Association football (soccer) in Victoria is organised by Football Federation Victoria (FFV).
[edit] National Representation
Melbourne Victory and, since 2010-11, Melbourne Heart compete in the national A-League with the highest attendance of the competition. Melbourne Victory have had the highest average attendance in every A-League season.
[edit] Past Representation
Many clubs represented Victoria and in particular Melbourne in the now defunct National Soccer League (NSL), three of which, South Melbourne FC, Melbourne Knights and Brunswick Juventus became champions. Along with South Melbourne, Heidelberg United, Footscray JUST and Mooroolbark United were NSL foundation clubs. At one time or another the following Victorian sides also competed in the NSL clubs: Preston Lions FC; Carlton SC; Gippsland Falcons (also known as Eastern Pride); Collingwood Warriors; Sunshine George Cross; and Green Gully.
[edit] League and Cup systems
[edit] Leagues
The highest state based league is the Victorian Premier League. The league below that is the Victorian State League Division 1. Below that, State Leagues 2 and 3 are split into North/West and South/East divisions. Below that, three divisions of the Provisional Leagues follow, also split into North/West and South/East divisions. The participating clubs are almost entirely located within metropolitan Melbourne, however there are separate regional leagues organised by associations subsidiary to the FFV, such as the Geelong Regional Football Association, Ballarat & District Soccer Association and the Gippsland Soccer League.
| League Structure |
- Victorian Premier League
- Men's State League Div 1
- Men's State League Div 2 North-West
- Men's State League Div 2 South-East
- Men's State League Div 3 North-West
- Men's State League Div 3 South-East
- Men's Provisional League Div 1 North-West
- Men's Provisional League Div 1 South-East
- Men's Provisional League Div 2 North-West
- Men's Provisional League Div 2 South-East
- Men's Provisional League Div 3 North-West
- Men's Provisional League Div 3 South-East
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Coverage of the VPL is provided by the local non-profit community television station, Channel 31 Melbourne, on Extra Time.
The Dockerty Cup, a knockout cup competition for Victorian clubs, ran every year from 1909 until 1996, with the exception of the years 1916-18 owing to World War 1. Since then it has been in recess, except for season 2004.
The idea of a Victorian Cup competition was revived in 2011 with the Mirabella Cup, which was to feature all Victorian clubs, from the A-League through to the regional leagues, however the FFA later pulled Melbourne Victory and Melbourne Heart from the competition.
[edit] Planned restructure
FFV announced plans in 2008 for an expansion and restructure of the game in Victoria over three years.[1] Significantly, this includes the formation of a new professional men's summer league as the highest level in the Victorian structure (one level below the A-League). Teams would be based from all areas across the state, with the Foxtel Cup remaining as the league one level below.[2]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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| National teams |
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| Current national leagues |
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| Former leagues |
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| Cup competitions |
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| Domestic leagues |
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