A-League Men - Wikipedia

australian premier association football league
This article is about the australian chancellor men ‘s association football league. For the Australian premier women ‘s league of the same name, see A-League Women. For the australian youth league, see A-League Youth
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A-League Men ( known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons ) is the highest-level professional men ‘s soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. At the top of the Australian league system, it is the state ‘s primary men ‘s contest for the sport. A-League valet was established in 2004 as the A-League by the Football Federation Australia ( FFA ) as a successor to the National Soccer League ( NSL ) and contest commenced in August 2005. The league is presently contested by twelve teams ; eleven based in Australia and one based in New Zealand. The men ‘s, women ‘s and youth leagues brought in concert under a mix A-Leagues banner. [ 1 ] Seasons run from October to May and include a 26-round regular season followed by a Finals Series playoff involving the six highest-placed teams, culminating in a grand piano final examination couple. The winner of the regular season tournament is dubbed the ‘Premier ‘ while the achiever of the distinguished final examination is the season ‘s ‘Champion ‘. This differs from the early major football codes in Australia, where ‘premier ‘ refers to the winner of the deluxe final and the winner of the regular season is the ‘ minor chancellor ‘. successful A-League man clubs gain reservation into the asian continental club contest, the Asian Football Confederation Champions League ( ACL ), besides known as the “ AFC Champions League ”. In 2014, the Western Sydney Wanderers became the first and only winning australian club. like to the United States and Canada ‘s Major League Soccer, arsenic well as other master sports leagues in Australia, A-League Men does not rehearse promotion and relegation. Since the league ‘s inaugural season, a total of seven clubs have been crowned A-League Premiers and six clubs have been crowned A-League Champions. The current premier is Melbourne City FC, who finished beginning in the 2020–21 A-League. The stream champions are Melbourne City FC, who won the 2021 A-League Grand Final and their first gear championship .

history [edit ]

Origins [edit ]

A national round-robin tournament existed in versatile forms prior to the formation of the A-League, with the most celebrated being the National Soccer League ( NSL ). The formation of the NSL came after Australia ‘s qualification for the 1974 FIFA World Cup, which led to discussion of a national league, with 14 teams finally chosen to participate in the inaugural season of the NSL in 1977. [ 2 ] Under the guidance of the then-governing body, the australian Soccer Federation ( late Soccer Australia ), the NSL flourished through the 1980s and early 1990s but then fell into decline with the increasing deviation of australian players to abroad leagues, a black television deal with the Seven Network and the resulting lack of sponsorship. [ 3 ] Few clubs continued to grow with Sydney Olympic, Perth Glory, and the newly established Adelaide United the exception in a dying league. [ 4 ] [ 5 ] [ 6 ] In April 2003, the australian Federal Government initiated the Independent Soccer Review Committee to investigate the administration and management of the fun in Australia, including that of the NSL. [ 7 ] In December 2003, the Crawford Report found that the NSL was financially unviable, and in reply the president of the sports new governing body, Frank Lowy of the Football Federation Australia, announced that a task force would be formed to create a new national rival as a successor to the NSL which dissolved at the ending of the 2003–04 season after 27 years of operation. [ 8 ]

Foundations [edit ]

The A-League was announced in April 2004, as a successor to the NSL. [ 8 ] Eight teams would be part of the new national competition, with one team from each city of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Newcastle, plus a New Zealand team and one from a remaining expressions of interest from either Melbourne or Sydney. The competition start date was set for August 2005. [ 9 ] [ 10 ] By June of that class, 20 submissions had been received and a month former 12 consortiums sent in their final bids for the eight spots. Three bids were received from Melbourne, two each from Sydney and Brisbane, one from each of the remaining prefer cities and a bid from the New South Wales Central Coast city of Gosford. Over the adjacent three months, each command was reviewed and on 1 November 2004, the eight successful bidders and the major patronize were revealed, for what would be known as the Hyundai A-League, with the Hyundai Motor Company unveiled as the official name rights patron for the league. [ 10 ] The eight founding teams for the league were Adelaide United, Central Coast Mariners, Melbourne Victory, Newcastle Jets, New Zealand Knights, Perth Glory, Queensland Roar and Sydney FC, with four early NSL clubs taking function, those being Adelaide United, Newcastle Jets and Perth Glory, a well as NSL club Brisbane Lions who withdrew their first team from the Queensland State league and entered it in to the contest as Queensland Roar [ 11 ] plus New Zealand Knights who were formed from New Zealand Football Kingz. Each clubhouse was given a five-year exclusivity cope in its own marketplace as character of the league ‘s “ one-city, one-team ” policy. This was intended to allow clubs to grow and develop an identity in their respective region without local competition. [ 12 ]

initial seasons [edit ]

On 26 August 2005, 16 months after the death of the NSL, the inaugural address season of the A-League began. [ 10 ] The first season would see Adelaide United win the premier ‘s plate by seven points over Sydney FC with Central Coast and Newcastle filling the final two spots in the final series. [ 13 ] In the concluding serial, it was Sydney that took out the title after they defeated Central Coast by a Steve Corica goal to claim the foremost title on 5 March 2006. [ 14 ] The following season saw Melbourne Victory claim the A-League premiers plate when they smashed Adelaide United 6–0 in the final at the Telstra Dome with Archie Thompson scoring five goals in the spread-eagle. [ 15 ] But the season was n’t without a variety with the New Zealand Knights being replaced by the Wellington Phoenix after the Knights were taken over by New Zealand Football after the team only won six times in forty-two games and selected oversea endowment rather of local. [ 16 ] [ 17 ]

Development [edit ]

Both Gold Coast United and North Queensland Fury joined the league in the 2009–10 season. On 12 June 2009, Melbourne Heart was awarded a license to join the 2010–11 season. [ 18 ] On 1 March 2011 North Queensland Fury ‘s A-League license was revoked for fiscal reasons. [ 19 ] On 29 February 2012, Gold Coast United besides had its license revoked. [ 20 ] [ 21 ] On 4 April 2012, it was announced that a new western Sydney-based baseball club, Western Sydney Wanderers, would join the league for the 2012–13 season. [ 22 ] In January 2014, Melbourne Heart was acquired by the City Football Group and was renamed Melbourne City ahead of the 2014–15 season. [ 23 ] In February 2018, officials announced that the league would expand to 12 teams for the 2019–20 temper. [ 24 ] Later that year, the league announced that western United FC would join the competition in 2019–20 and Macarthur would enter the succeed season ( 2020–21 ). [ 25 ] In the lead-up to the expansion announcements in 2019, baseball club stakeholders entered into discussions with Football Federation Australia ( FFA ) to take over possession of the contest. The league had been created and operated by the FFA since its origin in 2004, though by 2018 the FFA and clubs were at loggerheads over the permanent ownership social organization of the league. [ 26 ] A FIFA -backed congress review working group issued a swing 100-page reputation in August 2018, recommending an expanded domestic sexual intercourse and an independent A-League, controlled and operated by the clubs. [ 27 ] On 1 July 2019, the FFA and Australian Professional Football Clubs Association ( the body representing the A-League clubs ) announced an agreement had been reached for the FFA to relinquish see of the league to the clubs by the following month, in meter for the begin of the 2019–20 season. [ 28 ] The agreement brought the sport in cable with the administration structure utilised in most european leagues. [ 28 ] [ 29 ] In 2020, football experts concluded A-League is entering a newly crisis era, due to lack of major competitiveness and that total reforms must be done to improve the league, including the introduction of promotion and delegating organization, and this has started to be debated. [ 30 ] [ 31 ] In response, A-League officials in May 2021 announced that the league will align to the Domestic Match Calendar to avoid clashing with FIFA Days, adenine well as introducing Domestic Transfer System and National Club Licensing frameworks. [ 32 ] [ 33 ]

competition format [edit ]

regular season [edit ]

The regular season runs chiefly during the australian summer, from early October to April of the comply year. The rival consists of 33 rounds, with each team meet every other team three times. The teams allotted two home matches against an opponent in one season are allotted one home match against that adversary in the follow season. Each equal sees the acquire team awarded three rival points, with one point each for a draw. The club at the top of this ladder is crowned A-League Premiers, and since the 2005–06 season has been entered into the AFC Champions League. [ 34 ] [ 35 ] The Premier is presented with a trophy known as the Premier ‘s Plate. [ 36 ] At the completion of the regular temper the peak six put teams on the league table progress to the finals series. The position of each team is determined by the highest act of points accumulated during the regular season. If two or more teams are level on points, the follow criteria are applied in order until one of the teams can be determined as the higher ranked : [ 37 ]

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.[37]

Finals series [edit ]

The top six clubs at the termination of the regular season build up to the finals series. The finals series culminates to the A-League grand piano final examination, where the winner is crowned A-League champion and receives a identify in the AFC Champions League. The club that wins the grand final is presented with the A-League Champions Trophy. The finals serial consists of six teams who are placed by rank, as determined at the end of the regular season. The finals series runs over four weeks. In the beginning week of fixtures, the third-through-sixth graded teams play a single-elimination pit, with the two winners of those matches joining the first and second base rate teams in two-legged ties played over two weeks. The two winners of those matches meet in the thousand final examination. This method acting was initially adopted for the 2021–22 season. [ 38 ] Of the two grand finalists, the team that finished higher on the ladder at the decision of the regular season hosts the grand piano final examination. The only exception to this is if the FA deems that team ‘s dwelling grind to be an inappropriate venue. For example, in 2008, Central Coast Mariners ( as the higher-placed team ) hosted the thousand final against the Newcastle Jets at Sydney Football Stadium, due to FFA deciding that Central Coast Mariners home stadium, Central Coast Stadium with a capacity of 20,000, was excessively minor for the event. [ 39 ] Grand final host stadium

Continental qualification [edit ]

In 2004–05, Australia was inactive a share 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 passing tournament. A-League clubs are eligible for engagement in the AFC Champions League contest each season since the 2007 edition of the tournament. [ 40 ] Wellington Phoenix are not eligible to compete in the asian Champions League, nor do they compete in the OFC Champions League. The lone australian side to win the asian Champions League are the western Sydney Wanderers FC. qualification is determined by league finish up positions and who wins the A-League Grand Final, and the number of positions determined by the Asian Football Confederation club rival rate. The ACL is split into West & East asian halves until the Grand Final, and Australia has generally been 4th placed in East Asia and received two direct entry positions and one qualification play-off moor. It is improbable the A-League will receive more than 3 positions until the competition expands beyond 10 teams. [ 41 ] [ 42 ] [ 43 ] [ 44 ] [ 45 ]

other competitions [edit ]

Since 2014 clubs besides compete in the annual FFA Cup knock-out tournament. [ 46 ] From 2020, the acme nine teams qualify for the 2020 FFA Cup – entering at the Round of 32 – while the bottomland two teams will play-off for a touch in the Round of 32. [ 47 ] between 2005 and 2008 clubs participated in the A-League Pre-Season Challenge Cup anterior to each A-League regular season. In 2013 and 2014 an A-League All Stars Game was besides played as a pre-season friendly game between the league ‘s finest players and a high-profile external team. [ 48 ] [ 49 ] Most A-League man clubs have teams in the A-League Youth competition, which runs in junction with the A-League Men as a national young person developmental and reserve league. All players in the youth teams are between the ages of 16 and 21 as of the begin of the calendar class for each newly temper, while four over-age players from each of the senior teams besides allowed to be selected. In addition, the A-League Women operates as the acme division of women ‘s league with affiliations to the men ‘s competition. [ 50 ] In response to the argument about the development of a fresh professional second division, the australian Championship has been proposed to support the A-League, with the aim to avoid the american franchise-based system and to put in course with european football leagues. [ 51 ] [ 32 ]

Clubs [edit ]

The A-League Men is presently contested by 12 teams : eleven from Australia and one from New Zealand. A total of 15 teams have competed at some stage in the league ‘s short history. only four of these clubs – Adelaide United, the Brisbane Roar ( as the Queensland Lions ), the Newcastle Jets, and the Perth Glory – existed before the A-League was formed. Gold Coast United, the New Zealand Knights, and the North Queensland Fury have once competed in the league. Unlike most leagues from across the world, there is no system for promotion and delegating of teams. The A-Leagues system thus shares some franchising elements with most early professional leagues in Australia, Major League Soccer, and other major north American-based sports leagues .

timeline [edit ]

League extremity Former penis Future member

expansion [edit ]

While making a relatively minor beginning to ensure future stability, both the FFA and the soccer media indicated meaning interest in expanding the league. The eight foundation clubs had exclusivity clauses for their respective cities valid for five years, but this did not exclude teams from other areas joining the league. Before the initiation of the A-League, FFA president Frank Lowy speculated that he hoped to expand the league into early cities, mentioning Canberra, Hobart, Wollongong, Geelong, Bendigo, Cairns, Ballarat, Albury–Wodonga, Launceston, Christchurch, Auckland, Sunshine Coast and possibly Darwin and late Singapore. [ 52 ] [ 53 ] [ 54 ] [ 55 ] In February 2018, officials announced that the league would expand to 12 teams for the 2019–20 season. [ 24 ] [ 56 ] [ 57 ] In December 2018, the FFA announced they accepted the bids of western United who joined the league in the 2019–20 season and of Macarthur, who joined the league in the 2020–21 season. [ 58 ] In 2021, foster steps were taken in an undertake to expand from the recent 12 clubs, with goals being set to get 14 clubs in 2022 and a potential 16 clubs in 2023. [ 59 ] [ 60 ]

Rivalries [edit ]

There are several key rivalries and local derbies that have formed in the A-League, including : “Melbourne Derby” – Melbourne City v Melbourne Victory
The two Melbourne clubs first met on 8 October 2010 in a full of life game at AAMI Park in front of 25,897 fans. Melbourne City ( known at the clock time as Melbourne Heart ) came out on top with a 2–1 victory. [ 61 ] A significant narrative in bowler hat history is the character of Melbourne Victory as a more successful club both on and off the plain, having joined the A-League five years earlier than City. The competition is one of the most acute and well respected in the A-League, producing obtrusive air and some of the largest attendances in the league. [ 62 ] “The Original Rivalry” – Adelaide United v Melbourne Victory
The competition stems from the traditional cross-border competition between sporting teams from South Australia and Victoria but was strengthened by multiple incidents in the 2006–07 season, such as the confrontation between Melbourne Victory captain Kevin Muscat and Adelaide United coach John Kosmina. [ citation needed ] The two clubs contested the 2007 and 2009 A-League Grand Finals, with Melbourne winning the 2009 Grand Final 1–0 against a 10-man Adelaide United side. The two clubs were besides involved in the first and lone occasion in the A-League during the 2008–09 A-League season, where they both finished on the top of the ladder equal on both points and goal dispute. “Sydney Derby” – Sydney FC v Western Sydney Wanderers
The bowler hat was contested for the beginning time in the 2012–13 temper with the introduction of the second Sydney-based club, Western Sydney Wanderers, into the league. Sydney FC grabbed bragging rights by winning the first bowler hat 1–0 at Parramatta Stadium, [ 63 ] however Western Sydney Wanderers won the come back peer at Allianz Stadium 2–0. A Sydney Derby held early in the 2015 season broke the Allianz Stadium record for attendance during a regular season in any football code, dating back to the stadium ‘s open in 1988. [ 64 ] A match in 2016 between the two teams broke the record A-League push with 61,880 fans attending the match at ANZ Stadium. [ 65 ] Sydney Derby is intensified by the geographic eminence between the two clubs within Sydney, equally well as historic grievances related to the foundation of Sydney FC. “The Big Blue” – Melbourne Victory v Sydney FC
This equal is so named because blue is the main color of both teams ‘ playing kits, and is besides australian slang for a fight or a contest. [ 66 ] The competition has emerged as a result of a number of despiteful encounters between the teams in recent years, and due to the longstanding competition between Sydney and Melbourne, Australia ‘s two largest cities. The teams have competed against each other in three grand finals ; in 2010 & 2017, with Sydney winning 4–2 on penalties after a 1–1 hook on both occasions and in 2015, with Victory winning 3–0. [ 67 ] In 2010, Sydney FC won the A-League Premiership on the final examination day of the temper by defeating Victory 2–0. A big Blue meet is traditionally played on Australia Day each year. “The F3 Derby” – Central Coast Mariners v Newcastle Jets
Named after the former list of the expressway that connects the cities of Newcastle and Gosford, [ 68 ] this peer features the lone two clubs in the A-League that are not based in state capital cities. The two teams ‘ stadiums are barely one hour apart, and the bowler hat was intensified when they competed against each early for the premiership in the 2007–08 A-League season and finally met in the Grand Final, which was won 1–0 by the Jets.

constitution [edit ]

Logo and trophies [edit ]

The A-League Trophy was designed to resemble a laurel wreath The Premier ‘s Plate is awarded to the highest complete team in the regular temper. The current A-League logo was unveiled in January 2017 by Football Federation Australia. The logo formed part of a wide rebranding brand of the A-League and its auxiliary competitions, the W-League and Youth League. The logo design was “ inspired by football ‘s three great features – atmosphere, diversity and oneness ” and has colour alterations tailored to each of the 12 A-League clubs. The changes came into effect before the 2017/18 season. [ 70 ] The original A-League logo was designed by Coast Design Sydney. It was the inaugural logo of the league. The two-toned ocher colours represented the sunday, earth and desert while the ‘glow ‘ emanating from the center of the logo depicted the play season ‘s spring and summer time span. The eight ‘A ‘ figures that made up the ball supreme headquarters allied powers europe represented the eight foundation clubs of the league. [ 71 ] A-league decided to rebrand with a modern logo in 2021 designed by R/GA, a creative representation in Sydney, leading to a major controversy and narrowly debar legal trouble with building company in Adelaide over design similarities. [ 72 ] [ 73 ] The A-League has two trophies which are competed for during the season : the Premier ‘s Plate and the A-League Trophy. [ 74 ] The Premier ‘s Plate is awarded to the A-League Premiers, the regular season winners, and the A-League Trophy is awarded to the A-League Champions, the achiever of the Grand Final. Both pieces of silverware were designed by Sydney design party D3 Design. The A-League Trophy is nicknamed the “ Toilet Seat ” due to its form. [ 75 ] [ 76 ] [ 77 ] Where as the Premier ‘s Plate follows a traditional trophy design, the A-League Trophy differs. In 2005, John O’Neill, FFA CEO commented during the unveil of the A-League Trophy, “ We have a newly national league and we feel it is important to re-define the conventional view of a trophy to reflect this ”. Clive Solari of D3 Design explained the trophy ‘s design, saying “ We wanted our trophy concept to embody the historical meaning of sport in a contemporary design. So we looked to history to see how bang-up achievements have been rewarded across all types of games for thousands of years. The winners of the global ‘s original frolic contest, the Olympic Games, were presented with a laurel wreath on their heads. We used this model as a basis for a unique, up-to-date design – our trophy is a mod and versatile translation of the wreath. The winners can hold it above their heads as a symbol of achiever ”. [ 78 ]

Squad formation and wage cap [edit ]

The A-League match-day squad includes the typical 11 players, and five substitutes of which matchless must be a goalkeeper. Prior to the 2013–14 season, good four substitutes including one goalkeeper were allowed to be named in the starting line-ups for the teams. [ 79 ] An A-League police squad must comprise a minimum of 20 players with a maximum of 26, national to several limitations. Within the team, there can be a maximal of five “ foreign ” or “ Visa “ players, from outside Australia ( and New Zealand, in the case of Wellington Phoenix ), that hold a irregular working-visa. Three players in the police squad must besides be under 20 years of historic period. In addition to these three under 20 players, clubs are allowed to sign an extra three young person players onto full-time contracts at a lower pay rate than the rest of the police squad. [ 80 ] [ 81 ] [ 82 ] The A-League had initially proposed that the quota of five visa players per A-League club be reduced to four in the 2015–16 season, with the limit of four possibly become “ 3+1 ”, which means three imports from anywhere and one from Asia ( following regulations in the AFC Champions League ). [ 83 ] however, after resistance to the marriage proposal by both players and managers, the go was placed on hold. [ 84 ] Although A-League clubs have restricted salaries ( wage cap ), the league allows each club to have two “ marquee ” players whose salaries are exempt from the hood, plus a number of other ‘exemptions ‘ or ‘allowances ‘ to incentivise clubs to spend in specific areas. Guest players are besides excluded for astir to a utmost of 14 league matches. [ 85 ] From the formation of the league, clubs have been allowed to sign one external marquee player. From the 2008–09 temper, A-League clubs have been permitted a junior marquee musician ; one that is under the long time of 23. immediately known as the ‘Homegrown Player valuation reserve ‘, clubs can spend up to a collective $ 150,000 on three australian players aged 23 or younger that have come through the club ‘s youth arrangement. [ 86 ] On 19 April 2010, the A-League announced that, in accession to the international marquee and junior pavilion, clubs would be allowed an australian marquee player from the 2010–11 season. [ 87 ] noteworthy pavilion and guest players in the A-League have included Alessandro Del Piero, William Gallas, Dwight Yorke, Emile Heskey, Robbie Fowler, Shinji Ono, David Villa and former FIFA World Player of the Year Romário. Famous australian Marquees include Harry Kewell, John Aloisi, Brett Emerton, Joshua Kennedy and Tim Cahill. Commencing in the 2015–16 temper, players who have played at their club for 5–10 years will be covered by a “ loyalty musician allowance ”, allowing up to $ 200,000 of their wage to be exempted from the capital. additionally, clubs are now permitted a mature-age cub whose wages are outside the wage crown. [ 85 ] The 2016–17 season saw the introduction of a third base ‘Full Season Guest Marquee ‘ topographic point, designed to attract high-profile players on short-run deals. [ 88 ] The wage cap for A-League clubs is $ 2.1 million for the 2020–21 season. In the case for western United and debuting Macarthur FC, they are entitled to a $ 333,000 valuation reserve therefore increasing their wage cap to $ 2.433 million. Clubs must spend at least the wage floor which is $ 1.7 million. The wage cap applies to the 18 to 23 players that clubs have registered to their A-League player roll, the top 2 highest-paid players ( Designated Players ) do n’t count in the cap. Unless specifically exempt, all payments and benefits ( e.g. cars, adjustment, etc. ) provided by a club to a musician are included in the cabaret ‘s wage detonator. Players registered at a club for more than 4 straight years as a professional are considered as Loyalty Players and have the pursue amounts exempt from a cabaret ‘s wage ceiling ; Year 4 – 12.5 %, year 5 – 25 %, and 5 % increments after that up until a soap of 50 %. Teams can spend an inexhaustible amount on 4 U-23 australian players who have come from the youth team, called Homegrown Players. Teams can sign up to 9 U-20 players on minimum engage called Scholarship Players who do n’t count in the team unless they are one of the 3 U21 ‘s in the police squad, any payments above the national minimal wage to these Players are included in the club ‘s wage Cap. [ 89 ]

A-League salaries and marquees
Season	Marquee player	Australian marquee	Junior marquee	Mature-aged rookie	Salary cap	Minimum salary
2005–06	1	No	No	No	$1,500,000[90]
2006–07	1	No	No	No	$1,600,000[91]
2007–08	1	No	No	No	$1,800,000[91]
2008–09	1	No	1	No	$1,900,000[92]
2009–10	1	No	1	No	$2,250,000[93]
2010–11	1	1	1	No	$2,350,000[90]
2011–12	1	1	1	No	$2,400,000[94]
2012–13	1	1	1	No	$2,468,000[95]	$48,000[96]
2013–14	1	1	1	No	$2,500,000[95]	$50,000[95]
2014–15	1	1	1	No	$2,550,000[95]	$51,000[97]
2015–16	2		1	1	$2,600,000[86]	$55,000[86]
2016–17	3		1	1	$2,650,000[98]	$55,715[98]
2017–18	2		1	1	$2,928,000[98]	$61,287[98]
2018–19	2		1	1	$3,063,000[99]	$64,113[98]
2019–20	2		1	No	$3,200,000[99]	$47,792–$64,113[100]
2020–21	2		1	No	$2,100,000[101]	$45,000–$62,500[101]
2021–22

Stadiums [edit ]

A-League games have been played in 33 stadiums since the inaugural season of the A-League in 2005. Dolphin Stadium, the home of Brisbane Roar, is presently the smallest used in the A-League, with a capacity of 11,500. Optus Stadium, one of the homes of Perth Glory, has the greatest seating capacity ( 60,159 ) of any stadium presently used by an A-League valet golf club .
Since its formation, the A-League has been sponsored by an official name rights partner. [ 10 ] In 2004, the Hyundai Motor Company was announced as the patron for the first three seasons of the league, known for commercial purposes as the “ Hyundai A-League ”. In 2008, Hyundai renewed its initial compress with FFA for another four seasons until 2012, and that contract was promote extended by four seasons until 2016. [ 102 ] This sponsorship batch was then farther extended to the end of the 2019–20 A-League season. [ 103 ] On 23 December 2020, it was announced that the fresh major sponsor of the A-League and W-League would be home improvement memory Bunnings Warehouse. [ 104 ] On October 6, 2021, Isuzu UTE was announced as the appoint rights partner of the A-League Men in a 3-year deal, with the league known as the Isuzu UTE A-League Men. [ 105 ]

League championships [edit ]

As of the end of the 2020–21 regular temper, 14 unlike clubs have competed in the league, with seven having won the trophy, and eight winning at least one chancellor ‘s plate .

Records [edit ]

Besart Berisha is the leading A-League goalscorer, scoring his 100th A-League goal in April 2017. Brisbane Roar hold the record for the longest unbeaten streak in the contest with 36 league matches without frustration. [ 106 ] Besart Berisha holds the phonograph record for the greatest numeral of A-League goals, with 140 goals, playing for Brisbane Roar, Melbourne Victory and presently western United. [ 107 ] The A-League criminal record for most goals in a single peer is held by Archie Thompson, scoring 5 goals against Adelaide United on 18 February 2007, during the 2007 A-League Grand Final ; and Jamie Maclaren who scored 5 goals against Melbourne Victory on 17 April 2021. Jamie Maclaren has scored the most A-League hat-tricks with 6. Shane Smeltz and Bobô are the only players to have scored hat-tricks in consecutive matches. [ 108 ] [ 109 ] Henrique was the first, and so far only, player to score a hat-trick coming on as a substitute, for Brisbane Roar against Newcastle Jets. [ 110 ] In 2015, austrian striker Marc Janko broke the record for scoring in consecutive matches when he scored in seven games for Sydney FC. [ 111 ]

Media coverage [edit ]

In Australia [edit ]

From the beginning of the 2005–06 season to the 2012–13 season, television coverage of the A-League in Australia had been restricted to the subscription -only Fox Sports distribution channel, to which alone 7 % of australian residents had access. [ 112 ] On 19 November 2012, free-to-air Australian public broadcast medium television net SBS secured the shared rights, alongside long-time A-League broadcasters Fox Sports, to the A-League from the 2013–14 season with a A $ 160 million four-year broadcast softwood. [ 113 ] SBS ‘s coverage ended in the 2016–17 season, with Network Ten securing free-to-air air rights. Ten simulcasted the Fox Sports coverage of the Saturday night regular on its digital multichannel One. [ 114 ] From the 2019–20 season, ABC television receiver has broadcast one game a weekend ( Saturday 5pm ) live on its primary channel. It besides has the right to broadcast delay coverage of some finals matches and the Grand Final. [ 115 ] Fox Sport ‘s contract with the A-League, which was renegotiated in June 2020 amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, concluded in July 2021. [ 116 ] Since August 2021, as region of a five-year conduct with ViacomCBS, the A-Leagues are being broadcast by Network 10 ( one A-League Men match and one A-League Women couple on free-to-air television ) and Paramount+ streaming serve ( all remaining games ). [ 117 ]

other countries [edit ]

In New Zealand the league has been broadcast on Sky Sport since its inauguration season. In the 2019–20 season, the league besides broadcast on Qatari beIN Sports after Sky ink four-year partnership for extensive soccer coverage, particularly the A-league. [ 118 ] The increase of coverage of the A-League outside Australia saw the league broadcast in 65 countries around the global in 2013/14. [ 119 ] Full match broadcasts are available in the United States, China, Italy, England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Canada, the Caribbean, Hong Kong, Singapore and Myanmar. [ 119 ] In addition to the full match broadcasts, highlights of A-League matches can be viewed in 53 countries throughout Asia and the Middle East, including Japan and South Korea. [ 119 ] In 2014, a three-season softwood with Sony TEN allowed the league to be broadcast live in asian nations including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Every A-League match is besides exist streamed globally, allowing games to be viewed online through a subscription service provided in a partnership with the FFA. [ 121 ] All games besides broadcast live in the United States on ESPN+. Most games in the United Kingdom are broadcast by BT Sport but use Fox Sports ‘ hot run for every live plot. For the 2014–15 Season, the A-League was broadcast in 173 countries. [ 122 ]

promotion [edit ]

The A-League has been promoted using a issue of different advertise slogans and strategies since its origin. At the start of the inaugural season, a A $ 3 million dollar advertising campaign was launched, with the television receiver and movie advertisements produced by Ridley Scott ‘s production company Scott Free Productions. The root for the campaign was : “ football, but not as you know it ”. A new television ad was created for the start of the 2007–08 season, which debuted on Foxtel ‘s plan Total Football. It was filmed at Bob Jane Stadium in Melbourne. other campaigns include the “ 90 minutes, 90 emotions ”, which was used for two seasons from 2007 to 2009 and was accompanied by the music track “ My People ” from australian act The Presets. [ 123 ]

A-League Men – Wikipedia