A-League Men
File:Hyundai A-League logo.svg | |
Founded | 2004 |
---|---|
Country | Australia New Zealand |
Confederation | AFC |
Number of teams | 10 |
Level on pyramid | 1 |
Domestic cup(s) | FFA Cup |
International cup(s) | AFC Champions League |
Current champions | Template:ALeague BR (2011–12) |
Current premiers | Template:ALeague CCM |
Most championships | Template:ALeague BR Template:ALeague MV Template:ALeague SFC (2 titles each) |
Most premierships | Template:ALeague CCM Template:ALeague MV (2 titles each) |
TV partners | SBS One (Australia) Fox Sports (Australia) Sky Sport (New Zealand) |
Website | a-league.com.au |
Current: 2012–13 A-League |
The A-League (known as the Hyundai A-League for sponsorship purposes[1]) is the highest level football (soccer) league in Australia. The competition was founded as a successor to the National Soccer League (NSL) which had run between 1977 and 2004. After a 16-month break between seasons the A-League's inaugural season began in August 2005. The league is currently contested by ten teams; nine in Australia and one from New Zealand.[2] Related leagues include the National Youth League and Westfield W-League (women). The competition is administered by Football Federation Australia (FFA).
Format
Regular season
The regular season runs mainly during the Australian summer, from early October to March of the following year. The competition consists of 27 matches over 25 weeks, with each team playing every other team three times. The teams 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, with one point each for a draw. 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 League.[3][4]
At the completion of the regular season teams are ranked from one 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, the following criteria are applied in order until one of the teams can be determined as the higher ranked[5]:
- 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.[6]
Finals series
In its eighth season, the A-League has adopted a new knock-out format for the finals with six teams competing over a three-week series climaxing in the decider. As a result, the play-offs have been reduced from four to three weeks and the top two teams no longer receive a double chance. Instead they will get the opening week of the final series off and will only need to win one game to make the grand final.
Elimination Finals | Semi Finals | Grand Final | ||||||||||||
1 | 1st Placing | |||||||||||||
4 | 3rd Placing | Winner Elimination Final 1 | ||||||||||||
5 | 6th Placing | Winner Semi Final 1 | ||||||||||||
Winner Semi Final 2 | ||||||||||||||
2 | 2nd Placing | |||||||||||||
3 | 4th Placing | Winner Elimination Final 2 | ||||||||||||
6 | 5th Placing |
Associated Competitions
FFA Cup
The FFA Cup is a proposed knock-out style cup competition similar to the FA Cup in England that was initially planned to commence in March 2012 and run to January 2013 annually.[7] Since this time plans for an FFA Cup have been put on the backburner by the FFA as they seek to consolidate the position of the A-League and revamp the second-tier state leagues. The cup will likely have qualification to the AFC Champions League as an additional prize. Depending on how many slots the AFC give the A-League, this could be as a replacement for the current Grand Final winner qualification half-slot, or through an additional direct or qualification slot.
A-League Pre-Season Challenge 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.[8]
Branding, promotion and cultural references
The A-League logo, designed by Coast Design Sydney, is a three-dimensional sphere. The two-toned ochre colours represent the sun, earth and desert 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.[9]
The A-League has been promoted using a number of different advertising slogans and strategies since its inception. At the start of the inaugural season, an A$3 million dollar advertising campaign was launched, with the television and film advertisements produced by Ridley Scott'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. Other campaigns include the "90 minutes, 90 emotions".[10] which was used for two seasons from 2007–09 and was accompanied by the music track "My People" from Australian act The Presets.
The A-League has been featured in the FIFA series by EA SPORTS since the 2008 edition of the game, as well as the Football Manager series by SI Games and the Championship Manager series by Beautiful Game Studios.[11]
In 2008, 2009 and 2010 a Fox reality show, Football Superstar, offered as a prize a contract with an A-League club. The clubs that have participated so far are Sydney FC, Melbourne Victory and Brisbane Roar.
Current clubs
There are nine clubs from Australia and one from New Zealand in the A-League. Only four of these clubs, Template:ALeague AU, Brisbane Roar (as Queensland Roar), Newcastle Jets, and Template:ALeague PG, existed before the A-League was formed.
Unlike most European leagues, there is no system for promotion and relegation of teams nor a national knockout cup competition along the lines of the FA Cup. The A-League system thus shares some franchising elements with most other professional leagues in Australia, Major League Soccer and other major American-based sports leagues.
Wellington Phoenix replaced the Template:ALeague NZK at the start of the 2007–08 season.[12][13]
On 1 March 2011 the FFA officially announced that the licence held by franchise North Queensland Fury had been revoked for financial reasons.[14]
The Newcastle Jets officially announced that their license had been handed back to the FFA, but later took it back.
On 29 February 2012, a second Queensland club, Gold Coast United, also had its licence revoked. This was later confirmed by the announcement of the new Western Sydney based club to take over its licence.[15][16]
On 4 April 2012 it was announced that a new club in Western Sydney would take part in the 2012–13 A-League season.[17]
Team | City | Stadium | Founded | Joined | Head Coach | Captain |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Current A-League Clubs | ||||||
Adelaide United | Adelaide, SA | Hindmarsh Stadium | 2003 | 2005 | Vacant | Eugene Galeković |
Brisbane Roar | Brisbane, QLD | Suncorp Stadium | 1957 | 2005 | Mike Mulvey | Matt Smith |
Central Coast Mariners | Gosford, NSW | Bluetongue Stadium | 2004 | 2005 | Graham Arnold | John Hutchinson |
Melbourne Heart | Melbourne, VIC | AAMI Park | 2008 | 2010 | John Aloisi | Fred |
Melbourne Victory | Melbourne, VIC | AAMI Park & Etihad Stadium | 2004 | 2005 | Ange Postecoglou | Adrian Leijer |
Newcastle Jets | Newcastle, NSW | Hunter Stadium | 2000 | 2005 | Gary van Egmond | Jobe Wheelhouse |
Perth Glory | Perth, WA | NIB Stadium | 1995 | 2005 | Ian Ferguson | Jacob Burns |
Sydney FC | Sydney, NSW | Allianz Stadium | 2004 | 2005 | Frank Farina | Terry McFlynn |
Wellington Phoenix | Wellington, NZL | Westpac Stadium | 2007 | 2007 | Ricki Herbert | Andrew Durante |
Western Sydney Wanderers | Sydney, NSW | Parramatta Stadium | 2012 | 2012 | Tony Popovic | Michael Beauchamp |
Team | City | Stadium | Founded | Joined | Ceased Operations | Last Head Coach | Last Captain |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Defunct Franchises | |||||||
Gold Coast United | Gold Coast, QLD | Skilled Park | 2008 | 2009 | 2012 | Mike Mulvey | Michael Thwaite |
New Zealand Knights | Auckland, NZL | North Harbour Stadium | 1998 | 2005 | 2007 | Ricki Herbert | Darren Bazeley |
North Queensland Fury | Townsville, QLD | Dairy Farmers Stadium | 2008 | 2009 | 2011 | František Straka | Ufuk Talay |
Expansion
While making a relatively modest start in order to ensure future stability, both Football Federation Australia 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 Lowy speculated that he hoped to expand the league into other cities, mentioning Canberra, Hobart, Wollongong, Geelong, Bendigo, Cairns, Ballarat, Albury, Wodonga, Launceston, Christchurch, Auckland, Sunshine Coast and possibly Darwin.[18][19][20][21]
On 29 September 2009 West Sydney were given an A-League license for the 2011–12 season.[22][23] On 2 October, the club was officially named Sydney Rovers FC.[24] This was to be short lived as on 10 December 2010 it was officially announced that Sydney Rovers FC would not be admitted to the competition and that the league administration would commence the search for a new Western Sydney Franchise.[25] The A-League found a new franchise to be named the Western Sydney Wanderers. Consortiums from Wollongong, Tasmania and Canberra are seeking to convince the FFA to instead award the 12th licence to their bids. In April 2012 the FFA announced that a new license would indeed be given to create a Western Sydney team in time for the 2012–2013 season.[26]
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).[27] The squad must also include at least three under-20 players.[28]
For the 2012–13 season, each club has a salary cap of A$2.48 million (excluding Marquee, guest and replacement players) on top of Third Party Agreements.[27] The minimum salary is A$48,507.[27][29]
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)
5Additional Expansion Club Visa Player
Marquee player
The league allows each team to have one "marquee" player whose salary is exempt from the salary cap. Notable marquee players in the A-League have included Dwight Yorke and Alessandro Del Piero, who signed for Sydney FC, on a two-year four million dollar deal, beginning in the 2012–13 season. Since the 2008–09 season, A-League clubs have been permitted a Junior Marquee player; one that is under the age of 23. The Junior Marquee can be paid up to A$150,000 above the salary cap. On 19 April 2010, the A-League announced that, in addition to the marquee and junior marquee, clubs would be allowed an Australian marquee player from the 2010–11 season.[30]
Club | Australian Marquee | International Marquee | Junior Marquee player | Captain | Vice-Captain |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Template:ALeague AU | Dario Vidošić[31] | None | None | Eugene Galeković[32] | Cássio[32] |
Template:ALeague BR | None | Thomas Broich[33] | None | Matt Smith[34] | Shane Stefanutto[34] |
Template:ALeague CCM | None | None | None | John Hutchinson[35] | Patrick Zwaanswijk |
Template:ALeague MH | None | Fred[36] | None | Fred[36] | Matt Thompson[37] |
Template:ALeague MV | Archie Thompson[38] | Marcos Flores[39] | None | Adrian Leijer[40] | Archie Thompson |
Template:ALeague NUJ | None | Emile Heskey | None | Jobe Wheelhouse[41] | Ruben Zadkovich |
Template:ALeague PG | None | Shane Smeltz[42] | None | Jacob Burns[43] | Travis Dodd |
Template:ALeague SFC | Brett Emerton[44] | Alessandro Del Piero[45] | Terry Antonis | Terry McFlynn[46] | Brett Emerton |
Template:ALeague WP | None | None[47] | None | Andrew Durante[48] | Ben Sigmund |
Template:ALeague WSW | None | Shinji Ono[49] | None | Michael Beauchamp[50] | Nikolai Topor-Stanley |
Countries that have had a Marquee player in the A-league
- Argentina
- Brazil
- Germany
- Italy
- Netherlands
- Australia
- Japan
- China
- New Zealand
- England
- Trinidad and Tobago
- Costa Rica
- Barbados
Youth league
Before the 2008–09 A-League 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 Template:ALeague WP) and had strong links to players training at the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS). Some changes were implemented for the 2009–10 season, including the addition of the Template:ALeague GCU 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 raisers. The new format has 27 rounds, however each team has three byes over the season.
Stadia
Primary venues used in the A-League:
Template:ALeague MV | Template:ALeague BR | Template:ALeague SFC | Template:ALeague WP | Template:ALeague NUJ |
---|---|---|---|---|
Etihad Stadium | Suncorp Stadium | Allianz Stadium | Westpac Stadium | Hunter Stadium |
Capacity: 56,347 | Capacity: 52,500 | Capacity: 45,500 | Capacity: 36,000 | Capacity: 33,000 |
Template:ALeague MH Template:ALeague MV |
Template:ALeague WSW | Template:ALeague PG | Template:ALeague CCM | Template:ALeague AU |
AAMI Park | Parramatta Stadium[note 1] | nib Stadium | Bluetongue Stadium | Hindmarsh Stadium |
Capacity: 30,050 | Capacity: 21,500 | Capacity: 20,500 | Capacity: 20,059 | Capacity: 17,000 |
Notes:
- ^ Previously used by Template:ALeague SFC for an AFC Champions League game on 25 April 2007 and in two A-League matches against Template:ALeague PG on 7 February and 21 November 2010.
Other venues used by A-League clubs include:
Stadium | Location | Capacity | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
AMI Stadium | Christchurch, NZ | 38,628 | Used by Template:ALeague WP for two A-League matches against Template:ALeague AU on 30 January and 5 December 2010[51] |
Adelaide Oval | Adelaide, SA | 40,000 | Used by Template:ALeague AU for three A-League matches against Template:ALeague SFC on 28 December 2007, 3 January 2009 and 29 December 2010 and for an A-League match against Template:ALeague MV on 11 February 2011 |
Arena Manawatu | Palmerston North, NZ | 18,000 | Used by Template:ALeague WP for an A-League match against Template:ALeague SFC on 12 December 2009 |
Aurora Stadium | Launceston, TAS | 20,000 | Hosted a Regional Round fixture between Template:ALeague MV and Template:ALeague GCU on 1 February 2012,[52] and is scheduled to host another Template:ALeague MV game against Template:ALeague CCM on 12 January 2013 |
Campbelltown Stadium | Sydney, NSW | 21,000 | Hosted a Regional Round fixture between Template:ALeague SFC and Template:ALeague PG on 7 December 2011[52] and will host a game between the Template:ALeague WSW and Template:ALeague NUJ in the first half of 2013. |
Canberra Stadium | Canberra, ACT | 25,011 | Used by Template:ALeague CCM for an A-League match against Template:ALeague PG on 4 September 2009 and again for an A-League match against Template:ALeague AU on 31 October 2009 |
Carrington Park | Bathurst, NSW | 13,000 | Hosted a Regional Round fixture between Template:ALeague AU and Template:ALeague NUJ on 25 January 2012[52] |
Docklands Stadium | Melbourne, VIC | 53,359 | Used by Template:ALeague MV for eight matches during 2006–07 season,[note 1] then served as team's permanent home venue for three subsequent seasons. Since 2010–11[note 2] it was used for five matches every season, serving as the venue for special highly-attended occasions like Melbourne, Cross Border or Big Blue derbies. |
Dairy Farmers Stadium | Townsville, QLD | 26,500 | Used by Template:ALeague NQF in the 2009–10 and 2010–11 seasons |
Eden Park | Auckland, NZ | 50,000 | Used by Template:ALeague WP for an A-League match against Template:ALeague AU on 19 November 2011[53] |
Falcons Park | Morwell, VIC | 12,000 | Hosted a Regional Round fixture between Template:ALeague MH and Template:ALeague WP on 4 December 2011[52] |
Forsyth Barr Stadium | Dunedin, NZ | 30,748 | Hosted a Regional Round fixture between Template:ALeague WP and Template:ALeague BR on 14 December 2011,[52] and is scheduled to host another Template:ALeague WP match against Template:ALeague BR on 3 March 2013 |
Jubilee Oval | Sydney, NSW | 22,000 | Used by Template:ALeague SFC for an A-League match against Template:ALeague BR on 4 December 2011[54] |
North Harbour Stadium | Albany, NZ | 25,000 | Used by Template:ALeague NZK in the 2005–06 and 2006–07 seasons |
Olympic Park Stadium | Melbourne, VIC | 18,500 | Used by Template:ALeague MV in the 2005–06 season and part of the 2006–07 season[note 1] |
Patersons stadium | Subiaco, WA | 43,500 | Scheduled to host two A-League matches of Template:ALeague PG, against Template:ALeague BR on 7 October 2012 and against Template:ALeague WSW on 27 December 2012 |
Port Macquarie Regional Stadium | Port Macquarie, NSW | 10,000 | Used by Template:ALeague NUJ for an A-League match against Template:ALeague MH on 31 October 2010 (as the emergency replacement venue) |
Robina Stadium | Gold Coast, QLD | 27,400 | Used by Template:ALeague GCU from 2009–10 till 2011–12 seasons. Used by Brisbane Roar for 2 home games in Jan/Feb 2011 as Suncorp Stadium was unavailable due to flood damage. |
Notes:
- ^ a b Olympic Park Stadium was Melbourne Victory's home stadium during the 2005–06 season. Their round 2 match of the 2006–07 season, on 2 September 2006, was originally a one-off game at Docklands Stadium. After the success of the event, a further seven home games were relocated to Docklands Stadium, which went on to become Melbourne finals series' home venue and as of the 2007–08 season, the full-time home ground of the club.
- ^ Due to the existing contract with Docklands, the newly built Melbourne Rectangular Stadium was the Victory's home stadium on a limited basis for the 2010–11 season and became the team's permanent home stadium from 2011 onwards.
Crowds
Average crowds for the regular season are listed below. These figures do not include finals, international friendlies or AFC Champions League matches.
Last updated 20 January 2013
Team | Crowd average | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2005–06 | 2006–07 | 2007–08 | 2008–09 | 2009–10 | 2010–11 | 2011–12 | 2012–13 | |
Template:ALeague AU | 10,948 | 12,162 | 12,697 | 11,712 | 10,765 | 11,552 | 8,083 | 10,038 |
Template:ALeague BR | 14,785 | 16,465 | 16,951 | 12,995 | 8,652 | 9,279 | 13,157 | 14,128 |
Template:ALeague CCM | 7,899 | 9,828 | 12,738 | 10,465 | 7,426 | 7,713 | 9,607 | 10,515 |
Template:ALeague GCU | – | – | – | – | 5,392 | 3,434 | 3,546 | – |
Template:ALeague MH | – | – | – | – | – | 8,312 | 9,082 | 8,882 |
Template:ALeague MV | 14,158 | 27,728 | 26,064 | 24,516 | 21,105 | 15,234 | 20,281 | 20,228 |
Template:ALeague NUJ | 8,912 | 11,442 | 13,177 | 9,729 | 6,340 | 8,429 | 12,117 | 13,573 |
Template:ALeague NZK | 3,909 | 3,014 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
Template:ALeague NQF | – | – | – | – | 6,723 | 4,245 | – | – |
Template:ALeague PG | 9,734 | 7,671 | 7,606 | 7,942 | 9,209 | 8,488 | 8,309 | 9,099 |
Template:ALeague SFC | 16,669 | 14,999 | 16,382 | 12,380 | 12,987 | 7,656 | 11,861 | 19,299 |
Template:ALeague WP | – | –1 | 11,684 | 7,193 | 8,965 | 7,981 | 8,691 | 7,445 |
Template:ALeague WSW | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 11,349 |
Whole season | 11,281 | 12,900 | 14,608 | 12,181 | 9,831 | 8,393 | 10,490 | 12,456 |
Referees
The A-League also features some of Australia and New Zealand's top match officials.[55] Referees include:
Name | Location | Notes |
---|---|---|
Chris Beath | Queensland | FIFA listed[56] |
Strebre Delovski | New South Wales | FIFA listed,[56] AFC Elite Panel[57] |
Shaun Evans | Queensland | |
Jarred Gillett | Queensland | FIFA listed[56] |
Matthew Gillett | Queensland | |
Peter Green | Queensland | FIFA listed,[56] AFC Elite Panel[57] |
Kris Griffiths-Jones | New South Wales | |
Adam Kersey | Queensland | |
Brenton Haywood | Victoria | |
Lucien Laverdure | Victoria | |
Tim McGilchrist | New South Wales | |
Alan Milliner | Queensland | |
Peter O'Leary | New Zealand | FIFA listed[58] |
Regis Queffelec | South Australia | |
Ben Williams | Australian Capital Territory | FIFA listed,[56] AFC Elite Panel[57] |
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, and the term used in the old National Soccer League. The team that wins the Grand Final receives the title of Champions.[59]
See also the list of champions from 1977 to 2004 in the previous National Soccer League competition.
Premiership Winners
Titles | Team | Years |
---|---|---|
2 | Template:ALeague CCM | 2008, 2012 |
2 | Template:ALeague MV | 2007, 2009 |
1 | Template:ALeague AU | 2006 |
1 | Template:ALeague BR | 2011 |
1 | Template:ALeague SFC | 2010 |
Championship Winners
Titles | Team | Years |
---|---|---|
2 | Template:ALeague BR | 2011, 2012 |
2 | Template:ALeague MV | 2007, 2009 |
2 | Template:ALeague SFC | 2006, 2010 |
1 | Template:ALeague NUJ | 2008 |
Oceania Club Championship
In 2004–2005 Australia was still a part of the Oceania Football Confederation 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 League after 2011, as the club will no longer be eligible for AFC Champions League football.
Season | Qualified clubs | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Team | Final Position | |||
2004–05 Details |
Template:ALeague SFC | Winners Details |
AFC Champions League
A-League clubs are eligible for participation in the AFC Champions League competition each season[60] since the 2007 competition. These 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 amount of qualification slots and their nature as direct entry to the group stage or a qualification play-off varies based on what the AFC determines for each nation in the competition for that season. For most seasons there have been two direct entry positions. The first qualification slot is given to the minor premier winning club, with the second to the Grand Final winning club. Due to the dates of the respective competitions, an entire season passes before clubs compete. For example, Newcastle Jets competed in the 2009 Champions League, even though they finished last in the 2008–09 A-League season.
Season | Qualified clubs | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Team | Final Position | Team | Final Position | Team | Final Position | |
2007 Details |
Template:ALeague SFC | Group stage (2nd) Details |
Template:ALeague AU | Group stage (3rd) Details |
- | - |
2008 Details |
Template:ALeague MV | Group stage (2nd) Details |
Template:ALeague AU | Runners-up Details |
- | - |
2009 Details |
Template:ALeague NUJ | Round of 16 Details |
Template:ALeague CCM | Group stage (4th) Details |
- | - |
2010 Details |
Template:ALeague MV | Group stage (4th) Details |
Template:ALeague AU | Round of 16 Details |
- | - |
2011 Details |
Template:ALeague SFC | Group stage (3rd) Details |
Template:ALeague MV | Group stage (4th) Details |
- | - |
2012 Details |
Template:ALeague BR | Group stage (3rd) Details |
Template:ALeague CCM | Group stage (3rd) Details |
Template:ALeague AU | Quarter Finals Details |
2013 Details |
Template:ALeague BR | TBD | Template:ALeague CCM | TBD | - | - |
All Time A-League Leaders
Shows Players at current club or last club played for. Bold denotes players still playing in the A-League. Last updated 27 January 2013
|
Shows Players at current club or last club they played for. Bold denotes players still playing in the A-League.
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Awards
Johnny Warren Medal
The Johnny Warren Medal, named after the late former Socceroo and media advocate Johnny Warren, 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 Medal is given to the best player in an A-League Grand Final. It is named after Joe Marston, a Socceroo in the 1950s.
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.
Nike Golden Boot
The Nike 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.
Goalkeeper of the Year
Manager of the Year
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).
Zurich Referee of the Year
Year | Referee |
---|---|
2005–06 | Mark Shield |
2006–07 | Mark Shield |
2007–08 | Mark Shield |
2008–09 | Matthew Breeze |
2009–10 | Strebre Delovski |
2010–11 | Matthew Breeze |
2011–12 | Jarred Gillett |
Foreign Player of the Year
Year | Player/s | Club |
---|---|---|
2008–09 | Charlie Miller | Template:ALeague QR |
2009–10 | Carlos Hernández | Template:ALeague MV |
2010–11 | Marcos Flores | Template:ALeague AU |
2011–12 | Thomas Broich | Template:ALeague BR |
Solo Goal of the Year
Year | Player/s | Club |
---|---|---|
2009–10 | Carlos Hernández | Template:ALeague MV |
2010–11 | Erik Paartalu | Template:ALeague BR |
2011–12 | Carlos Hernández | Template:ALeague MV |
Media coverage
Domestic
From the start of the inaugural 2005-06 season to the 2012-13 season, TV coverage within Australia has been restricted to the subscription-only Fox Sport channel, to which only 7% of Australian residents have.[61] These exclusive rights preventing A-League games, as well as Socceroos matches from terrestrial television viewing saw much opposition limiting the growth of the league and the the reach of football in Australia.
Year | Partner |
---|---|
2004–2012 | Fox Sports (Australia) SKY Sport (New Zealand) |
2013–2017 | Fox Sports, SBS (Australia) Sky Sport (New Zealand) |
The current television viewing rights are as follows:
- Australia– Fox Sports (every match + highlights)[62]
- New Zealand – SKY Sport (live coverage + highlights)
International
The current television viewing rights are as follows:
- Canada – Fox Sports World (highlights)
- Hong Kong – Cable TV Hong Kong (1 / 2 game per week + highlights)
- Italy – Mediaset (All games involving Sydney FC)
- United Kingdom and Republic Of Ireland – Sky Sports (highlights + live Play offs and Final)
- United States – Fox Soccer Channel (1 game per week + highlights)
Rivalries
While there are only two local derbies in the A-league, many 'rivalries' have formed. These include:
- Template:ALeague MH v Template:ALeague MV: "Melbourne derby" 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 Behich 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.
- Template:ALeague SFC v Template:ALeague WSW: "Sydney Derby" The Sydney derby between Sydney FC and Western Sydney Wanderers FC has been contested for the first team in the 2012/13 season with the introduction of the Western Sydney Wanderers FC. Sydney FC grabbed bragging rights by winning the first derby 1-0 at Parramatta Stadium, however Western Sydney Wanderers won the return match at Allianz Stadium. The Sydney Derby is intensified by the geographic distinction between the two clubs in the same city of Sydney.
- Template:ALeague AU v Template:ALeague MV: "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 and then Adelaide United coach John Kosmina.
- Template:ALeague SFC v Template:ALeague MV: "The Big Blue" 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 Allsopp and Sydney coach John Kosmina.
- Template:ALeague NUJ v Template:ALeague CCM: Labelled "The F3 Derby" by commentators,[63] 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 Final, which was won 1–0 by the Jets.
- Template:ALeague SFC v Template:ALeague CCM: The NSW derby. 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 and a 7-2 win to the Mariners.
- Template:ALeague BR v Template:ALeague MV: The rivalry started when Victory were the only team to beat the Roar in the 2010–11 A-league season and also the only team not to lose to Brisbane during their record 36 game unbeaten streak. On 26 April 2012 former Brisbane coach Ange Postecoglou signed with Template:ALeague MV as head coach.[64]
- Template:ALeague SFC v Template:ALeague BR: This traditional New South Wales-Queensland Rivalry was first ignited in the 2007–08 A-League Finals Series when Brisbane Roar (then known as Queensland Roar) secured victory over Sydney FC after two hard fought legs with the second leg being played in front of a then club record crowd of 36,211 at Suncorp Stadium. After being stagnant for the seasons to follow, the rivalry between the biggest clubs in their respective states re-ignited in 2011 when Sydney ended Brisbane's 36 game unbeaten streak 2–0, The following month there was an on field clash between Sydney's Pascal Bosschaart and Brisbane's Besart Berisha following a 2–1 victory at Suncorp Stadium.
- Template:ALeague PG v Template:ALeague WP: "The Distance Derby". Named because these 2 teams are geographically the furthest teams apart in the A-league, They first met in the finals during the 2009–10 season with Wellington beating Perth on penalty shoot 1–1 (4–2) on penalties. Perth Glory and Wellington Phoenix again met in the finals of the 2011–12 season, This time Perth winning 3–2 in extra time.
Supporters Groups
All teams in the league have their own supporters groups – some with more than one.[65][66]
Team | Group | Reference |
---|---|---|
Adelaide United | Red Army | [67] |
Red Terrace | [68] | |
Brisbane Roar | The Den | [69] |
River City Crew (RCC) | [69] | |
Central Coast Mariners | Marinators (former) | [70] |
Yellow Army | [71] | |
Gold Coast United (defunct) | The Beach | [72] |
Melbourne Heart | Yarraside | [73] |
Melbourne Victory | Blue and White Brigade (BWB) | [74] |
Sudden Death Crew (SDC) | [75] | |
7 May Crew (M7C) | [75] | |
Horda | [73] | |
Newcastle Jets | The Squadron | [76] |
New Zealand Knights (defunct) | Bloc5 | [77] |
North Queensland Fury(defunct) | F-Troop | [78] |
Perth Glory | Glory Shed Supporters Club (GSSC) | [79] |
Glory Fans United (GFU) | [80] | |
Perth Glory FC Social Club (PGFCSC) | [81] | |
Sydney FC | The Cove | [82] |
Wellington Phoenix | Yellow Fever | [83] |
Western Sydney Wanderers | Red & Black Bloc | [82] |
References
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- ^ a b Flower, Wayne (4 February 2011). "A-League Melbourne Victory and Melbourne Heart fans' rivalry turns nasty". news.com.au. Retrieved 22 December 2012.
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- ^ Brown, Michael (11 December 2012). "Soccer: Why it's hard to be a Phoenix fan". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 22 December 2012.
External links
- A-League official website
- Football Federation Australia
- SBS The World Game A-League section
- FOX Sports Australia A-League section
- Australian FourFourTwo
- A-league Stats – A-League statistics from all seasons collated and classified
- Coast Design Sydney – the A-League logo designers
- Use dmy dates from December 2012
- A-League
- National association football premier leagues
- Summer association football leagues
- Fox Sports (Australia)
- Soccer leagues in Australia
- Professional sports leagues in Australia
- Sports leagues in Australia
- Recurring sporting events established in 2004
- 2004 establishments in Australia
- Sports leagues established in 2004