11, but this proved optimistic.<ref>{{cite web|last=Cormick|first=Justin|title=A-League expansion possibilities|url=http://www.theroar.com.au/2013/05/11/a-league-expansion-possibilities/|publisher=The Roar|date=11 May 2013|accessdate=4 October 2013}}</ref> Among the consortia vying for a place in the expanded league are a second Melbourne team, provisionally named "Melbourne Heart", who have been granted exclusive negotiating rights with the FFA,<ref>{{cite web | date = September 26, 2008 | title = FFA: Second Melbourne side for 2010 | url = http://au.fourfourtwo.com/news/85523,ffa-second-melbourne-side-for-2010.aspx | work = FourFourTwo | accessmonthday = March 4 | accessyear = 2009}}</ref> as well as [[Canberra]],<ref>{{cite web|last=Gwynne|first=Kyle|title=A-League should look to Canberra for expansion|url=http://www.theroar.com.au/2013/05/11/a-league-should-look-to-canberra-for-expansion/|publisher=The Roar|date=11 May 2013|accessdate=4 October 2013}}</ref> [[Wollongong, New South Wales|Wollongong]] ("South Coast United"),<ref>{{cite web|last=Cockerill|first=Michael|title=Wolves must dare to dream|url=http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/cockerill-opinion-display/wolves-must-dare-to-dream/72633|date=13 August 2013|accessdate=4 October 2013}}</ref> [[Hobart]] ("Tasmania United"),<ref>{{cite web | date = October 29, 2008 | title = Tassie would make A-League national | url = http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,8659,24571266-23215,00.html | work = [[Fox Sports (Australia)|Fox Sports]] | accessmonthday = March 4 | accessyear = 2009}}</ref>, [[Geelong, Victoria|Geelong]],<ref>{{cite web | last = Whalley | first = Jeff | date = February 23, 2008 | title = MP launches soccer pitch for Geelong | url = http://www.geelongadvertiser.com.au/article/2008/02/23/11622_news.html | work = The Geelong Advertiser | accessmonthday = March 4 | accessyear = 2009}}</ref> [[Western Sydney]] and further Melbourne franchises.<ref>{{cite web|author=Kellett|title=Maybe not South Melbourne FC, but South Melbourne United FC?|url=http://www.theroar.com.au/2013/05/06/maybe-not-south-melbourne-fc-but-south-melbourne-united-fc/|publisher=The Roar|date=6 May 2013|accessdate=4 October 2013}}</ref>
 
===Current A-League clubs===
{| class="prettytable"
|-
!Club
!City
!Region
!Home ground
!First season
!Premierships
!Championships
|-
|'''[[Adelaide United FC]]'''
|[[Adelaide]]
|[[South Australia|SA]]
|[[Hindmarsh Stadium]]
|align="center"|[[A-League 2005-06|2005&ndash;06]]
|align="center"|1
|align="center"|0
|-
|'''[[Brisbane Roar FC]]'''
|[[Brisbane]]
|[[Queensland|Qld]]
|[[Suncorp Stadium]]
|align="center"|[[A-League 2005-06|2005&ndash;06]]
|align="center"|1
|align="center"|2
|-
|'''[[Central Coast Mariners FC]]'''
|[[Central Coast, New South Wales|Central Coast]]
|[[New South Wales|NSW]]
|[[Bluetongue Central Coast Stadium]]
|align="center"|[[A-League 2005-06|2005&ndash;06]]
|align="center"|2
|align="center"|1
|-
|'''[[Melbourne Heart FC]]'''
|[[Melbourne]]
|[[Victoria (Australia)|Vic]]
|[[AAMI Park]]
|align="center"|[[A-League 2010-11|2010&ndash;11]]
|align="center"|0
|align="center"|0
|-
|'''[[Melbourne Victory FC]]'''
|[[Melbourne]]
|[[Victoria (Australia)|Vic]]
|[[Etihad Stadium]]
|align="center"|[[A-League 2005-06|2005&ndash;06]]
|align="center"|2
|align="center"|2
|-
|'''[[Newcastle United Jets FC]]'''
|[[Newcastle, New South Wales|Newcastle]]
|[[New South Wales|NSW]]
|[[Hunter Stadium]]
|align="center"|[[A-League 2005-06|2005&ndash;06]]
|align="center"|0
|align="center"|1
|-
|'''[[Perth Glory FC]]'''
|[[Perth, Western Australia|Perth]]
|[[Western Australia|WA]]
|[[NIB Stadium]]
|align="center"|[[A-League 2005-06|2005&ndash;06]]
|align="center"|0
|align="center"|0
|-
|'''[[Sydney FC]]'''
|[[Sydney]]
|[[New South Wales|NSW]]
|[[Sydney Football Stadium]]
|align="center"|[[A-League 2005-06|2005&ndash;06]]
|align="center"|1
|align="center"|2
|-
|'''[[Wellington Phoenix FC]]'''
|[[Wellington]]
|[[New Zealand|NZ]]
|[[Westpac Stadium]]
|align="center"|[[A-League 2007-08|2007&ndash;08]]
|align="center"|0
|align="center"|0
|-
|'''[[Western Sydney Wanderers FC]]'''
|[[Sydney]]
|[[New South Wales|NSW]]
|[[Parramatta Stadium]]
|align="center"|[[A-League 20012-13|2012&ndash;13]]
|align="center"|1
|align="center"|0
|-
|}
 
===Former A-League clubs===
{| class="prettytable"
|-
!Club
!City
!Region
!Home ground
!Seasons contested
!Premierships
!Championships
|-
|'''[[New Zealand Knights FC]]'''
|[[Auckland]]
|[[New Zealand|NZ]]
|[[North Harbour Stadium]]
|align="center"|[[A-League 2005-06|2005&ndash;06]] &ndash; [[A-League 2006-07|2006&ndash;07]]
|align="center"|0
|align="center"|0
|-
|'''[[North Queensland Fury FC]]'''
|[[Townsville, Queensland|Townsville]]
|[[Queensland|Qld]]
|[[Dairy Farmers Stadium]]
|align="center"|[[A-League 2009-10|2009&ndash;10]] &ndash; [[A-League 2010-11|2010&ndash;11]]
|align="center"|0
|align="center"|0
|-
|'''[[Gold Coast United FC]]'''
|[[Gold Coast, Queensland|Gold Coast]]
|[[Queensland|Qld]]
|[[Skilled Park]]
|align="center"|[[A-League 2009-10|2009&ndash;10]] &ndash; [[A-League 2011-12|2011&ndash;12]]
|align="center"|0
|align="center"|0
|-
|}
 
==Premiers and Champions==
{| class="prettytable"
|-
!rowspan=2|Season
!colspan=2|Premiership
!colspan=2|Championship
|-
!Premiers
!Runners-up
!Champions
!Runners-up
|-
|[[A-League 2005-06|2005&ndash;06]]
|'''[[Adelaide United FC]]'''
|[[Sydney FC]]
|'''[[Sydney FC]]'''
|[[Central Coast Mariners FC]]
|-
|[[A-League 2006-07|2006&ndash;07]]
|'''[[Melbourne Victory FC]]'''
|[[Adelaide United FC]]
|'''[[Melbourne Victory FC]]'''
|[[Adelaide United FC]]
|-
|[[A-League 2007-08|2007&ndash;08]]
|'''[[Central Coast Mariners FC]]'''
|[[Newcastle United Jets FC]]
|'''[[Newcastle United Jets FC]]'''
|[[Central Coast Mariners FC]]
|-
|[[A-League 2008-09|2008&ndash;09]]
|'''[[Melbourne Victory FC]]'''
|[[Adelaide United FC]]
|'''[[Melbourne Victory FC]]'''
|[[Adelaide United FC]]
|-
|[[A-League 2009-10|2009&ndash;10]]
|'''[[Sydney FC]]'''
|[[Melbourne Victory FC]]
|'''[[Sydney FC]]'''
|[[Melbourne Victory FC]]
|-
|[[A-League 2010-11|2010&ndash;11]]
|'''[[Brisbane Roar FC]]'''
|[[Central Coast Mariners FC]]
|'''[[Brisbane Roar FC]]'''
|[[Central Coast Mariners FC]]
|-
|[[A-League 2011-12|2011&ndash;12]]
|'''[[Central Coast Mariners FC]]'''
|[[Brisbane Roar FC]]
|'''[[Brisbane Roar FC]]'''
|[[Perth Glory FC]]
|-
|[[A-League 2012-13|2012&ndash;13]]
|'''[[Western Sydney Wanderers FC]]'''
|[[Central Coast Mariners FC]]
|'''[[Central Coast Mariners FC]]'''
|[[Western Sydney Wanderers FC]]
|-
|}
 
==References==
===Citations===
{{reflist|2}}
 
===General references===
* Australian Sports Commission. (2003). ''Report of the Independent Soccer Review Committee into the Structure, Governance and Management of Soccer in Australia &ndash; April 2003'' [http://www.ausport.gov.au/fulltext/2003/soccerinquiry/content.asp <nowiki>[Electronic version]</nowiki>]. Belconnen, Australian Capital Territory: Australian Sports Commission Publications. ISBN 1740130642
* Hyundai A-League. (2005, August 8). [http://www.a-league.com.au/default.aspx?s=hal_history History]. Retrieved March 3, 2007.
 
==External links==
* [http://www.a-league.com.au/ Official A-League website]
* [http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/ Official Football Federation Australia website]


==Notes==
==Notes==
{{Reflist}}
{{Reflist}}


[[Category:Association football competitions]]
[[Category:Association football competitions in Australia]]

Revision as of 16:33, 11 March 2024

The A-League, founded in 2004, is the premier domestic football competition in Australia.[1]

Notes

  1. ↑ Hyundai A-League.
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