National Soccer League

For other uses, see National Soccer League (disambiguation).

National Soccer League
Founded1977; 47 years ago (1977)
First season1977
Folded2004
CountryAustralia
Other club(s) fromNew Zealand
ConfederationOFC (Oceania)
Number of teams42 (total)
Level on pyramid1
Last championsPerth Glory (2nd title)
Most championshipsMarconi Stallions
South Melbourne
Sydney City (4 titles each)
Most premiershipsMelbourne Knights (4 titles)
TV partnersNetwork Ten (1977–1979)
Seven Network (1998–2000)
ABC (2001)
SBS (2002–2004)
Current: Final Season (2003–04)

The National Soccer League (NSL) was the top-level soccer league in Australia, run by Soccer Australia and later the Australian Soccer Association. The NSL, the A-League's predecessor, spanned 28 seasons from its inception in 1977 until its demise in 2004, when it was succeeded by the A-League competition run by Football Federation Australia, the successor to the Australian Soccer Association.[1][2]

During the history of the NSL the league was contested by a total of 42 teams; 41 based in Australia and one based in New Zealand. Seasons initially ran during the winter seasons, until 1989 when this was changed to the summer season. In 1984, the league was split into two conferences (Northern and Southern) to introduce more teams into the competition; the league returned to a single division in 1987. The competition was known by various names through sponsorships; these names included the Philips Soccer League, the Quit National Soccer League, Olympic Airways Soccer League, Coca-Cola Soccer League, the Ericsson Cup and the A-League.[2][3][4][5][6][7]

From the league's inaugural season to its demise in 2004, a total of 13 clubs were crowned champions through either a system of first past the post or a finals series that culminated in a grand final. The NSL was Australia's first national sporting league predating the likes of the AFL and NRL.

  1. ^ "The National Soccer League". OzFootball. Retrieved 23 May 2014.
  2. ^ a b "Timeline of Australian Football 1951–2009". OzFootball. Archived from the original on 5 March 2012. Retrieved 23 May 2014.
  3. ^ Cockerill, Michael (1 October 1995). "A-League far from the big league". The Age. Retrieved 4 August 2013.
  4. ^ "YouTube". www.youtube.com.
  5. ^ "Ericsson Cup - Ladder". www.scoretank.com.au. Archived from the original on 15 April 2001.
  6. ^ Warren, Johnny (28 September 1986). "ASF has to get its act together". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
  7. ^ Huxley, John (9 December 1989). "Hooked on hypocrisy". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 29. Retrieved 16 June 2021.