Football NSW Limited, formerly named Soccer NSW Limited and New South Wales Soccer Federation Ltd is a soccer football association in the Australian state of New South Wales. It operates competitions in NSW, (with the exception of northern regions where Northern NSW Football Limited operates), notably the National Premier Leagues NSW and Futsal Premier League. Football NSW is a member organisation of Football Australia Limited (FA).
History The first soccer association in New South Wales was the "South British Football Soccer Association", formed in 1882. It was succeeded in 1898 by the "New South Wales British Football Association" and eventually, in 1921, by the "Australian Soccer Football Association".
The first state competition in New South Wales was formed in 1928. By 1943, an association was formed to oversee the competition, called "New South Wales Soccer Football Association", which was incorporated as a company in 1945.
By 1957, many clubs in New South Wales were left disgruntled by the way soccer was organised by the NSW Soccer Football Association, due to numerous factors. Some migrant communities had created their own clubs when they were faced with closed doors by already established suburban clubs. After a meeting led by Hakoah president, Walter Sternberg in his Bellevue Hill home, a new association was formed, called the NSW Federation of Soccer Clubs. This federation displaced the former NSW Soccer Football Association.
The events of 1957 also led to a change in management nationally. With the Australian Soccer Football Association (ASFA) suspended by FIFA over player poaching disputes and the creation of Federations in other states, the Australian Soccer Federation (ASF) was created in 1961 to replace the old association. However, the ASF gained FIFA affiliation and recognition only after it paid ASFA's £5000 penalty bond to FIFA in 1963.
In 1995, "Soccer Australia Limited" replaced the "Australian Soccer Federation" and so the New South Wales federation was renamed "Soccer NSW Limited". In 2005, Soccer Australia Limited changed its name to "Football Federation Australia". and, on 1 April 2007, Soccer NSW changed its name to "Football NSW".
Headquarters
The headquarters of Football NSW are located at Valentine Sports Park, Glenwood. Valentine Sports Park is a multipurpose sporting complex which caters for various groups, as well as individuals. The complex consists of twin, triple and quad rooms accommodating up to 180 people, 5 playing fields, lecture rooms, indoor sports hall, 20 metre outdoor pool, sports medicine centre and a dining room open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It also contains the offices of the Football NSW staff.
Football See Football (soccer) in New South Wales. Football NSW oversees numerous representative youth, men's and women's soccer competitions and cups, a number of which are non-amateur. It also oversees numerous club and amateur competitions run by the affiliated associations around the state.
Football NSW Institute The Football NSW Institute (FNSWI) was established in 2013 as an elite development program for young footballers in New South Wales. It unified the Skilleroos, New South Wales Institute of Sport, and Skill Acquisition Programs into a single structure aligned with Football Federation Australia's Integrated Talented Player Pathway. Initially catering to both boys and girls, the program shifted its focus exclusively to girls' development from 2016, providing a high-performance environment for players aged U13 to U17. The FNSWI aimed to nurture talented footballers by offering top-tier coaching and training consistent with Football Australia Limited policies, with the goal of preparing players for professional careers and national representation. Following an extensive player development review during the 2024 season, Football NSW announced the cessation of the FNSWI program at the end of 2024. This decision marked a new direction for the organization's approach to youth and senior women's competitions, including the NPL NSW Women's and NSW League One Women's competitions. Throughout its operation, the FNSWI played a pivotal role in developing young female footballers and contributing to the growth of women's football in New South Wales.
Futsal Football NSW also operates two Futsal competitions, the "Futsal Premier League" (Known as the CARBIZ Futsal Premier League for sponsorship reasons) and the "Futsal Premier League 2" (Known as the CARBIZ FPL2). Originally there was only one representative competition with 16 teams. In the 2006/07 season the competition was split into 2 separate divisions of 8 teams each. In the 2007/08 season the top 8 clubs in the club championship (aggregate points of all teams) from that season were put in the First Division while the last 8 were put in the second division. In 2026, there are 8 premier league teams and 8 premier league 2 teams. The Current season format is a 14 week regular season with a 2 week finals series. It has usually started in mid-September and ended before Christmas with the first few rounds overlapping with the A Leagues and youth leagues finals.
Football NSW competition clubs Listed below are the men's all member clubs of Football NSW for the National Premier Leagues competitions and Football NSW League One and Two for 2026.
NPL NSW NSW League OneNSW League Two Club Founded In current league since Club Founded In current league since Club Founded In current league since APIA Leichhardt 1954 1993 Bankstown City Lions 1960 2023 Bankstown United 2016 2019 Blacktown City 1953 1990 Blacktown Spartans 2002 2017 Camden Tigers 1961 2023 University of NSW 1948 2026 Canterbury Bankstown 1886 2023 Central Coast United 2017 2024 Manly United 1992 2004 Central Coast Mariners Academy 2008 2026 Fraser Park FC1961 2023 Marconi Stallions 1956 2018 Dulwich Hill 1968 2023 1953 2010 SD Raiders 2012 2026 Hills United 1989 2025 Hawkesbury City 1975 2023 NWS Spirit 2004 2023 Hurstville ZFC 1970 2026 Bonnyrigg White Eagles 1968 2026 Rockdale Ilinden 1969 2010 Mounties Wanderers 1978 2025 Inner West Hawks 1978 2014 St George City 1924 2023 1939 2020 Dunbar Rovers 1991 2025 St George FC 1961 2024 Inter Lions 1983 2023 Parramatta FC 1956 2023 Sutherland Sharks 1930 2006 Macarthur Rams 1984 2023 Prospect United 1970 2023 Sydney FC Youth 2008 2017 Newcastle Jets Youth 2008 2025 South Coast Flame 2017 2023 Sydney Olympic 1957 2004 Bulls FC Academy 1952 2024 Sydney University 1946 2016 Sydney United 58 1957 2004 Northern Tigers 2002 2004 Granville Rage 1990 2023 Western Sydney Wanderers Youth 2012 2023 Rydalmere Lions 1979 2023 Nepean FC 2011 2025 Wollongong Wolves 1980 2004 Western City Rangers 1970 2026
Competition system
There are four men's competition levels in NSW, with promotion and relegation between the top 3 levels. It includes the Sydney Amateur League, which is not formally part of the competition system. In total, there are 259 clubs/teams across 28 divisions in New South Wales.
The women's soccer pyramid in New South Wales comprises 3 levels, with promotion and relegation between the top 2 levels.
Men's pyramid State LevelLeaguesNationalState2 1National Premier Leagues NSW16 clubsno promotion, ↓ relegate 1.53 2NSW League One16 clubs↑ promote 1.5, ↓ relegate 1.54 3NSW League Two16 clubs↑ promote 1.5, no relegation5 4New South Wales Regional Leagues543 teams from 2 divisionsno promotionMetropolitan Districts388 clubs from 6 districtsRegional Branches155 clubs from 3 Branches
Metropolitan LevelMetropolitan DistrictsNationalStateMetro5 4 1Far North54 clubs from 2 districtsNorth50 teams from 2 districtsEast67 teams from 3 districtsWest81 teams from 3 districtsSouth85 teams from 3 districtsFar South51 teams from 2 districtsCentral Coast Premier League10 teamsno promotion, ↓ relegate 2Northern Suburbs Premier League10 teamsno promotion, ↓ relegate 1Gladesville Hornsby Premier League10 teamsno promotion, ↓ relegate 1Manly Warringah Premier League11 teamsno promotion, ↓ relegate 1Bill Brackenbury Cup (Canterbury)7 teamsno promotion, ↓ relegate 1Eastern Suburbs Premier League8 teamsno promotion, ↓ relegate 1St George Premier League10 teamsno promotion, ↓ relegate 1Blacktown Premier League10 teamsno promotion, ↓ relegate 1Granville X-League9 teamsno promotion, ↓ relegate 1Nepean Waratah League9 teamsno promotion, ↓ relegate 1Bankstown Premier League9 teamsno promotion, ↓ relegate 1Macarthur M-League8 teamsno promotion, ↓ relegate 1Southern Districts Premier League10 teamsno promotion, ↓ relegate 1Illawarra Premier League12 teamsno promotion, ↓ relegate 1Sutherland Premier League10 teamsno promotion, ↓ relegate 16 5 2Central Coast Division One10 teams ↑ promote 2, no relegationNorthern Suburbs All-Age Division 27 teams ↑ promote 1, no relegationGladesville Hornsby Super League9 teams ↑ promote 1, no relegationManly Warringah Amateur League 110 teams ↑ promote 1, no relegationCanterbury22 teamsEastern Suburbs22 teamsSt George23 teamsBlacktown23 teamsGranville26 teamsNepean32 teamsBankstown21 teamsMacarthur26 teamsSouthern Districts38 teamsSouth Coast24 teamsSutherland27 teams7 6 3All-Age 17 teamsAll-Age Division 310 teamsAll-Age 17 teamsManly Warringah18 teamsCanterbury22 teamsEastern Suburbs22 teamsSt George23 teamsBlacktown23 teamsGranville26 teamsNepean32 teamsBankstown21 teamsMacarthur26 teamsSouthern Districts38 teamsSouth Coast24 teamsSutherland27 teams9 7 4All-Age 28 teamsAll-Age Division 49 teamsAll-Age 28 teams10 8 5All-Age 310 teamsAll-Age Division 59 teams11 9 6All-Age 48 teamsAll-Age Division 610 teams12 10 7All-Age 510 teamsAll-Age Division 710 teams13 11 8All-Age 69 teamsAll-Age Division 89 teams14 12 9All-Age 710 teamsAll-Age Division 98 teams15 13 10All-Age 812 teams--->
Regional LevelRegional BranchesNationalStateReg5 4 1Riverina31 clubs from 4 associationsSouthern57 teams from 5 associationsWestern65 clubs from 5 associationsAlbury-Wodonga Division One11 teamsno promotion, no relegationGriffith District First Grade5 teamsno promotion, no relegationSouth West SlopesNo senior competitionsPascoe Cup (Wagga Wagga)10 teamsno promotion, no relegationEurobodalla Division 16 teamsno promotion, no relegationBolden-Blackmore Shield (Shoalhaven)6 teamsno promotion, no relegationHighlands All-Age8 teamsno promotion, no relegationSouthern Tablelands All-Age12 teamsno promotion, no relegationFar South Coast First Grade6 teamsno promotion, no relegationWestern Premier League6 teamsno promotion, no relegation6 5 2 Bathurst District Premier League6 teamsno promotion, no relegationDubbo & District Division 16 teamsno promotion, no relegationLachlan 1st Division6 teamsno promotion, no relegationLithgowNo official senior competitionsOrange District Division A5 teamsno promotion, no relegation
Women's pyramid State LevelLeaguesNationalState2 1National Premier Leagues NSW Women's14 clubsno promotion, ↓ relegate 13 2NSW League One Women's14 clubs↑ promote 1, no relegation4 3New South Wales Regional Leaguesno promotionMetropolitan DistrictsRegional Branches
Metropolitan LevelMetropolitan DistrictsNationalStateMetro4 3 1Far North2 districtsNorth2 districtsEast3 districtsWest3 districtsSouth3 districtsFar South2 districtsCentral Coast Premier LeagueNorthern Suburbs Division OneGladesville Hornsby Premier LeagueManly Warringah Premier LeagueGrace Martin Trophy (Canterbury)Eastern Suburbs ChampionshipSt George Premier Women's LeagueBlacktown All-Age OneGranville Ladies Premier LeagueNepean All-Age OneBankstown All-Age OneMacarthur All-Age OneSouthern Districts All-Age OneSouth Coast All-Age OneSutherland All-Age A
Associations and Branches
As one of two organising bodies for soccer in New South Wales, Football NSW operates within the southern part of the state. At a local level, Football NSW works with 15 regional-based constituent association members which operate within their respected region. Three regional Football NSW branches exist.