Football Australia announces new format and October 2025 start date for National Second Tier

Staff Writer

Football Australia has officially announced the launch of the National Second Tier (NST) competition, a key milestone in its commitment to advancing domestic club football in Australia.

Following extensive workshops and consultations with the eight NST Foundation Clubs, Football Australia confirmed the NST will kick off in October 2025, highlighting the best in Australian club football through a modern and sustainable competition model.

Key Aspects of the 2025 NST Competition:

Commitment to Play: Football Australia, the NST Foundation Clubs, and stakeholders are committed to launching the NST in 2025, aligning with the strategic goal of connecting Australia’s football pyramid and elevating iconic clubs to a national level.

Competition Structure: The NST will feature 16 teams, starting with group-stage matches and culminating in an elimination Finals Series. This structure is designed to balance sustainability with competitive integrity and commercial appeal.

Team Composition: The eight NST Foundation Clubs will gain automatic entry and be joined by eight invitational clubs, selected from the Member Federation NPL State Premiers, forming a truly national competition.

Season Timeline: The NST season will run annually from October to December, featuring nine match day rounds and concluding with a Championship Final in early December. This timeline aligns with the Domestic Match Calendar, ensuring optimal scheduling for players, fans, and stakeholders.

Brand Launch: Football Australia will unveil the competition’s official name, brand identity, marketing materials, and trophy design in the coming months, setting the stage for a memorable inaugural season.

Football Australia CEO James Johnson shared his excitement about the NST: “The introduction of the National Second Tier is a landmark moment for football in Australia. Following productive discussions with our eight Foundation Clubs and consultation with other stakeholders, we are committed to creating a competition that not only elevates our game but also enriches the football community at all levels. The National Second Tier will provide a new platform for iconic clubs to showcase their talent and connect with fans nationwide.”

Football Australia will continue collaborating with NST Foundation Clubs, Member Federations, and stakeholders to finalise the operational details for the competition.

Over the past year, Football Australia has conducted two detailed Request for Proposal (RFP) processes to select NST clubs. With advisory support from BDO, 14 clubs across six states and territories have met the technical requirements for the NST RFP process.

Of these 14 clubs, six did not meet the financial requirements for a standalone NST home-and-away league before the June 2024 deadline. Football Australia will monitor these clubs as they strengthen their proposals.

National Second Tier
Marconi Stallions announced as a founding club of the National Second Tier.

Additionally, Football Australia will initiate a third NST RFP selection process, extending eligibility to clubs outside the initial Expression of Interest and focusing on underrepresented regions to identify additional foundation clubs.

The eight clubs announced in November 2023—APIA Leichhardt FC, Avondale FC, Marconi Stallions FC, Preston Lions FC, South Melbourne FC, Sydney Olympic FC, Sydney United 58 FC, and Wollongong Wolves FC—remain central to the NST’s future and will continue as foundation members.

The six additional clubs that have met the NST RFP technical criteria are Adelaide City FC, Caroline Springs-George Cross FC, Gold Coast United FC, Gungahlin United FC, South Hobart FC, and Sunshine Coast FC.

Further updates will be provided as the NST evolves, with a standalone NST home-and-away league remaining a key strategic goal once minimum requirements are met.

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Victory unites with Roasting Warehouse in culture-led partnership

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Image credit: Melbourne Victory

The Melbourne-based anf family-owned business will join the Victory family, uniting two institutions which represent the city’s culture and identity.

A partnership with local roots

As the newest partner of Melbourne Victory, Roasting Warehouse joins forces with a vital part of the city’s sporting landscape.

The club’s Managing Director, Caroline Carnegie, outlined why the partnership bears so much value to both parties.

“We are excited to collaborate with Roasting Warehouse, a community-oriented destination for high-quality coffee, proud of its foundations in Melbourne,” said Carnegie via official media release.

“Football and coffee sit at the epicentre of Melbourne’s culture. The two go hand-in-hand, consistently at the centre of the conversation that stirs Melburnians, which is no different to the conversation sport and Melbourne Victory stir in the State.”

Indeed, this is a partnership which combines the identity, passions and culture of an entire city, therefore giving it the foundations required for long-term, mutual success.

Representing the best of Melbourne

Both Victory and Roasting Warehouse are hugely successful in their respective industries. They are institutions with community-oriented philosphies, who pride themselves on craft and quality.

“We’re incredibly proud to partner with Melbourne Victory, a club that represents the heart, passion, and ambition of Melbourne,” revealed Roasting Warehouse Head of Brand, Alexander Paraskevopoulos.

“As a Melbourne-founded, family-run business, supporting a team that means so much to the local community feels very natural for us.”

Furthermore, through their high-quality blends, Roasting Warehouse will look to prepare Victory’s players and staff for high performances on the pitch as the seasons nears completion.

But this is about far more than just fueling athletes.

This is a partnership which embodies and unites two of Melbourne’s greatest strengths and cultural markers – a connection forged from the city’s very own DNA.

 

For more information about Roasting Warehouse, click here.

Football NSW supports Female Coaches CPD as Women’s Football Surges

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Image Credit: Shutterstock

Football NSW has used the platform of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup to deliver a targeted professional development workshop for female coaches, bringing together scholarship recipients for an evening of structured learning and direct engagement with elite women’s football.

Held at ACPE last month, the session was open to female coaches who received C or B Diploma scholarships through Football NSW in 2025. Coaching accreditation carries a financial cost that disproportionately affects women, who are less likely to have their development subsidised by clubs or associations operating in underfunded community football environments. Scholarship access changes that equation at the point where many women exit the pathway.

Facilitated by Football NSW Coach Development Coordinator Bronwyn Kiceec, the workshop focused on goal scoring trends from the tournament’s group stage, with coaches analysing attacking patterns and exploring how those insights could translate into their own environments. The group then attended the quarter-final between South Korea and Uzbekistan at Stadium Australia.

The structure of the evening mattered as much as its content. Female coaches in community football rarely have access to elite competition environments as a professional resource. The gap between the level at which most women coach and the level at which the game is analysed and discussed tends to reinforce itself. Placing scholarship recipients inside a major tournament, as participants rather than spectators, closes that gap in a way that a classroom session cannot.

Female coaches remain significantly underrepresented across all levels of the game in Australia. The pipeline that will change that depends not only on accreditation access but on the professional networks, peer relationships and exposure to elite environments that male coaches have historically taken for granted.

The workshop forms part of Football NSW’s ongoing commitment to developing female coaches through scholarships and structured learning opportunities.

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