The 2025 Australian Championship was the first edition of the Australian Championship, a national second-tier soccer competition for men, held after the finish of the 2025 National Premier Leagues Men's season. The tournament consisted of six home-and-away matches in four groups for teams in the group stage, culminating in a knockout finals series, running from 10 October and concluding on 6 December.
South Melbourne became the inaugural champions after defeating Marconi Stallions in the final.
Teams
Sixteen clubs participated in the inaugural edition. Eight clubs gained automatic qualification as the competition's Foundation clubs, while the other eight qualified via the 2025 National Premier Leagues Men's competitions, as premiers of their respective leagues. Because Avondale FC, as the 2025 NPL Victoria premiers, had already qualified as a foundation club, their berth went to the league's second-placed team Heidelberg United.
Qualified as Team City Home ground Foundation clubs 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 WA Premiers Bayswater City Perth Frank Drago Reserve 3,000 NPL Northern NSW Premiers Broadmeadow Magic Newcastle Magic Park 3,500 NPL Capital Football Premiers Canberra Croatia Canberra Deakin Stadium 1,500 NPL Victoria Runners-up Heidelberg United Melbourne Olympic Park 12,000 NPL Queensland Premiers Moreton City Excelsior Brisbane Perry Park 5,000 NPL SA Premiers North Eastern MetroStars Adelaide T.K. Shutter Reserve 2,000 NPL NSW Premiers NWS Spirit Sydney Christie Park 1,500 NPL Tasmania Premiers South Hobart Hobart D'Arcy Street 1,500
Group stage
The draw for the group stage was conducted on 1 May. Four of the foundation clubs (APIA Leichhardt, Avondale, Marconi Stallions and South Melbourne) were seeded into Position 1 of each group.
The group stage was played from 10 October to 16 November.
All times listed are local time.
Group A
Group B
Group C
Group D
Finals series
The quarter-finals were played between 21 and 23 November at the home grounds of the group winners; Football Australia selected the venues for the semi-finals and the final, citing the desire to "maximise national reach and deliver the best possible experience for players, fans and broadcast audiences".
Quarter-finals
Semi-finals
Final
Top goalscorers
Rank Player Club Goals 1 Ali Auglah Sydney Olympic 6 2 Manyluak Aguek South Melbourne 5 Seita Murai Moreton City Excelsior Lachlan Scott Wollongong Wolves 5 Bruno Fornaroli Avondale FC 4 Marcus Humbert Heidelberg United Bul Juach Heidelberg United Joseph Scott Moreton City Excelsior 9 Jarred Baker Broadmeadow Magic 3 Michael Cittadini North Eastern MetroStars Ryan Feutz Sydney Olympic Dredon Kelly Wests APIA Keitatsu Kojima Moreton City Excelsior Aedon Kyra NWS Spirit Jordon Lampard South Melbourne Oliver Lavale South Melbourne Jason Romero Preston Lions Damian Tsekenis Marconi Stallions
See also 2025–26 A-League Men 2025 National Premier Leagues
Notes
References