Football Victoria confirm new NPL structures for 2020

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Football Victoria (FV) have announced its new NPL Victoria structures for the 2020 season.

The upcoming season will see the introduction of an NPL3 competition, which will alter the structures of the NPL men’s competitions.

FV CEO Peter Filopoulos claims the new structures would lead to the best teams playing each other week in, week out. He said it was a fairer setup than what was previously implemented.

“These new structures are the result of a lot of consultation, deep thought and a very thorough review of the many options available to us. The application process was also very extensive, and we were thrilled with the overall quality of the club applications we received,” Mr Filopoulos said.

NATIONAL PREMIER LEAGUE (NPL) VICTORIA MEN’S PREMIER COMPETITION

The top-tier NPL Victoria competition remains with 14 teams in the 2020 season. However, there will no longer be a promotion-relegation playoff match. Instead, the top two teams in NPL2 will be promoted to the first division whilst the bottom two teams in NPL Victoria will be relegated to NPL2.

In accordance with the 2019 NPL Rules of Competition, the promotion and relegation policy has been applied by FV. These are the positional changes that have now been made in the NPL1 men’s league.

Promoted Clubs Relegated Clubs to NPL 2
Eastern Lions SC Pascoe Vale FC
St. Albans Saints SC Kingston City FC

NATIONAL PREMIER LEAGUE (NPL) VICTORIA MEN’S 2 & 3 LEAGUE STRUCTURES

The NPL2 and NPL3 competitions will have 12 teams in each league in 2020. The top six on the ladder in NPL 2 (West) and NPL 2 (East), as well as the top two from Men’s State League 1 (North West) and Men’s State League 1 (South East), will form the new NPL3 competition.

Promoted / Relegated / Current Clubs to NPL 2 from NPL 2 – West Promoted / Relegated /Current Clubs to NPL 2 from NPL 2 – East
Moreland Zebras FC FC Bulleen Lions
Werribee City FC Northcote City FC
Moreland City FC Langwarrin SC
North Geelong FC Manningham United FC
Brunswick City SC Goulburn Valley FC
Pascoe Vale FC (Relegated into NPL2) Kingston City FC (Relegated into NPL2)

 

Promoted / Relegated Clubs to NPL 3 from NPL 2 – West Promoted / Relegated Clubs to NPL 3 from NPL 2 – East
Geelong SC Melbourne City FC
Whittlesea Ranges FC Murray United FC
Melbourne Victory FC Box Hill United SC
Ballarat City FC Springvale White Eagles FC
Preston Lions FC (Promoted into NPL 3) Nunawading City FC (Promoted into NPL 3)
North Sunshine Eagles SC (Promoted into NPL 3) Doveton SC (Promoted into NPL 3)

 

Promoted Clubs to NPL 3 from MSL 1 – North West Promoted Clubs to NPL 3 from MSL 1 – South East
Preston Lions FC Nunawading City FC
North Sunshine SC Doveton SC

NATIONAL PREMIER LEAGUE VICTORIA (NPLW) WOMEN’S AND GIRLS’ LEAGUE STRUCTURES

After the completion of the NPLW licence audit process, Southern United FC and Galaxy United FC won’t participate in the NPLW senior women’s and Under 19 competition in 2020. Because of this, the NPLW Senior Women’s and Under 19 competitions will have eight teams in each league in 2020.

The junior girls’ structure remains the same. Further changes are expected after the 2020 season.

NATIONAL PREMIER LEAGUE VICTORIA (NPL) JUNIOR BOYS’ LEAGUE STRUCTURE

Following extensive reviews, the Junior Boys’ NPL has been separated from the Senior NPL for the purpose of promotion and relegation.

48 clubs will be involved in Victoria’s Junior Boys’ NPL competition in 2020.

These clubs will be involved in a pre-qualification phase in their geographical zones in early February.

In the 2020 season the Junior Boys’ NPL will comprise of only U13, U14, U15 and U16 teams.

Clubs in the zones below will compete in an 11 round pre-qualification phase in their specified regions. After the completion of this, clubs will be put in a three-tier competition.

JUNIOR BOYS’ NPL VICTORIA LEAGUE ALLOCATIONS & STRUCTURES

JBNPL 

Northern League

 JBNPL 

Western League

 JBNPL 

Southern League 

 JBNPL 

Eastern League
Brunswick City SC Altona Magic SC Bentleigh Greens SC Ashburton United SC
Eltham Redbacks FC Avondale FC Berwick City SC Box Hill United SC
Essendon Royals SC Ballarat City FC Dandenong City SC Eastern Lions SC
Goulburn Valley Suns FC Bendigo City FC Dandenong Thunder FC FC Bulleen Lions
Heidelberg United FC Brimbank Stallions FC Gippsland FC Malvern City FC
Hume City FC Caroline Springs George Cross FC Glen Eira FC Manningham United FC
Melbourne Victory FC Geelong SC Kingston City FC Melbourne City FC
Moreland City FC Green Gully SC Langwarrin SC Northcote City FC
Moreland Zebras FC Melbourne Knights FC Mornington SC Nunawading City FC
Murray United FC North Geelong Warriors FC Oakleigh Cannons FC Port Melbourne Sharks SC
Pascoe Vale FC St Albans Saints SC Peninsula Strikers FC Ringwood City FC
Whittlesea Ranges FC Werribee City FC Springvale White Eagles FC South Melbourne FC

 

 

 

 

 

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Capital Football Introduces Pink Armband to Protect Junior Referees

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Image Credit: Marist Canberra FC

Capital Football has launched a visible identification program for referees under 18, requiring them to wear a pink armband during matches. It’s intended to build awareness surrounding the concern across Australian football about the abuse driving young officials out of the game.

The Pink Armband Initiative, effective immediately across Capital Football’s competitions in the ACT and surrounding region, makes junior referees identifiable to players, coaches and spectators. The federation says the marker is designed to set clear behavioural expectations and signal that many match officials are minors still developing their skills.

Capital Football acknowledged a referee crisis as far back as 2022, at which point it restructured its entire referee department in partnership with Football Australia. The pink armband program is the latest layer of that response; this time by targeting the cultural conditions on match day rather than systems of recruitment and pay.

A problem that spans codes and states

Research has consistently linked referee abuse to declining retention rates, with officials quitting in growing numbers due to sustained mistreatment, a trend researchers warn will reduce the pool of skilled match officials available at all levels of the game. Studies also show that young, less experienced referees are disproportionately likely to be subject to abuse.

Capital Football is not alone in reaching for a visible solution. Similar programs operate across Football Queensland, Football South Australia, Football South Coast and several other federations, while Basketball Victoria and Basketball South Australia have adopted comparable measures through the Green Whistle initiative. The spread of these programs across codes and states reflects a shared administrative problem: many grassroots referees are teenagers and volunteers who do not officiate for money but because they love the game, and abuse is eroding that foundation.

For a federation overseeing nearly 29,000 registered players, fewer referees means fewer matches. Fewer matches means reduced participation. The pink armband is a low-cost intervention with structural consequences if it works.

Football Victoria Backs Campaign to Shield Junior Players from Gambling Harm

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More than 600 sporting clubs across Victoria have enrolled in a state government program designed to limit young players’ exposure to gambling, with Football Victoria now urging its community clubs to join before a late-July registration deadline.

The Love the Game initiative asks clubs to formally commit to a set of principles: refusing sports betting sponsorships, developing internal harm prevention policies, and building environments where coaches, parents and players are equipped to discuss gambling risks with children.

The program’s public health rationale has a sharper statistical edge than its community-facing materials suggest. A 2025 study of Victorian secondary school students aged 12 to 17 found that nearly 30% had gambled at some point, and among those who had gambled in the past year, 7.5% met the criteria for problem-gambling and a further 26.8% were classified as ‘at-risk’. The research, commissioned by the state government and published earlier this year, also found that students exposed to gambling venues and advertising were more likely to gamble or to do so in a risky manner.

The most recent Victorian Population Gambling Study found that Victorians aged 18 to 24 are the group least likely to gamble overall, yet carry the highest rates of harmful gambling across all age groups. Young people aged 18 to 34 are around five times more likely to bet on sports than older cohorts.

When the data lands at the clubhouse door

Football Victoria’s support for the program reflects a broader recognition within community sport that participation rates and club culture are connected. The environments clubs create shape whether young people stay in sport and what norms they carry with them into adulthood. For football specifically, which draws participants across a wide range of socioeconomic backgrounds, that responsibility is not evenly distributed. Approximately 440,000 Victorians, or 8.5 per cent of the state’s population, are classified as being at some risk of experiencing problem gambling.

The Victorian Government’s program gives clubs more than symbolic membership. Registered clubs receive practical tools to develop governance frameworks around gambling harm, resources for coaching staff and volunteers, and standing as part of a growing network of clubs taking a formal position on the issue.

Researchers have described the current framing of gambling harm as a matter of personal responsibility as inadequate, arguing it is a public health issue requiring a systemic response. Community football clubs, with their reach into households across the state, are one of the institutional levers available to make that response visible.

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