National Premier Leagues Victoria Men's
Football league
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The National Premier Leagues Victoria Men's, is a semi-professional soccer league in Victoria, Australia. The league is a part of the National Premier Leagues, and is the highest level of men's soccer in Victoria.
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| Organising body | Football Victoria |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2013 |
| First season | 2014 |
| Country | Australia |
| State |  Victoria |
| Confederation | Asian Football Confederation |
| Divisions | 1 |
| Number of clubs | 14 |
| Level on pyramid | 3 |
| Relegation to | Victorian Premier League Men's |
| Domestic cup(s) | National: Australia Cup State: Dockerty Cup |
| Current champions | Heidelberg United (2025) |
| Current premiers | Avondale FC (2025) |
| Most championships | Bentleigh Greens (3 titles) |
| Most premierships | Heidelberg United (3 titles) |
| Broadcaster(s) | YouTube |
| Current: 2026 NPL Victoria Men's | |
NPL Victoria Men's is contested by 14 clubs. Running from February to September each year, the league sees teams play 26 regular season fixtures, once at home and once away against each other club. The first-placed team at the conclusion of the regular season is termed the "premier". The top six-placed clubs then play a knock-out finals series, with the winner becoming the "champion". As of the 2025 season, the three bottom-placed teams at the conclusion of the season are relegated to the division below, Victorian Premier League Men's 1.
The league premier qualifies as Victoria's representative in the national finals series, whilst the champion plays against the Dockerty Cup winner in the FV Community Shield.
History
In early 2013, it was announced that Victoria would join the National Premier Leagues, with the Victorian Premier League expected to be rebranded for the 2014 season.[1][2] Although Football Federation Victoria's initial proposal was halted with the announcement of a deferral in November 2013 after several clubs objected to the process for selecting teams. However, by December 2013, a resolution was reached whereby Victorian teams would participate in the 2014 season.[3][4] In the 2024 season, Football Victoria included a provision that relegation in the 2024 season would be suspended if a National Second Division commences in 2025; instead assigning two relegation spots in the 2025 season.[5]
Competition format
NPL Victoria comprises 14 teams. The season is staged during the Australian winter, running from February to September. The league combines aspects of both the traditional European-style round-robin and Australian-style finals series within its competition format.
Regular season
The regular season consists of a double round-robin. Each club plays every other club twice, once at home and once away, for a total of 26 matches. Teams receive three points for a win, one point for a draw and no points for a loss. The clubs are ranked first based on the number of points acquired during the season. If two teams have an equal number of points, they are separated firstly by goal difference and then the number of goals scored, calculated across all matches. The Rules of Competition provide head-to-head aggregate and head-to-head away goals as further tiebreakers if necessary.[6] The team ranked first at the end of the regular season is termed the premiers, and becomes Victoria's entry for the Australian Championship.
Finals series
At the conclusion of the regular season, the six highest-ranked clubs qualify for the (Victorian) finals series. The finals take place over three weeks, with teams entering the series based on their respective finishes in the regular season. The teams ranked 3–6 enter at the elimination finals stage. The third-ranked team plays the sixth-ranked team, whilst the fourth-ranked team plays the fifth-ranked one. The two winners of the elimination finals meet the teams ranked 1 and 2 in the semi-finals. The premier in the regular season plays the lower-ranked qualifier from the elimination finals, whilst the runner-up plays the higher-ranked qualifier. The finals conclude with the grand final, played between the two winners of the semi-finals. The winner of the grand final is crowned the champions. As all finals matches require a winner, they are all knock-out fixtures. If a draw occurs at the end of normal time, 30 minutes of extra time are played. A penalty shoot-out is played if the teams are still drawn.
Promotion and relegation
NPL Victoria also operates a system of promotion and relegation with the division immediately below, VPL 1. As of the 2025 season, the three bottom clubs at the conclusion of each season are automatically relegated. From VPL 1, the winners and runners-up are automatically promoted to NPL Victoria, with a third club promoted via a playoff between the clubs finishing 3rd through 6th for the season in that league.
Current clubs
The following clubs are competing in the 2026 NPL Victoria season.
| Club | Location | Home ground | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Altona Magic | Altona North | Paisley Park | 5,000[7] |
| Avondale | Parkville | Avenger Park | 2,500[8] |
| Bentleigh Greens | Cheltenham | Kingston Heath Soccer Complex | 3,300 |
| Caroline Springs George Cross | Fraser Rise | City Vista Recreation Reserve | 3,000 |
| Dandenong City | Endeavour Hills | Frank Holohan Reserve | 4,000[9] |
| Dandenong Thunder | Dandenong South | George Andrews Reserve | 5,000[10] |
| Green Gully | Keilor Downs | Green Gully Reserve | 10,000[11] |
| Heidelberg United | Heidelberg West | Olympic Village | 12,000[12] |
| Hume City | Westmeadows | Nasiol Stadium | 3,000[13] |
| Melbourne City | Cranbourne East | City Football Academy | 1,500 |
| Oakleigh Cannons | Oakleigh | Jack Edwards Reserve | 4,000[14] |
| Preston Lions | Reservoir | B.T. Connor Reserve | 9,000[15] |
| South Melbourne | Albert Park | Lakeside Stadium | 12,000[16] |
| St Albans Saints | St Albans | Churchill Reserve | 3,500[17] |
Honours
2014–2015
The league ran through two divisions; the Premier Division and Division 1. The Premier Division was a single league season, whilst Division 1 separated by two zone leagues (East and West) and the winners qualifying for a Grand Final between the two Division 1 Premiers to determine the Champions.
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2016–2019
The leagues were renamed with the Premier Division becoming Division 1, and Division 1 becoming Division 2.
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2020–2023
In 2020, a third division was added and the second division was no longer divided into two zones (East and West).
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2024–present
From 2024 onwards, the second and third divisions were moved from the NPL Victoria system to the Victorian Premier League system leaving only the top division of NPL Victoria.
| Season | Champions | Premiers |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Oakleigh Cannons | South Melbourne |
| 2025 | Heidelberg United | Avondale FC |
NPL Finals series
Up to the 2019 season, one representative from each Member Federation participated in the NPL Championship, a knock-out competition to determine a national champion.
| Year | Team | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | South Melbourne | Semi Finalist |
| 2015 | South Melbourne | Quarter Finalist |
| 2016 | Bentleigh Greens | Quarter Finalist |
| 2017 | Heidelberg United | Champions |
| 2018 | Heidelberg United | Semi Finalist |
| 2019 | Heidelberg United | Quarter Finalist |
| 2020 | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia.[18] | |
Australian Championship representation
From the 2025 season, the Premiers from each Member Federation participated in the Australian Championship. In addition, three Victorian teams currently in the NPL also participated, designated as Foundation Clubs.
| Year | Team | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Avondale FC | Quarter-finals |
| Heidelberg United | Semi-finals | |
| Preston Lions | Group stage | |
| South Melbourne | Winners | |
Former clubs
- Eastern Lions (2020–2022)
- Goulburn Valley Suns (2014)
- Kingston City (2017–2019)
- Manningham United Blues (2024)
- Melbourne Knights (2014–2025)
- Melbourne Victory (2016, 2025)
- Moreland City (2023–2024)
- North Geelong Warriors (2015, 2017, 2023)
- Pascoe Vale (2014–2019)
- Port Melbourne (2014–2025)
- Richmond (2016)
- Werribee City (2014–2015)
See also
Notes
- Subsequent to the season cancellation, and as a result of a court challenge involving Avondale FC and Football Victoria, it was agreed that eight rounds of games from the 2022 NPL Season would also count towards the 2021 NPL league table, enabling sufficient matches to be played to "complete" the season, and be able to declare a Premier for 2021.[20]