A-League

A-League Men, also known as the Isuzu UTE A-League, is the highest-level men’s football league in Australia. Its counterpart is A-League Women.

There are 12 teams in A-League Men, 11 from Australia and one from New Zealand. It is the premier men’s football competition in Australia.

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Sport	Soccer
Country	Australia
Founded	2004
Teams	12
Teams promoted / relegated	0
Website	a-league.com.au

History

The A-League was founded in 2004 following the demise of the National Soccer League. It was founded by the Football Australia. Competitions started in 2005.

The competition initially featured only eight clubs but has grown throughout its 15-year existence, with some clubs coming and going, but seven of the foundation clubs remain.

Format

The A-League awards both a premier, for first past the post, as well as a champion, for the team that wins the Grand Final which is played at the end of the top six finals series. In 2019-20, all clubs played 26 matches before the finals.

The champion and premier both qualify for the AFC Champions League along with a third side into the qualifiers, while there is no relegation in the A-League.

Traditionally the A-League has run from October to May, although in 2020-21 this will change to December to July as part of a gradual shift to play football in the Australian winter.

Clubs

As of 2023, the current clubs that play in the A-League are:

• Adelaide United
• Brisbane Roar
• Central Coast Mariners
• Macarthur FC
• Melbourne City
• Melbourne Victory
• Newcastle Jets
• Perth Glory
• Sydney FC
• Wellington Phoenix (NZ)
• Western Sydney Wanderers
• Western United

The Wanderers are the youngest club to join the A-League, only starting in the 2012/2013 season.

Clubs that have gone defunct in the A-League include:

• Gold Coast United
• New Zealand Knights
• North Queensland Fury

Sponsorships

When it was founded, A-League Men was sponsored by Hyundai and they continued to be the sponsors through to the 2019/2020 season.

There was no sponsor for the 2020/2021 season and they were simply known as ‘A-League’. In the 2021/2022 season, Isuzu stepped in with the sponsorship, and the league is officially known as the Isuzu UTE A-League Men.