2026 Australian Championship
| Season | 2026 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 16 October – 13 December |
← 2025 2027 → | |
The 2026 Australian Championship will be the second edition of the Australian Championship, a national second-tier competition of soccer in Australia, held after the finish of the third-tier 2026 National Premier Leagues Men's season.[1] The tournament will consist of six home-and-away matches in four groups for teams in the group stage, culminating in a knockout finals series, running from 16 October and concluding on 12–13 December.[2]
South Melbourne are the defending champions, after defeating Marconi Stallions in the final of the 2025 Australian Championship.[3]
Teams
[edit]
● Foundation clubs, ● NPL qualifiers
Sixteen clubs will participate in the competition. Eight clubs gained automatic qualification as the competition's "foundation clubs": Avondale FC, Marconi Stallions, Preston Lions, South Melbourne, Sydney Olympic, Sydney United 58, Wests APIA, and Wollongong Wolves.[4][5]
The other eight qualified via the 2026 National Premier Leagues Men's competitions, as premiers of their respective leagues.[2][a]
| Qualified via | Team | City | Home ground | Cap. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Foundation club | Avondale FC | Melbourne | Avenger Park | 2,500 |
| Marconi Stallions | Sydney | Marconi Stadium | 9,000 | |
| Preston Lions | Melbourne | B.T. Connor Reserve | 9,000 | |
| South Melbourne | Melbourne | Lakeside Stadium | 12,000 | |
| Sydney Olympic | Sydney | Jubilee Stadium | 20,500 | |
| Sydney United 58 | Sydney | Sydney United Sports Centre | 12,000 | |
| Wests APIA | Sydney | Leichhardt Oval | 20,000 | |
| Wollongong Wolves | Wollongong | Collegians Sports Centre | 5,000 | |
| NPL Capital Football | Canberra Croatia | Canberra | Deakin Stadium | 1,500 |
| NPL NSW | Sutherland Sharks[a] | Sydney | Seymour Shaw Park | 5,000 |
| NPL Northern NSW | Broadmeadow Magic | Newcastle | Magic Park | 3,500 |
| NPL Queensland | Lions FC | Brisbane | Lions Stadium | 5,000 |
| NPL SA | Adelaide City | Adelaide | Adelaide City Park | 5,000 |
| NPL Tasmania | South Hobart | Hobart | D'Arcy Street | 1,500 |
| NPL Victoria | Oakleigh Cannons | Melbourne | Jack Edwards Reserve | 4,000 |
| NPL WA | Bayswater City | Perth | Frank Drago Reserve | 5,000 |
Group stage
[edit]The draw for the group stage occurred on 4 September 2026.[6] Subsequently, Football Australia changed the format for the group stage games, where drawn games will proceed directly to a penalty shootout (without extra time), where the winner of the shootout receives two points, while the losing side receives a single point.[7]
Group A
[edit]| Pos | Team | Pld | W | PKW | PKL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Canberra Croatia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Finals series |
| 2 | South Melbourne | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 3 | Sutherland Sharks | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 4 | Sydney United 58 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Group B
[edit]| Pos | Team | Pld | W | PKW | PKL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Adelaide City | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Finals series |
| 2 | Avondale FC | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 3 | Broadmeadow Magic | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 4 | Wests APIA | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Group C
[edit]| Pos | Team | Pld | W | PKW | PKL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bayswater City | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Finals series |
| 2 | Sydney Olympic | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 3 | Oakleigh Cannons | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 4 | Marconi Stallions | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Group D
[edit]| Pos | Team | Pld | W | PKW | PKL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Preston Lions | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Finals series |
| 2 | Lions FC | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 3 | South Hobart | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 4 | Wollongong Wolves | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
See also
[edit]Notes
[edit]- 1 2 As the top three teams in the 2026 NPL NSW had already qualified as foundation clubs, the berth went to the league's fourth-placed team Sutherland Sharks instead.
References
[edit]- ↑ "Football Australia releases Domestic Match Calendar for 2026/27". Football Australia. 14 July 2026.
- 1 2 Lynch, Joey (6 August 2026). "Australian Championship: Clubs, season start, all you need to know". Football 360. Retrieved 6 August 2026.
- ↑ Gibson, Tim (6 December 2025). "Report: South Melbourne claim inaugural Australian Championship over Marconi". Australian Championship. Retrieved 6 December 2025.
- ↑ "Australian Championship unveiled by football's governing body". ABC News. Australian Associated Press. 12 February 2025. Archived from the original on 22 September 2025. Retrieved 22 September 2025.
- ↑ Lynch, Joey (11 February 2025). "The Australian Championship: FA unveils Champions League-style second tier". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 22 September 2025. Retrieved 22 September 2025.
- ↑ "Australian Championship groups confirmed for 2026 | Australian Championship". australianchampionship.com.au. 4 September 2026. Retrieved 14 September 2026.
- ↑ "Penalty Shootout Bonus Point Model – 2026 Australian Championship | Australian Championship". australianchampionship.com.au. 4 September 2026. Retrieved 4 September 2026.