A-League Men
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 country's premier men's competition for the sport. A-League Men was established in 2004 as the A-League by the Football Federation Australia (FFA) as a successor to the National Soccer League (NSL) and competition commenced in August 2005. The league is currently administered by the Australian Professional Leagues (APL), contested by twelve teams; eleven based in Australia and one based in New Zealand. The men's, women's and youth leagues have now been brought together under a unified A-Leagues banner.
| Founded | April 2004 |
|---|---|
| First season | 2005–06 |
| Country | Australia (11 teams) |
| Other club(s) from | New Zealand (1 team) |
| Confederation | AFC |
| Number of teams | 12 (14 from 2024–25) |
| Level on pyramid | 1 |
| Domestic cup(s) | Australia Cup |
| International cup(s) | |
| Current champions | Central Coast Mariners (2nd title) (2022–23) |
| Current premiers | Melbourne City (3rd title) (2022–23) |
| Most championships | Sydney FC (5 titles) |
| Most premierships | Sydney FC (4 titles) |
| Most appearances | Leigh Broxham (371) |
| Top goalscorer | Jamie Maclaren (152) |
| TV partners |
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| Website | aleagues |
| Current: 2023–24 A-League Men | |
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 final match. The winner of the regular season tournament is dubbed the 'Premier' while the winner of the grand final is the season's Champion. This differs from other football codes in Australia, where premier refers to the winner of the grand final and the winner of the regular season is the 'minor premier'.
Successful A-League Men clubs gain qualification into the Asian continental club competitions, the AFC Champions League (ACL) and the AFC Cup (both until 2024). In 2014, the Western Sydney Wanderers became the first and only winning Australian club of the AFC Champions League. Similar to the United States and Canada's Major League Soccer and Canadian Premier League, as well as other professional sports leagues in Australia, A-League Men does not practice relegation and promotion.