The National Soccer League (NSL) was the top-level

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

league in Australia, run by

Soccer Australia Football Australia is the governing body of soccer, futsal, and beach soccer within Australia, headquartered in Sydney. Although the first governing body of the sport was founded in 1911, Football Australia in its current form was only establi ...

and later the Australian Soccer Association. The NSL, the

A-League A-League Men (known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons) is the highest-level professional men's soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. At the top of the Australian league system, it is the country's premier men's competiti ...

's predecessor, spanned 28 seasons from its inception in 1977 until its demise in 2004, when it was succeeded by the

competition run by Football Federation Australia, the successor to the Australian Soccer Association. During the history of the NSL the league was contested by a total of 42 teams; 41 based in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

and one based in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

. Seasons initially ran during the winter seasons, until 1989 when this was changed to the summer season. In 1984, the league was split into two conferences (Northern and Southern) to introduce more teams into the competition; the league returned to a single division in 1987. The competition was known by various names through sponsorships; these names included the

Philips Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), commonly shortened to Philips, is a Dutch multinational conglomerate corporation that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, it has been mostly headquartered in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarters is ...

Soccer League, the Quit National Soccer League, Olympic Airways Soccer League,

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance bar, temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pembe ...

Soccer League, the

Ericsson (lit. "Telephone Stock Company of LM Ericsson"), commonly known as Ericsson, is a Swedish multinational networking and telecommunications company headquartered in Stockholm. The company sells infrastructure, software, and services in inform ...

Cup and the A-League. From the league's inaugural season to its demise in 2004, a total of 13 clubs were crowned champions through either a system of first past the post or a finals series that culminated in a

grand final Primarily in Australian sports, a grand final (sometimes colloquially abbreviated to "grannie") is a game that decides a sports league's premiership (or championship) winning team, i.e. the conclusive game of a finals (or play-off) series. S ...

. The NSL was Australia's first national sporting league predating the likes of the AFL and NRL.

History

Origin

Competition between club sides from different states existed in various forms prior to the formation of the NSL. The petroleum company Ampol sponsored cup competitions in the various states, starting with

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

in 1957, with other states following later. Later a national Ampol Cup was conducted which continued throughout the 1960s. From 1962 until 1968 an

Australia Cup The Australia Cup, formerly known as the FFA Cup until the 2021 season, is the national football knockout cup competition in Australia. This annual competition is organised by Football Australia, formerly known as Football Federation Australi ...

was held, but its ambition of becoming an

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football compet ...

style knockout competition went unfulfilled. In the 1970s the top sides from Melbourne and Sydney played off in an end of season series, but the tournament didn't seem to quite capture the legitimacy and popularity that was hoped for. Plans for a national home and away league went back as far as 1965 for a 1967 start, and were followed up by variations on the theme throughout the 1960s and early 1970s, but faced opposition variously from clubs, who deemed the notion uneconomical, and state federations who feared losing their power. Australia's qualification for the

1974 World Cup The 1974 FIFA World Cup was the tenth FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in West Germany (and West Berlin) between 13 June and 7 July. The tournament marked the first time that ...

led to various discussions in 1975 and 1976, with eventually 14 teams being chosen to participate in the inaugural season of the national league. The transition from state-based leagues to a national competition was not all smooth. The Victorian Soccer Federation was reluctant for its big clubs to be involved and it appeared the dream of Alex Pongrass of St George and Frank Lowy of Hakoah Sydney for a nationwide club competition would not evolve. Little-known

Mooroolbark Mooroolbark is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 31 km north-east of Melbourne's central business district, located within the Shire of Yarra Ranges local government area. Mooroolbark recorded a population of 23,059 at the . Mo ...

from Melbourne's outer eastern suburbs broke the deadlock by joining the competition, bringing three other Victorian sides with it, making the national league a reality.

1977–1983: Sydney dominance

The first seven seasons of the league would be dominated by Sydney clubs, with Sydney City winning four titles, and only West Adelaide being able to wrest the title from

. West secured the 1978 championship after scoring a late equaliser in an Adelaide derby against Adelaide City in the final round of the season. The competition at this stage was a simple first past the post. A post season finals series was played during this era but was considered more of an exhibition series rather than a legitimate game to decide the national champion, although some confusion still exists on this matter particularly amongst some

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German: ') is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914, of which roughly a quarter consisted of students ...

supporters who consider the 1980 'final' as a legitimate decider.

1984–1986: Conference system and power shift

Shrinking crowds led to the radical move of introducing more teams (mainly from Victoria and

) and splitting the league into two conferences, with the winner of each division to play-off in an end of year two legged final. For season 1984 the 'Australian' Conference had competing teams from New South Wales and the ACT, whilst the 'National' Conference consisted of Victorian,

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest o ...

n and Queensland clubs. For 1985 and 1986 this reverted to 'Northern' and 'Southern' Conferences. Strangely, the competition's most geographically northern sides, Brisbane Lions and Brisbane City were in the latter grouping. This period saw South Melbourne become the first Victorian team to win the league, followed by Brunswick Juventus, and Adelaide City, all Southern conference sides. At the end of the 1986 season, the system was scrapped, and about half the teams were dumped back to their respective state leagues. The criteria used to decide who stayed and who went was based 50% on the 1986 playing record, 40% on past playing record, and 10% on crowd support.Thompson, 2006, One Fantastic Goal, pp 263 The result was that only one team from outside Sydney and Melbourne, reigning champions Adelaide City, was retained.

1987–1989: Return to single division and last years of winter football

The revamped league suffered a major setback early on when Sydney City pulled out of the competition after just one round into the new season. Apart from returning to a single division, the league also dispensed with finals for the 1987 season, reverting to first past the post. Many considered this an ill-considered move, as it robbed the league of its most high-profile games. Finals were re-introduced from 1988, and were to remain until the league's demise. The 1989 season would be the last to be played in winter. This period saw a re-emergence of New South Wales dominance with all titles, minor premierships and runners-up being from that state.

1989–1996: Birth of summer football

Attempts to shift the league towards a summer season went back into the early 1980s, but only came to pass for the 1989/90 season. The rationale for this change was simple. The league would avoid being marginalised in the media during the peak of the

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional sports, professional competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling ...

and Australian Rugby League seasons, as well as providing better playing surfaces and spectator comfort owing to the better weather. The impetus given to the league from the switch was not enough for some clubs to remain in the league, with many clubs being relegated or being demoted back to the state leagues, including former champions Brunswick Juventus, St George and APIA Leichhardt, as well as once upon a time contenders in

and

Preston Preston is a place name, surname and given name that may refer to: Places England *Preston, Lancashire, an urban settlement **The City of Preston, Lancashire, a borough and non-metropolitan district which contains the settlement **County Boro ...

. This coincided with a renewed push by

authorities to force clubs to market themselves to mainstream Australia, as opposed to their own mostly migrant fan bases. These policies included name and logo changes, as well as the banning of ethnic flags, changes which were begrudgingly agreed to by the clubs, though in the terraces the fans generally continued to chant the old names. Marconi, South Melbourne, Adelaide City and the Melbourne Knights were the dominant sides of this era, with numerous titles and grand final appearances between them. Stars such as Mark Viduka,

Mark Bresciano Mark Bresciano ( ; ; born 11 February 1980) is an Australian former professional soccer player who played as a midfielder. Born in Melbourne, Bresciano played youth football for Bulleen Lions, before moving into the National Soccer League wit ...

, Vince Grella, Tony Popovic and Mark Schwarzer debuted in this decade and would later form the core of the Australian Golden generation.

1996–2001: New clubs and attempts to enter the mainstream

From 1996 onwards the league attempted to revitalise the competition and attempt to hook into the mainstream support by finally introducing a team from Western Australia, in the form of Perth Glory, as well as other new entities which promised to deliver mainstream support, as well as being fully professional outfits as opposed to the majority of clubs and players who were only semi-professional. Among the new clubs at this time were the Collingwood Warriors, Carlton, Northern Spirit (GHFA Spirit as of 2004) and

Parramatta Power Parramatta Power Soccer Club were a professional association football club who were based in the Western Sydney city of Parramatta. They played in the National Soccer League from season 1999-00 until the league folded in 2004. The Power were ...

, as well as New Zealand's first professional team, the Football Kingz. These clubs would have varying degrees of success on and off the field. Collingwood Warriors barely managed to last a season, while Carlton reached the grand final in its debut year, but was unable to attract a substantial fan base. Northern Spirit started off with record crowds, and a good debut season reaching the finals, but gradually crowds declined, and financial difficulties along with a controversial takeover by Rangers, didn't help matters. They would survive until the end of the NSL, but fold thereafter. Parramatta Power failed to gather much support, placed as it was in the midst of the already crowded western Sydney

market, and it too would not last beyond the end of the NSL. Perth Glory became the most successful of the new mainstream entrants. High crowds and good performances throughout the NSL's last decade made Perth Glory for many observers the benchmark and role model for all future entrants to the Australian top-flight. A then record grand final crowd of 40,000 people saw the Brisbane Strikers become the first Queensland side to win the title in season 1996/97, but it never resulted in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

gaining much bigger crowds in the following seasons than they were accustomed to. South Melbourne FC under

Ange Postecoglou Angelos Postecoglou ( el, Άγγελος Ποστέκογλου, ; born 27 August 1965) is an Australian association football manager and former player, who is the current manager of Scottish Premiership club Celtic. Born in Greece, he move ...

won back-to-back titles in the late 1990s, and by also winning the 1999 Oceania Club Championship, earning the right to play in the 2000 FIFA Club World Championship, where it put in some respectable performances against sides such as Manchester United and a tidy sum in prize money. Wollongong Wolves became the only side from regional Australia to win the league, with their back-to-back titles in 1999/2000 and 2000/01. The 1999/2000 Grand Final against Perth Glory at Subiaco Oval in

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

saw a record attendance of 43,242, overtaking the 1997 figure in Brisbane and a record that would remain until the 2007 A-League Grand Final in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...

. The cancellation of the 2001 FIFA Club World Championship however was a major blow to the league as clubs which had seen a way of making a substantial amount of much needed money.

2001–2004: Decline and demise

After the 2001 FIFA Club World Championship was cancelled, the NSL was in great turmoil. High-profile Australian players began to leave the NSL due to more enticing offers from overseas leagues. In 1998,

sold the television rights for the NSL and Socceroos matches to the

Seven Network The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, and is one of ...

in a 10-year contract that was worth $2.5 million a year. Seven bought the rights to be one of the flagships of its pay TV sport channel, C7 Sport. It also broadcast a small amount of coverage on its free-to-air network. At one point in 2000, the amount of free-to-air coverage on the NSL was only a one-hour highlights package of the NSL after midnight on Wednesdays. Many believe Channel 7 deliberately refused to air games to kill off interest in the league that was flourishing in the 90s. In 2002, C7 Sport closed after the Seven Network lost the

(AFL) rights and pay TV networks stopped carrying the channel. The next year, Seven severed its contract in the last week of Soccer Australia's existence. This left the NSL with no TV coverage at all until SBS picked up the rights soon after. The consequent lack of sponsorship meant the league fell into even further decline which led to its eventual demise at the end of the 2003–04 season. Highlights were few and far between, but

Sydney Olympic Sydney Olympic Football Club is an Australian semi-professional soccer club, based in Belmore, Sydney, New South Wales, that plays in the National Premier Leagues NSW. The Club was founded as Pan-Hellenic Soccer Club in 1957 by Greek immigrant ...

re-emerged as a genuine leading club for the first time in a decade, winning its second title, and Perth Glory went on to win the last two titles of the NSL, after previously having lost two grand finals. The birth of Adelaide United, as a quickly formed replacement of Adelaide City who withdrew just before the start of the final NSL season, was perhaps the sole major highlight of this era, as they put in good performances, but most importantly, registered crowds which had not been seen in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

since the heyday of Adelaide City and West Adelaide. The league in 2003–04 was won by Perth Glory after a 1-0 win against

on 4 April 2004, almost 27 years to the day that the national competition began. Nik Mrdja had the honour of scoring the last goal in the NSL, a 98th minute golden goal to seal the championship for Perth. After this, national competition went into recess for a year and a half. In November 2004, 8 teams, including 5 from the now defunct NSL, formed the

, the revamped national competition whilst many were denied the opportunity due to the bidding process and 1 team for 1 state rule. The first competition began on 26 August 2005, ending the long recess and killing off the NSL and its 24-year history.

Competition format

The competition structure changed many times throughout the NSL's history. From its inception in 1977 until 1983, it was simply a matter of first past the post. However a compromise format was devised between the traditional first past the post and the Australian system of finals. In 1978, 1979 (two-legged Grand Final), 1980 and 1982 a finals series was conducted but the winner of the Grand Final didn't determine who won the title. From 1984 until 1986, the league introduced more teams split into two conferences (1984 – Australian Conference,

Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory (commonly abbreviated as ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) until 1938, is a landlocked federal territory of Australia containing the national capital Canberra and some surrounding township#Aust ...

clubs and National Conference, Victoria,

, Queensland; 1985 and 1986 – Northern Conference,

clubs and Southern Conference for the rest) with 12 teams in each. The top five in each division would qualify for the playoffs, with the winner of each of the divisional playoffs playing off in a two-legged Grand Final. In 1987, the league dumped 11 teams, scrapped the split divisions, and the championship system reverted to first past the post. In 1988 the league re-introduced a finals system, with the top five sides qualifying for the playoffs. In season 1992/93, the league increased the finalists to six. This system was used for the rest of the league's duration, except for season 2002/03 when the top six sides played a further series of home and away games against each other, with the top two playing off in the Grand Final. The NSL also used a variety of point systems throughout its history. From 1977 until season 1991/92, teams were awarded two points for a win, one point for draw, and none for a loss. The exceptions to this were 1979, in which wins by four goals or more were awarded a bonus point, and 1983, in which three points were awarded for a win. From season 1992/93 onwards three points were awarded for a win, except for season 1994/95. In that season, four points were awarded for a win, with games ending in draws, being decided by penalty shootouts at the end of the game. The winner of the shootout received two points, the loser one point.

Related competitions

Successful NSL clubs gained qualification into the continental competition, the

Oceania Club Championship The OFC Champions League, also known as the O-League, is the premier men's club soccer competition in Oceania. It is organised by the OFC, Oceania's football governing body. Beginning as the Oceania Club Championship (1987–2006), it has been ...

, although the competition only occurred in 1987,

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...

and 2001. In addition to the main league competition, the NSL also held a knock-out cup competition between 1977 and the 1997 season known as the NSL Cup. The NSL Cup was initially held during the regular season, before gradually becoming a pre-season warm-up tournament. Between 1984 and 2004 National Youth League ran in conjunction with the NSL as a national youth developmental and reserve league.

Clubs

Source:

Champions

Performance by club

Competition timeline

ImageSize = width:925 height:830 PlotArea = width:670 height:750 left:130 bottom:50 AlignBars = late BarData= bar:Nu text:Number of teams bar:WW text:Wollongong Wolves bar:WM text:Wollongong Macedonia bar:WS text:Western Suburbs bar:WA text:West Adelaide bar:SU text:Sydney United bar:SO text:Sydney Olympic bar:SC text:Sydney City bar:SG text:Sunshine George Cross bar:St text:St George Saints bar:SM text:South Melbourne bar:PL text:Preston Lions bar:PG text:Perth Glory bar:PC text:Penrith City bar:PP text:Parramatta Power bar:PE text:Parramatta Eagles bar:NS text:Northern Spirit bar:NJ text:Newcastle United Jets bar:NR text:Newcastle Rosebud bar:NK text:Newcastle KB bar:NB text:Newcastle Breakers bar:MF text:Morwell Falcons bar:Mo text:Mooroolbark bar:MK text:Melbourne Knights bar:MS text:Marconi Stallions bar:IM text:Inter Monaro bar:HU text:Heidelberg United bar:GG text:Green Gully bar:FJ text:Footscray JUST bar:FK text:Football Kingz bar:CW text:Collingwood Warriors bar:Ca text:Carlton bar:CM text:Canterbury-Marrickville bar:Co text:Canberra Cosmos bar:CC text:Canberra City bar:BJ text:Brunsiwck Juventus bar:BS text:Brisbane Strikers bar:BL text:Brisbane Lions bar:BC text:Brisbane City bar:Bk text:Blacktown City bar:AL text:APIA Leichhardt bar:AU text:Adelaide United bar:AC text:Adelaide City Colors = id:grey value:gray(0.4) id:lgrey value:gray(0.8) id:vlgrey value:gray(0.9) id:champion value:brightblue legend:Champions id:spoon value:rgb(0.5,0,0) legend:Last_place id:rup value:powderblue # legend:Runner_Up # need more data id:future value:rgb(0.94,0.92,0.92) DateFormat = yyyy Period = from:1976 till:2006 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:2 start:1978 gridcolor:vlgrey ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:1 start:1977 gridcolor:vlgrey PlotData= color:lgrey width:12 bar:AC from:1977 till:2003 at:1986 mark:(line, champion) at:1992 mark:(line, champion) at:1994 mark:(line, champion) at:2003 mark:(line, grey) shift:(2,-4) text:Left for SA Premier League bar:AU from:2003 till:2004 at:2006 mark:(line, grey) shift:(2,-4) text:Retained in A-League bar:AL from:1979 till:1992 at:1987 mark:(line, champion) at:1992 mark:(line, grey) shift:(2,-4) text:Left for NSW Super League bar:Bk from:1980 till:1981 # at:1981 mark:(line, grey) shift:(2,-4) text: bar:Bk from:1984 till:1986 # at:1986 mark:(line, grey) shift:(2,-4) text: bar:Bk from:1989 till:1990 # at:1990 mark:(line, spoon) shift:(2,-4) text:Releg. bar:BC from:1977 till:1986 at:1978 mark:(line, spoon) at:1982 mark:(line, spoon) # at:1986 mark:(line, grey) shift:(2,-4) text: bar:BL from:1977 till:1986 at:1983 mark:(line, spoon) at:1986 mark:(line, grey) shift:(2,-4) text:Releg. bar:BL from:1988 till:1988 at:1988 mark:(line, spoon) shift:(2,-4) text:Relegated to Brisbane Premier League at:2006 shift:(2,8) text:Returned to A-League at:2006 mark:(line, grey) shift:(2,-4) text:as Queensland Roar bar:BS from:1992 till:2004 at:1997 mark:(line, champion) at:2004 mark:(line, grey) shift:(2,-4) text:Rejected from A-League, at:2004 shift:(2,-16) text:left for Brisbane Premier League bar:BJ from:1984 till:1988 at:1985 mark:(line, champion) at:1988 mark:(line, grey) shift:(2,-4) text:Relegated bar:BJ from:1994 till:1995 at:1995 mark:(line, grey) shift:(2,-4) text:Merge with Bulleen Zebras bar:CC from:1977 till:1986 at:1986 mark:(line, grey) shift:(2,-4) text:Relegated to NSW State League bar:Co from:1996 till:2001 at:1997 mark:(line, spoon) at:1998 mark:(line, spoon) at:1999 mark:(line, spoon) at:2003 mark:(line, grey) shift:(2,-4) text:Folded bar:CM from:1986 till:1986 # at:1986 mark:(line, grey) shift:(2,-4) text: bar:Ca from:1998 till:2001 at:2002 mark:(line, grey) shift:(2,-4) text:Folded mid season bar:FK from:2000 till:2004 at:2002 mark:(line, spoon) at:2004 mark:(line, spoon) at:2006 mark:(line, grey) shift:(2,-4) text:Retained in A-League bar:FJ from:1977 till:1989 at:1985 mark:(line, spoon) at:1989 mark:(line, grey) shift:(2,-4) text:Relegated bar:GG from:1984 till:1986 at:1986 mark:(line, spoon) shift:(2,-4) text:Relegated to VIC Premier League bar:HU from:1977 till:1987 at:1987 mark:(line, spoon) shift:(2,-4) text:Releg. bar:HU from:1989 till:1989 at:1989 mark:(line, spoon) shift:(2,-4) text:Releg. bar:HU from:1991 till:1995 at:1994 mark:(line, spoon) at:1995 mark:(line, spoon) shift:(2,-4) text:Left for VIC Premier League bar:IM from:1985 till:1986 at:1986 mark:(line, spoon) shift:(2,-4) text:Relegated to NSW 1st Div bar:MS from:1977 till:2004 at:1979 mark:(line, champion) at:1988 mark:(line, champion) at:1989 mark:(line, champion) at:1993 mark:(line, champion) at:2004 shift:(2,8) text:Rejected from A-League, at:2004 mark:(line, grey) shift:(2,-4) text:left for NSW Premier League bar:MK from:1984 till:2004 at:1995 mark:(line, champion) at:1996 mark:(line, champion) at:2004 mark:(line, grey) shift:(2,-4) text:Rejected from A-League, at:2004 shift:(2,-16) text:left for VIC Premier League bar:Mo from:1977 till:1977 at:1977 mark:(line, spoon) shift:(2,-4) text:Relegated VIC 3rd Div bar:MF from:1992 till:2001 at:2001 mark:(line, spoon) at:2002 mark:(line, grey) shift:(2,-4) text:Folded mid season bar:NB from:1992 till:2000 at:1996 mark:(line, spoon) at:2000 mark:(line, grey) shift:(2,-4) text:Folded bar:NK from:1978 till:1984 at:1984 shift:(2,8) text:Taken over by at:1984 mark:(line, grey) shift:(2,-4) text:Newcastle Rosebud bar:NR from:1985 till:1986 at:1985 mark:(line, spoon) at:1986 mark:(line, grey) shift:(2,-4) text:Relegated bar:NJ from:2001 till:2004 at:2006 mark:(line, grey) shift:(2,-4) text:Retained in A-League bar:NS from:1999 till:2004 at:2004 mark:(line, grey) shift:(2,-4) text:Folded bar:PE from:1984 till:1984 at:1984 mark:(line, grey) shift:(2,-4) text:Relegated to at:1984 shift:(2,-16) text:NSW State League bar:PE from:1990 till:1995 at:1995 mark:(line, grey) shift:(2,-4) text:Relegated to at:1995 shift:(2,-16) text:NSW Super League bar:PP from:2000 till:2004 at:2004 mark:(line, grey) shift:(2,-4) text:Folded bar:PC from:1984 till:1985 at:1985 mark:(line, grey) shift:(2,-4) text:Relegated to at:1985 shift:(2,-16) text:NSW State League bar:PG from:1994 till:2004 at:2003 mark:(line, champion) at:2004 mark:(line, champion) at:2006 mark:(line, grey) shift:(2,-4) text:Retained in A-League bar:PL from:1981 till:1993 at:1992 mark:(line, spoon) at:1993 mark:(line, spoon) shift:(2,-4) text:Relegated to VIC Premier League bar:SM from:1977 till:2004 at:1979 mark:(line, spoon) at:1984 mark:(line, champion) at:1991 mark:(line, champion) at:1998 mark:(line, champion) at:1999 mark:(line, champion) at:2004 mark:(line, grey) shift:(2,-4) text:Left for VIC Premier League bar:St from:1977 till:1980 at:1980 mark:(line, spoon) shift:(2,-4) text:Releg. bar:St from:1982 till:1991 at:1983 mark:(line, champion) at:1991 mark:(line, grey) shift:(2,-4) text:Left bar:SG from:1984 till:1991 at:1984 mark:(line, spoon) at:1991 mark:(line, grey) shift:(2,-4) text:Left for VIC Premier League bar:SC from:1977 till:1986 at:1977 mark:(line, champion) at:1980 mark:(line, champion) at:1981 mark:(line, champion) at:1982 mark:(line, champion) at:1987 mark:(line, grey) shift:(2,-4) text:Withdrew mid-season bar:SO from:1977 till:1979 at:1979 mark:(line, grey) shift:(2,-4) text:Relegated at:1979 shift:(2,-16) text:to NSW State League bar:SO from:1981 till:2004 at:1990 mark:(line, champion) at:2002 mark:(line, champion) at:2004 mark:(line, grey) shift:(2,-4) text:Left for NSW Premier League bar:SU from:1984 till:2004 at:2000 mark:(line, spoon) at:2004 mark:(line, grey) shift:(2,-4) text:Left for NSW Premier League bar:WA from:1977 till:1986 at:1978 mark:(line, champion) at:1981 mark:(line, spoon) at:1986 mark:(line, grey) shift:(2,-4) text:Relegated to at:1986 shift:(2,-16) text:SA 1st Div bar:WA from:1990 till:1990 at:1989 mark:(line, grey) shift:(2,-4) text:Relegated to at:1989 shift:(2,-16) text:SA 1st Div bar:WA from:1992 till:1999 at:1999 mark:(line, grey) shift:(2,-4) text:Folded bar:WS from:1977 till:1978 at:1978 mark:(line, grey) shift:(2,-4) text:Merge with APIA Leichhardt bar:WM from:1991 till:1991 at:1991 mark:(line, spoon) shift:(2,-4) text:Relegated to NSW State League bar:WW from:1981 till:1986 at:1984 mark:(line, spoon) at:1986 mark:(line, grey) shift:(2,-4) text:Releg. to NSW Premier League bar:WW from:1988 till:2004 at:2000 mark:(line, champion) at:2001 mark:(line, champion) at:2003 mark:(line, spoon) at:2004 mark:(line, grey) shift:(2,-4) text:Left for NSW Premier League bar:Nu from:1977 till:2004 at:1977 mark:(line, grey) shift:(0,-4) text:14 at:1981 mark:(line, grey) shift:(0,-4) text:16 at:1984 mark:(line, grey) shift:(0,-4) text:24 at:1987 mark:(line, grey) shift:(0,-4) text:13 at:1988 mark:(line, grey) shift:(0,-4) text:14 at:1995 mark:(line, grey) shift:(0,-4) text:13 at:1996 mark:(line, grey) shift:(0,-4) text:12 at:1997 mark:(line, grey) shift:(0,-4) text:14 at:1999 mark:(line, grey) shift:(0,-4) text:15 at:2000 mark:(line, grey) shift:(0,-4) text:16 at:2001 mark:(line, grey) shift:(0,-4) text:15 at:2002 mark:(line, grey) shift:(0,-4) text:13 at:2004 mark:(line, grey) shift:(2,-4) text:Competition folded Legend = left:50 top:20 columnwidth:90 LineData = layer:back at:1989 color:orange width:0.5 # change to summer season at:1984 color:red width:0.5 # 2 conference system start at:1987 color:red width:0.5 # Restructure to one league TextData= pos:(400,820) textcolor:orange fontsize:M text:Change to summer season TextData= pos:(250,820) textcolor:red fontsize:M text:Two conference system

References

External links

OzFootball NSL section
{{AUS fb NSL Defunct soccer leagues in Australia Recurring sporting events established in 1977 1977 establishments in Australia Sports leagues established in 1977 2004 disestablishments in Australia Articles which contain graphical timelines