2025–26 A-League Men

49th season of top-tier soccer league in Australia From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The 2025–26 A-League Men, known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons, was the 49th season of national level men's soccer in Australia, and the 21st since the establishment of the competition as the A-League in 2004. Auckland FC were the defending premiers while Melbourne City were the defending champions.

Season2025–26
Dates17 October 2025 – 23 May 2026
ChampionsAuckland FC (1st title)
PremiersNewcastle Jets (1st title)
Quick facts Season, Dates ...
A-League Men
Season2025–26
Dates17 October 2025 – 23 May 2026
ChampionsAuckland FC (1st title)
PremiersNewcastle Jets (1st title)
Champions League EliteNewcastle Jets
Adelaide United
Champions League TwoMelbourne Victory
Matches163
Goals460 (2.82 per match)
Top goalscorerSam Cosgrove
Luka Jovanovic
(11 goals each)
Best goalkeeperHarrison Devenish-Meares
(11 clean sheets)
Biggest home winMelbourne City 4–0 Perth Glory
(25 October 2025)
Melbourne Victory 5–1 Wellington Phoenix
(29 December 2025)
Macarthur FC 6–2 Melbourne City
(24 January 2026)
Melbourne Victory 4–0 Sydney FC
(26 January 2026)
Adelaide United 4–0 Perth Glory
(20 February 2026)
Newcastle Jets 4–0 Central Coast Mariners
(25 April 2026)
Biggest away winWellington Phoenix 0–5 Auckland FC
(21 February 2026)
Highest scoringNewcastle Jets 4–5 Macarthur FC
(26 December 2025)
Longest winning run8 matches
Newcastle Jets
Longest unbeaten run10 matches
Newcastle Jets
Adelaide United
Longest winless run12 matches
Brisbane Roar
Longest losing run5 matches
Western Sydney Wanderers
Highest attendance33,265
Sydney FC 4–1 Western Sydney Wanderers
(31 January 2026)
Lowest attendance1,601
Central Coast Mariners 1–1 Macarthur FC
(18 January 2026)
Total attendance1,447,247
Average attendance8,879
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Clubs

The number of clubs reduced from 13 in the 2024–25 season to 12, following the removal of Western United by Football Australia for financial reasons.[1]

Stadiums and locations

Twelve clubs are participating in the 2025–26 season.

Note: Table lists in alphabetical order.
More information Club, City ...
Club City Home ground Capacity
Adelaide United Adelaide Coopers Stadium 16,500
Auckland FC Auckland Go Media Stadium 27,700 (new capacity)
Brisbane Roar Brisbane Suncorp Stadium 52,500
Kayo Stadium 10,000
Sunshine Coast Sunshine Coast Stadium 20,000
Central Coast Mariners Gosford Polytec Stadium 20,059
Macarthur FC Sydney Campbelltown Sports Stadium 17,500[2]
Melbourne City Melbourne AAMI Park 30,050
Melbourne Victory Melbourne AAMI Park 30,050
Newcastle Jets Newcastle McDonald Jones Stadium 30,000
Perth Glory Perth HBF Park 20,500
Sydney FC Sydney Allianz Stadium 42,500[3]
Leichhardt Oval 20,000
Wellington Phoenix Wellington Hnry Stadium 34,500
Christchurch Apollo Projects Stadium 17,104
Western Sydney Wanderers Sydney CommBank Stadium 30,000
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Personnel and kits

More information Team, Manager ...
Team Manager Captain Kit manufacturer Kit sponsor
Adelaide United Brazil Airton Andrioli Australia Craig Goodwin[4] UCAN[5] Mega Rewards[6]
1KOMMA5°[note 1][7]
Auckland FC Australia Steve Corica Japan Hiroki Sakai[8] New Balance[9] ANZ[10]
Brisbane Roar Australia Michael Valkanis Republic of Ireland Jay O'Shea[11] Cikers[12] Value Dental Centres[13]
Central Coast Mariners Australia Warren Moon Australia Trent Sainsbury[14] O'Neills[15] polytec[16]
Macarthur FC Australia Mile Sterjovski Australia Luke Brattan[17] Kelme[18][19] SipEnergy[20][19]
Melbourne City Australia Aurelio Vidmar Australia Aziz Behich[21] Puma[22][23] Etihad Airways[23]
Melbourne Victory Australia Arthur Diles Portugal Roderick Miranda[24] Macron[25] Turkish Airlines[26]
Newcastle Jets Australia Mark Milligan Australia Kosta Grozos[27] New Balance[28] Emerald Horizon[29]
Perth Glory Australia Adam Griffiths Australia Adam Taggart
England Scott Wootton[30]		 Macron[31] La Vida Homes[32]
Sydney FC Australia Patrick Kisnorbo Australia Rhyan Grant[33] Under Armour[34] Macquarie University[35]
Wellington Phoenix England Chris Greenacre (caretaker) New Zealand Alex Rufer[36] Dynasty Sport[37] Entelar Group[38]
Oppo[note 1][39]
Western Sydney Wanderers Australia Gary van Egmond (caretaker) Australia Lawrence Thomas[40] Adidas[41] Bathla[42]
Turner Freeman Lawyers[note 1][43]
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Managerial changes

More information Team, Outgoing manager ...
Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position on table Incoming manager Date of appointment
Newcastle Jets Australia Robert Stanton End of contract 5 May 2025[44] Pre-season Australia Mark Milligan 6 May 2025[45]
Brisbane Roar Australia Ruben Zadkovich Mutual consent 6 May 2025[46] Australia Michael Valkanis 7 May 2025[47]
Adelaide United Australia Carl Veart End of contract 10 May 2025[48] Brazil Airton Andrioli 26 May 2025[49]
Central Coast Mariners England Mark Jackson Signed by Buriram United 10 October 2025[50][51] Australia Warren Moon (caretaker) 15 October 2025[52]
Perth Glory Australia David Zdrilic Sacked 28 October 2025[53] 12th Australia Adam Griffiths (caretaker) 31 October 2025[54]
Australia Adam Griffiths (caretaker) Promoted to full-time N/A 5th Australia Adam Griffiths 16 December 2025[55]
Central Coast Mariners Australia Warren Moon (caretaker) Promoted to full-time N/A 11th Australia Warren Moon 6 January 2026[56]
Western Sydney Wanderers Australia Alen Stajcic Sacked 20 January 2026[57] 12th Australia Gary van Egmond (caretaker) 21 January 2026[58]
Wellington Phoenix Australia Giancarlo Italiano Resigned 21 February 2026[59] 10th England Chris Greenacre (caretaker) 23 February 2026[60]
Sydney FC Australia Ufuk Talay Mutual termination 24 March 2026[61] 5th Australia Patrick Kisnorbo 24 March 2026[62]
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Foreign players

See also: A-League Men transfers for 2025–26 season
More information Club, Visa 1 ...
Club Visa 1 Visa 2 Visa 3 Visa 4 Visa 5 Non-visa foreigner(s) Former player(s)
Adelaide United Brazil Anselmo Netherlands Joshua Smits Netherlands Bart Vriends Spain Juan Muñiz Lebanon Austin Ayoubi[a]
South Sudan Ajak Riak[a]		 Netherlands Julian Kwaaitaal
Auckland FC Belgium Louis Verstraete Chile Felipe Gallegos England Sam Cosgrove Japan Hiroki Sakai Uruguay Guillermo May Fiji Dan Hall[a]
Brisbane Roar Bosnia and Herzegovina Milorad Stajić Costa Rica Youstin Salas England Chris Long Norway Marius Lode Greece Georgios Vrakas[a]
New Zealand James McGarry[a]
Republic of Ireland Jay O'Shea[b]
Central Coast Mariners Japan Kaito Taniguchi New Zealand Seth Clark Northern Ireland Alfie McCalmont New Zealand Storm Roux[a] England Ryan Edmondson
Iraq Abdelelah Faisal[a]
Macarthur FC Croatia Šime Gržan France Damien Da Silva Mexico Rafael Durán Poland Filip Kurto South Korea Ji Dong-won
Melbourne City Argentina Germán Ferreyra Austria Andreas Kuen France Samuel Souprayen Japan Takeshi Kanamori Kosovo Elbasan Rashani Indonesia Mathew Baker[a]
Melbourne Victory Brazil Clarismario Santos Greece Nikos Vergos Japan Charles Nduka Portugal Roderick Miranda Spain Juan Mata Ivory Coast Adama Traoré[b]
Newcastle Jets England Zach Clough Republic of Ireland Joe Shaughnessy Japan Kota Mizunuma Malta Lucas Scicluna[a]
New Zealand Lachlan Bayliss[a]
Perth Glory England Scott Wootton New Zealand Sam Sutton Vanuatu Brian Kaltak Wales Tom Lawrence England Callum Timmins[b]
Iraq Charbel Shamoon[a]
North Macedonia Stefan Colakovski[a]
South Sudan Joel Anasmo[a]		 England Luke Amos
Sydney FC Democratic Republic of the Congo Marcel Tisserand England Joe Lolley Germany Ahmet Arslan Peru Piero Quispe Spain Víctor Campuzano Wales Joe Lacey[a]
Wellington Phoenix Canada Manjrekar James Japan Kazuki Nagasawa Nigeria Ifeanyi Eze Nigeria Josh Oluwayemi Norway Sander Kartum Lebanon Ramy Najjarine[a] Japan Hideki Ishige
Western Sydney Wanderers Bulgaria Bozhidar Kraev Japan Hiroshi Ibusuki New Zealand Kosta Barbarouses Scotland Ryan Fraser Iraq Mohamed Al-Taay[a]
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  1. [a]
    Australian citizens (or New Zealand citizens, in the case of Auckland FC and/or Wellington Phoenix) who have chosen to represent another national team
  2. [b]
    Those players who were born and started their professional career abroad but have since gained Australian citizenship (or New Zealand citizenship, in the case of Auckland FC and/or Wellington Phoenix)[63]

Regular season

The regular season is made up of a full home-and-away 22-match schedule for each club, plus four extra rounds, for a total of 26 matches played. The top six will qualify for the finals series.

League table

More information Pos, Pld ...
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Newcastle Jets 26 15 3 8 55 39 +16 48 Qualification for the AFC Champions League Elite league stage and the finals series[a]
2 Adelaide United 26 12 7 7 46 36 +10 43 Qualification for the AFC Champions League Elite preliminary stage and the finals series
3 Auckland FC[b] (C) 26 11 9 6 42 29 +13 42 Qualification for the finals series[a]
4 Melbourne Victory 26 11 7 8 44 33 +11 40 Qualification for the AFC Champions League Two group stage and the finals series[c]
5 Sydney FC 26 11 6 9 33 25 +8 39 Qualification for the finals series[a]
6 Melbourne City 26 10 8 8 33 33 0 38
7 Macarthur FC 26 9 7 10 37 44 −7 34
8 Wellington Phoenix[b] 26 9 6 11 36 48 −12 33
9 Central Coast Mariners 26 8 8 10 35 42 −7 32
10 Perth Glory 26 8 7 11 32 39 −7 31
11 Brisbane Roar 26 6 8 12 27 36 −9 26
12 Western Sydney Wanderers 26 5 6 15 27 43 −16 21
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Source: A-Leagues
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) goals scored; 4) wins; 5) head-to-head results; 5a) head-to-head points; 5b) head-to-head goal difference; 6) Fair Play points; 7) away goal difference; 8) away goals per match; 9) home goal difference; 10) home goals per match; 11) toss of a coin in an event of a tie of two clubs.
(C) Champions
Notes:
  1. [a]
    The top two teams enter the finals series at the semi-finals, while the teams ranked third to sixth enter the finals series at the elimination-finals.
  2. [b]
    Auckland FC and Wellington Phoenix cannot qualify for Asian Football Confederation competitions as they are based in New Zealand, which is part of the Oceania Football Confederation.
  3. [c]
    Since the 2025 Australia Cup winners, Newcastle Jets, occupy an AFC Champions League Elite position, the AFC Champions League Two spot goes to the next eligible team. The AFC ruled that the Australia Cup runner-up Heidelberg United was ineligible to compete.[64]

Fixtures and results

More information Home \ Away, ADL ...
Home \ Away ADL AKL BRI CCM MAC MCY MVC NEW PER SYD WEL WSW ADL AKL BRI CCM MAC MCY MVC NEW PER SYD WEL WSW
Adelaide United 1–1 0–1 0–4 1–1 4–1 2–1 2–3 4–0 2–1 1–1 2–0 3–1 3–2
Auckland FC 2–1 1–1 2–2 1–2 3–0 2–2 1–2 2–2 1–0 3–1 1–0 0–1 1–3
Brisbane Roar 2–3 0–2 1–2 1–0 0–0 1–0 3–0 1–1 0–0 0–3 2–2 2–3 1–2
Central Coast Mariners 1–1 1–2 1–2 1–1 0–0 1–0 3–2 2–2 1–2 1–1 3–2 2–2 0–0
Macarthur FC 2–1 1–1 2–1 1–3 6–2 0–0 3–2 0–2 0–3 4–0 1–1 2–2 0–4
Melbourne City 1–2 2–1 1–0 2–1 1–1 0–1 0–1 4–0 0–0 2–0 3–0 1–3 1–3
Melbourne Victory 2–1 0–0 1–1 4–1 4–1 0–2 2–2 3–2 4–0 5–1 0–1 1–1 0–1
Newcastle Jets 1–1 1–2 4–1 4–0 4–5 0–1 5–2 1–2 1–4 4–1 2–1 1–0 2–0
Perth Glory 0–1 2–1 1–2 0–1 3–1 1–1 0–2 1–3 0–1 2–2 1–0 2–1 3–0
Sydney FC 1–2 1–1 1–0 2–0 2–0 0–1 3–0 1–2 0–0 0–2 4–1 2–2 2–2
Wellington Phoenix 2–1 1–2 2–1 3–1 0–1 2–2 2–3 1–3 2–0 0–1 2–1 2–2 0–5
Western Sydney Wanderers 2–4 0–2 0–0 3–2 0–1 1–1 0–2 1–2 1–0 1–0 2–2 1–1 0–2
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Updated to match(es) played on 26 April 2026. Source: Aleagues.com.au
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Finals series

Main article: 2026 A-League Men finals series

The finals series ran over four weeks, involving the top six teams from the regular season. In the first week of fixtures, the third-through-sixth ranked teams played a single-elimination match, with the two winners of those matches joining the first and second ranked teams in two-legged semi-final ties. The two winners of those matches met in the Grand Final.[65]

Bracket

Elimination-finals Semi-finals Grand Final
1 Newcastle Jets 1 1 2 (2)
4 Melbourne Victory 0 5 Sydney FC (p) 1 1 2 (4)
5 Sydney FC 1 3 Auckland FC 1
5 Sydney FC 0
2 Adelaide United 1 0 1
3 Auckland FC (p) 1 (7) 3 Auckland FC 1 3 4
6 Melbourne City 1 (6)

Elimination-finals

More information Auckland FC, 1–1 (a.e.t.) ...
Auckland FC1–1 (a.e.t.)Melbourne City
 Report
Penalties
 7–6
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Attendance: 11,351
Referee: Alex King
More information Melbourne Victory, 0–1 ...
Melbourne Victory0–1Sydney FC
Report
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Attendance: 15,258
Referee: Lachlan Keevers

Semi-finals

Summary

More information Team 1, Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score ...
Team 1Agg. Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
Newcastle Jets2–2 (2–4 p)Sydney FC1–11–1 (a.e.t.)
Adelaide United1–4Auckland FC1–10–3
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Matches

More information Sydney FC, 1–1 ...
Sydney FC1–1Newcastle Jets
 Report
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Attendance: 17,771
Referee: Daniel Elder
More information Newcastle Jets, 1–1 (a.e.t.) ...
Newcastle Jets1–1 (a.e.t.)Sydney FC
 Report
Penalties
 2–4
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Attendance: 25,082
Referee: Shaun Evans

2–2 on aggregate, Sydney FC won 4–2 on penalties.

More information Auckland FC, 1–1 ...
Auckland FC1–1Adelaide United
 Report
  • Crawford 63'
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Attendance: 16,093
Referee: Ben Abraham
More information Adelaide United, 0–3 ...
Adelaide United0–3Auckland FC
Report
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Attendance: 14,716
Referee: Daniel Elder

Auckland FC won 4–1 on aggregate.

Grand Final

Main article: 2026 A-League Men Grand Final
More information Auckland FC, 1–0 ...
Auckland FC1–0Sydney FC
Howieson 60' Report
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Attendance: 28,374[66]
Referee: Alex King

Regular season statistics

Top scorers

As of end of regular season[67]
More information Rank, Player ...
RankPlayerClubGoals
1 England Sam Cosgrove Auckland FC 11
Australia Luka Jovanovic Adelaide United
3 Nigeria Ifeanyi Eze Wellington Phoenix 10
4 New Zealand Jesse Randall Auckland FC 9
Australia Clayton Taylor Newcastle Jets
6 Australia Eli Adams Newcastle Jets 8
Australia Lachlan Brook Auckland FC
Australia Max Caputo Melbourne City
Australia Lachlan Rose Newcastle Jets
10 Australia Xavier Bertoncello Newcastle Jets 7
Greece Nikos Vergos Melbourne Victory
Australia Marcus Younis Melbourne City
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Hat-tricks

Main article: List of A-League Men hat-tricks
More information Player, For ...
PlayerForAgainstResultDateRef.
Australia Alexander BadolatoNewcastle JetsMelbourne Victory5–2 (H)24 October 2025[68]
Australia Al Hassan ToureSydney FCNewcastle Jets1–4 (A)1 November 2025[69]
Wales Tom LawrencePerth GloryMelbourne City1–3 (A)28 December 2025[70]
Greece Nikos VergosMelbourne VictoryWellington Phoenix5–1 (H)29 December 2025[71]
Australia Brody BurkittAdelaide UnitedBrisbane Roar2–3 (A)24 January 2026[72]
Australia Clayton TaylorNewcastle JetsAdelaide United2–3 (A)8 February 2026[73]
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More information Key, (H) ...
Key
(H) Home team
(A) Away team
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Clean sheets

As of end of regular season[74]
More information Rank, Goalkeeper ...
RankGoalkeeperClubClean sheets
1 Australia Harrison Devenish-Meares Sydney FC 11
2 Australia Patrick Beach Melbourne City 9
3 Australia Dean Bouzanis Brisbane Roar 7
New Zealand Michael Woud Auckland FC
5 Australia Andrew Redmayne Central Coast Mariners 6
6 Australia James Delianov Newcastle Jets 5
Australia Lawrence Thomas Western Sydney Wanderers
8 Australia Jack Duncan Melbourne Victory 4
Australia Matt Sutton Perth Glory
10 Poland Filip Kurto Macarthur FC 3
Netherlands Joshua Smits Adelaide United
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Awards

Annual awards

More information Award, Winner ...
Award Winner Club Ref.
Johnny Warren Medal Spain Juan Mata Melbourne Victory [75]
Young Footballer of the Year Australia Eli Adams Newcastle Jets [75]
Golden Boot Award England Sam Cosgrove
Australia Luka Jovanovic		 Auckland FC
Adelaide United		 [76]
Goalkeeper of the Year Australia Harrison Devenish-Meares Sydney FC [75]
Goal of the Year Costa Rica Youstin Salas Brisbane Roar [75]
Save of the Year Australia Harrison Devenish-Meares Sydney FC [75]
Playmaker of the Year Spain Juan Mata Melbourne Victory [75]
Fan Player of the Year Australia Daniel Wilmering Newcastle Jets [75]
Coach of the Year Australia Mark Milligan Newcastle Jets [75]
Fair Play Award Newcastle Jets [75]
Referee of the Year Australia Alex King N/a [77]
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Club awards

More information Club, Player of the Season ...
ClubPlayer of the SeasonRef.
Adelaide UnitedAustralia Ryan White[78]
Auckland FCBelgium Louis Verstraete[79]
Brisbane RoarAustralia Sam Klein[80]
Central Coast MarinersAustralia Andrew Redmayne[81]
Macarthur FCAustralia Liam Rose[82]
Melbourne CityAustralia Aziz Behich[83]
Melbourne VictorySpain Juan Mata[84]
Newcastle JetsAustralia Max Burgess[85]
Perth GloryVanuatu Brian Kaltak[86]
Sydney FCAustralia Paul Okon-Engstler[87]
Wellington PhoenixNigeria Ifeanyi Eze
New Zealand Alex Rufer		[88]
Western Sydney WanderersAustralia Angus Thurgate[89]
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Team of the season

More information Goalkeeper, Defenders ...
Goalkeeper[90] Defenders Midfielders Forwards Substitutes
Australia Harrison Devenish-Meares (Sydney FC) Australia Nathaniel Atkinson (Melbourne City)
Australia Panagiotis Kikianis (Adelaide United)
Australia Mark Natta (Newcastle Jets)
New Zealand Francis de Vries (Auckland FC)		 Australia Ethan Alagich (Adelaide United)
Spain Juan Mata (Melbourne Victory)
Australia Max Burgess (Newcastle Jets)		 Australia Clayton Taylor (Newcastle Jets)
England Sam Cosgrove (Auckland FC)
New Zealand Jesse Randall (Auckland FC)		 Australia James Delianov (Newcastle Jets)
Australia Daniel Wilmering (Newcastle Jets)
Australia Aziz Behich (Melbourne City)
New Zealand Lachlan Bayliss (Newcastle Jets)
Australia Paul Okon-Engstler (Sydney FC)
Australia Eli Adams (Newcastle Jets)
Australia Marcus Younis (Melbourne City)
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See also

Notes

  1. [1]
    Away kit

References

External links

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