Australian Championship 2026: clubs, format, TV
Football's national second tier kicked off on 15 October with 16 clubs, nine of them former NSL sides. Here is how it works and how to watch.
Australian football's national second tier is back for its second season. The Australian Championship kicked off on Thursday 15 October 2026 with Preston Lions hosting Wollongong Wolves in Melbourne, and 16 clubs from seven states and territories are now playing for a title that South Melbourne won in the competition's first year. This guide covers who is in it, how it works, how it sits beside the A-League and where to watch.
What the Australian Championship is
Football Australia runs the competition as a spring tournament that starts once the state National Premier Leagues seasons have finished. The idea of a national second division has been argued over since the middle of the last decade. The governing body gave the concept its approval in 2019, named eight foundation clubs in late 2023 and confirmed the Australian Championship name in early 2025. The first edition was played later that year.
The field mixes eight foundation clubs, who are in every season, with eight qualifiers who earn a place by winning their state NPL premiership. Nine of this year's 16 clubs played in the old National Soccer League, which ran from 1977 to 2004, so many of the fixtures revive rivalries that have not been played at national level for two decades.
The 16 clubs and their groups
| Group | Clubs |
|---|---|
| A | South Melbourne (Vic), Sydney United 58 (NSW), Canberra Croatia (ACT), Sutherland Sharks (NSW) |
| B | Avondale (Vic), Wests APIA (NSW), Adelaide City (SA), Broadmeadow Magic (NSW) |
| C | Sydney Olympic (NSW), Marconi Stallions (NSW), Oakleigh Cannons (Vic), Bayswater City (WA) |
| D | Preston Lions (Vic), Wollongong Wolves (NSW), Lions FC (Qld), South Hobart (Tas) |
The foundation clubs are Avondale, Preston Lions, South Melbourne, Marconi Stallions, Sydney Olympic, Sydney United 58, Wests APIA and Wollongong Wolves. The qualifiers are Canberra Croatia, Broadmeadow Magic, Adelaide City, Bayswater City, Oakleigh Cannons, South Hobart, Lions FC and Sutherland Sharks. Sutherland got in after finishing fourth in NPL New South Wales, because the three clubs above them were already foundation members.
How the format works
Each group plays a double round robin over six rounds, so every club meets its three group rivals home and away. The top two in each group go through to a sudden-death finals series of quarter-finals, semi-finals and a grand final. The quarter-finals start on 26 November. Football Australia has provisionally set the grand final for 10 to 12 December and will confirm the finals venues closer to the time.
This season also trials a new rule for drawn group games. There is no extra time. A level match goes straight to a penalty shootout, and the shootout winner gets two points while the loser gets one. A win in normal time is still worth three. Football Australia will review the trial at the end of the season.
Four of the eight opening-round games went to penalties, including Sydney United 58's 8-7 shootout win over Canberra Croatia.
Opening results
- Preston Lions 0, Wollongong Wolves 0 (Wollongong won 6-5 on penalties)
- Adelaide City 2, Avondale 2 (Avondale won 7-6 on penalties)
- Oakleigh Cannons 4, Sydney Olympic 2
- Sutherland Sharks 0, South Melbourne 1
- Broadmeadow Magic 0, Wests APIA 0 (Broadmeadow won 4-3 on penalties)
- Bayswater City 3, Marconi Stallions 1
- Sydney United 58 1, Canberra Croatia 1 (Sydney United won 8-7 on penalties)
- Lions FC 1, South Hobart 2
Round two began on Wednesday 22 October, when Lions FC beat Preston Lions 2-1 in Group D. South Melbourne started their title defence with interim coach Sam Poutakidis after Sinisa Cohadzic left for Avondale. A week before the season began, on 10 October, South beat Melbourne Victory on penalties after a 1-1 draw at AAMI Park to win the Australia Cup, the first club from outside the A-League to lift the trophy.
How it links to the A-League
There is no promotion or relegation between the Australian Championship and the A-League Men. The two competitions are separate, and winning the Championship does not earn a club a place in the top flight. The winner does get a direct spot in the next Australia Cup, the knockout competition open to clubs at every level.
The Championship also runs beside the NPL instead of replacing it. Clubs play their state league season through autumn and winter, then step up to the national stage in spring. The long-term aim is for it to become a standalone home-and-away league, but there is no confirmed timeline. For how the top flight itself works, see our explainer on the A-League Men.
Why it matters
State league clubs rarely get national television or interstate opponents, and the Championship gives them both for two months of the year. Players outside the A-League get a tougher standard of football in front of professional scouts. South Melbourne's Australia Cup win showed the gap to the top flight can be closed on a given night, and supporters of the old NSL clubs have competitive interstate games again for the first time since 2004. The tournament is also Football Australia's working model for a full second division.
Where to watch
SBS is the broadcaster. Each round has two matches on free-to-air television, one on Thursday night on SBS VICELAND, also known as SBS2, and one on Saturday on the main SBS channel. Every match is shown live on SBS On Demand, and the games not on television are also carried on Football Australia's YouTube channel.
The A-League seasons have started too
The 2026-27 A-League Men season opened on Friday 16 October with Sydney FC hosting Western Sydney Wanderers at Allianz Stadium, the first time a Sydney Derby has opened the season. The 12 clubs play 26 games each over 28 matchweeks, and the grand final is set for the weekend of 3 to 6 June 2027. Every match is on Paramount+, with one game a week on Network 10. The A-League Women began on 17 October with 11 clubs and runs until May 2027.
Both national leagues and the Championship finals are listed on our Australian sports calendar.
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