Victoria Premier League 1

Football league

Victoria Premier League 1Organising body| Football Victoria

|

Founded| 2014 as National Premier Leagues Victoria 2
Country| Australia
State|  Victoria
Number of teams| 14
Level on pyramid| 3
Promotion to| NPL Victoria
Relegation to| Victoria Premier League 2
Domestic cup(s)| Australia Cup
Dockerty Cup
Current champions| Dandenong City
Most championships| Dandenong City (2 titles)

The Victoria Premier League 1[1] (formerly National Premier Leagues Victoria 2, 2014-2024), commonly referred to as VPL 1, is a semi-professional soccer league in Victoria, Australia. The league is the second-highest in the Victorian league system, behind the National Premier Leagues Victoria, and forms the third tier of the overall Australian league system.

Originally founded as NPL 1 in 2014, it has undergone several changes in competition structure since its inception. Comprising 14 teams in its first season, the league then featured 20 teams divided into two geographic East and West conferences from 2015–19. With the creation of NPL Victoria 3 in 2020, a state-wide second division was re-founded, comprising 12 clubs. Beginning from the 2024 season, NPL Victoria 2 and NPL Victoria 3 have reverted to Victoria Premier League, the name prior to the formation of the National Premier Leagues.[1]

In the 2024 season, Football Victoria has included a provision where relegation of the bottom two teams is suspended for that season, under the condition that a National Second Division commences in 2025.[2] Under this provision, the bottom placed team may be relegated in the 2025 season.

The competition is administered by Football Victoria, the governing body of the sport in the state.

## Format[edit]

In 2014, the competition was a 14 team league.

For the 2015–2019 seasons, the league was divided into East and West conferences of 10 teams each. Each team played home and away against teams in their conference and single games against each team in the opposite conference. The winner of each conference was promoted to the NPL Victoria, while second place in each conference entered into a promotion/relegation series.

In 2020, the competition reverted to a 12 team league.[3]

For 2023 seasons, the competition returns to a 14 team league.

## Current clubs (2024)[edit]

The following clubs will take part in the 2024 VPL 1 season:

Bulleen

Langwarrin

Preston

Melbourne City

Northcote

Eastern Lions

Brunswick

Werribee

Kingston

Western United

Bentleigh

North Geelong

George Cross

Melbourne Victory

class=notpageimage|

Locations of 2024 NPL 2 Victoria clubs within metropolitan Melbourne.

Team  | Location  | Stadium  | Capacity  | Club Heritage

|
|
|
|

Bentleigh Greens | Cheltenham | Kingston Heath Soccer Complex | 3,300  | Cypriot (Greek)
Brunswick City | Brunswick West | Dunstan Reserve  | 1,000  | Greek
Bulleen Lions | Bulleen | David Barro Stadium  | 3,000  | Italian (Venetian)
Caroline Springs George Cross | Fraser Rise | City Vista Recreation Reserve | 3,000  | Maltese
Eastern Lions | Burwood | Gardiners Reserve  | 1,500  | British
Kingston City | Clayton South | The Grange Reserve  | 2,000  | Greek
Langwarrin | Langwarrin South | Lawton Park Reserve  | 5,000  | Dutch
Melbourne City (youth)  | Cranbourne East | CFA Melbourne | 1,500  | N/A
Melbourne Victory (youth)  | Epping | Epping Stadium | 10,000  | N/A
Northcote City | Thornbury | John Cain Memorial Park | 5,000  | Greek
North Geelong Warriors | Lara | Elcho Park | 5,000  | Croatian
Preston Lions | Reservoir | B.T. Connor Reserve | 5,000  | Macedonian
Werribee City | Werribee | Galvin Park Reserve | 1,000  | Italian
Western United (youth)  | Point Cook | Wyndham Regional Football Facility | 5,000  | N/A

## History[edit]

Avondale FC were the inaugural champions of the National Premier Leagues Victoria 1 division in 2014, while North Geelong finished the season as runners up with both sides earning promotion to the National Premier Leagues Victoria.

On 6 November 2014, Football Federation Victoria announced Melbourne City FC NPL and Melbourne Victory FC Youth would join the league in 2015. Eastern Lions SC, Murray United FC, Nunawading City FC and Moreland City FC all also joined the expanded competition for the 2015 season. FC Bulleen Lions and Richmond SC were the two clubs to achieve automatic promotion in the revamped league in 2015 by winning their respective conferences. Melbourne Victory joined them by beating NPL2 West runner up Moreland Zebras FC in the NPL2 preliminary promotion playoff, and then North Geelong in the promotion playoff, with North Geelong joining automatically relegated sides Werribee City FC and Dandenong Thunder SC in NPL2 for 2016.

In 2016, St Albans Saints SC and Kingston City FC won automatic promotion by winning their respective West and East conferences, while North Geelong immediately bounced back into the top-flight, beating Dandenong Thunder in the NPL2 playoff and Richmond in the NPL promotion-relegation playoff. Richmond, Melbourne Victory and Northcote City FC were the relegated sides from NPL, joining the NPL2 for 2017.

## Past winners[edit]

For the Pre-NPL 2 (1929-2013) past winners, see Victorian State League 1 § Past Winners.

Year  | Competition  | Premiers  | Champions

|
|
|

2014 | NPL 1  |

Avondale Heights

2015 | NPL 1  | East: Richmond
West: Bulleen Lions | Richmond
2016 | NPL 2  | East: Kingston City
West: St Albans Saints | Kingston City
2017 | NPL 2  | East: Dandenong Thunder
West: Northcote City | Dandenong Thunder
2018 | NPL 2  | East: Dandenong City
West: Altona Magic | Dandenong City
2019 | NPL 2  | East: Eastern Lions
West: St Albans Saints | St Albans Saints
2020 | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia.[4]
2021 | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia.[5]
2022 | NPL 2  |

Moreland City

2023 | NPL 2  |

Dandenong City

## References[edit]

1. ^ a b "NPLM/W 2024 Update | Football Victoria". www.footballvictoria.com.au. 4 October 2023. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
2. ^ "Advanced Competitions - Rules of Competition 2024 (1).pdf". Google Docs. Football Victoria. 8 February 2024. p. 65. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
3. ^ "Victoria restructures its NPL competition". footballtoday.news. 31 October 2018. Archived from the original on 19 October 2020. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
4. ^ "2021 Start Up". Football Victoria. 16 October 2020. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
5. ^ "Metro Melbourne 2021 season status". Football Victoria. 3 September 2021. Retrieved 3 September 2021.

## External links[edit]

* Football Victoria website

## Notes[edit]

* v
* t
* e

Soccer in Australia

* Football Australia
* Australian Professional Leagues

National teams|

| Men's|

* Senior
* B
* U-23
* U-20
* U-17
* Futsal
* Beach
* Paralympic

|

Women's|

* Senior
* U-23
* U-20
* U-17
* Futsal

League competitions|

| Men's|

| Level 1|

* A-League Men

|

Level 2|

* National Second Division
* National Premier Leagues
* ACT
* NSW
* Northern NSW
* Queensland
* South Australia
* Tasmania
* Victoria
* Western Australia
* Northern Territory
* NorZone Premier League
* Southern Zone Premier League

Level 3–9|

* Capital Football
* Premier League
* State League
* NSW
* League One
* League Two
* Northern NSW
* State League 1
* Northern Territory
* Division 1
* Queensland
* Premier League
* Premier League 2
* South Australia
* State League 1
* State League 2
* Tasmania
* Northern Championship
* Northern Social League
* Southern Championship
* Southern League One
* Southern League Two
* Southern League Three
* Southern League Four
* Victoria
* VPL 1
* VPL 2
* State League 1
* State League 2
* State League 3
* State League 4
* State League 5
* Western Australia
* State League 1
* State League 2

Women's|

| Level 1|

* A-League Women

|

Level 2|

* National Premier Leagues Women's
* ACT
* NSW
* Northern NSW
* Queensland
* South Australia
* Victoria
* WA

Cup competitions|

| National|

* Australia Cup

|

State|

* Capital Football Federation Cup
* Waratah Cup
* NNSWF State Cup
* Football SA Federation Cup
* Milan Lakoseljac Cup
* Dockerty Cup
* Football West State Cup

Others|

* Youth soccer
* Defunct leagues
* Defunct cups
* Professional Footballers Australia
* Women's soccer in Australia
* History of soccer in Brisbane, Queensland

Lists|

* Appearances (300+)
* Clubs
* Honours won
* Champions
* Clubs in international competitions
* Goals (100+)
* Record home attendances
* Stadiums by capacity

* Venues
* Competitions
* Records

* v
* t
* e

Football Victoria

A-League|

* Melbourne City
* Melbourne Victory
* Western United

NPL|

* Altona Magic
* Avondale
* Dandenong City
* Dandenong Thunder
* Green Gully
* Heidelberg United
* Hume City
* Manningham United
* Melbourne Knights
* Moreland City
* Oakleigh Cannons
* Port Melbourne
* South Melbourne
* St Albans Saints

VPL 1|

* Bentleigh Greens
* Brunswick City
* Bulleen Lions
* Caroline Springs George Cross
* Eastern Lions
* Kingston City
* Langwarrin
* Melbourne City Youth
* Melbourne Victory Youth
* North Geelong Warriors
* Northcote City
* Preston Lions
* Werribee City
* Western United Youth

VPL 2|

* Altona City
* Beaumaris
* Boroondara-Carey Eagles
* Box Hill United
* Brunswick Juventus
* Doveton
* Essendon Royals
* FC Melbourne Srbija
* Goulburn Valley Suns
* North Sunshine Eagles
* Nunawading City
* Pascoe Vale

State League 1|

| North-West|

* Ballarat City
* Brimbank Stallions
* Corio
* FC Clifton Hill
* FC Strathmore
* Geelong
* Sydenham Park
* Upfield
* Westgate
* Whittlesea Ranges
* Whittlesea United
* Yarraville Glory

|

South-East|

* Banyule City
* Bentleigh United Cobras
* Brandon Park
* Casey Comets
* Collingwood City
* Eltham Redbacks
* Gippsland United
* Malvern City
* Mazenod
* Mornington
* Old Scotch
* Springvale White Eagles
* South Springvale

State League 2|

| North-West|

* Albion Rovers
* Altona East Phoenix
* Geelong Rangers
* Hoppers Crossing
* Hume United
* Keilor Park
* Lalor United
* Mill Park
* Uni Hill Eagles
* Western Suburbs
* Westvale Olympic

|

South-East|

* Bayside Argonauts
* Bentleigh United Cobras
* Berwick City
* Chisholm United
* Doncaster Rovers
* Frankston Pines
* Greater Dandenong
* Hampton East Brighton
* Knox City
* Mooroolbark
* North Caulfield
* Peninsula Strikers
* Skye United

State League 3|

| North-West|

* Altona North
* Brunswick Zebras
* Bundoora United
* Craigieburn City
* Diamond Valley United
* Epping City
* Fawkner
* Heidelberg Eagles
* Laverton FC
* Point Cook Jets
* Sebastopol Vikings
* Sunbury United
* Western Eagles
* Westside Strikers
* Williamstown

|

South-East|

* Ashburton United
* Dandenong South
* Elwood City
* Heatherton United
* Middle Park
* Monbulk Rangers
* Noble Park United
* Rowville Eagles
* Sandringham
* St Kilda
* South Yarra
* White Star Dandenong

State League 4|

| North|

* Darebin United
* Greenvale United
* La Trobe University
* Melbourne University
* Moreland United
* North Melbourne Athletic
* Northern Falcons
* Plenty Valley Lions
* Thornbury Athletic
* Watsonia Heights
* West Preston
* Yarra Jets

|

West|

* Barnstoneworth United
* Barwon
* Bell Park
* Gisborne
* Keilor Wolves
* Melbourne City
* Moonee Ponds United
* Moonee Valley Knights
* Spring Hills
* Surf Coast
* Truganina

South|

* Baxter
* Brighton
* Chelsea
* Endeavour United
* Hampton Park United Sparrows
* Keysborough
* Lyndale United
* Monash University
* Sandown Lions
* Somerville Eagles
* Springvale City

East|

* Albert Park
* Boronia
* Croydon City
* East Bentleigh
* Kings Domain
* Knox United
* Manningham Juventus
* Monash City Villarreal
* Ringwood City
* Riversdale
* Waverley Wanderers
* Whitehorse United

State League 5|

| North|

* Doreen United
* Glenroy Lions
* Heidelberg Stars
* Keon Park
* Maidstone United
* Meadow Park
* Mitchell Rangers
* Roxburgh Park United
* FC Tullamarine
* University of Melbourne

|

West|

* Ballarat
* Balmoral
* Bendigo City
* Deakin University
* ETA Buffalo
* Lara United
* Melton Phoenix
* Surfside Waves
* Tarneit United
* West Point
* Wyndham

South|

* Aspendale
* Barton United
* Bunyip District
* Casey Panthers
* Cleeland United
* FC Noble Hurricanes
* Mentone
* Mount Eliza
* Mount Martha
* Pakenham United
* Rosebud
* Seaford United

East|

* Alphington
* East Kew
* Glen Waverley
* Lilydale Montrose United
* Mount Waverley City
* Noble Park
* Old Ivanhoe
* Old Melburnians
* Old Trinity Grammarians
* St Kevins Old Boys
* Templestowe Wolves

Regional Leagues
& Associations|

* Albury Wodonga Football Association
* Ballarat & District Soccer Association
* Bayside Football Association
* Bendigo Amateur Soccer League
* Cobram Junior Soccer Association
* Football Victoria Geelong Region
* Gippsland Soccer League
* Goulburn North East Football Association
* Moama-Echuca Soccer Association
* Shepparton Junior Soccer Association
* Football Victoria Sunraysia
* Swan Hill Soccer League
* Warrnambool & District Soccer League

Seasons|

* 1909
* 1910
* 1911
* 1912
* 1913
* 1914
* 1915
* ~~1916–1918~~
* 1919
* 1920
* 2008
* 2009
* 2010
* 2011
* 2012
* 2013
* 2014
* 2015
* 2016
* 2017
* 2018
* 2019
* 2020
* 2021
* 2022

Dockerty Cup|

* 1909
* 1910
* 1911
* 1912
* 2014
* 2015
* 2016
* 2017
* 2018
* 2019
* ~~2020~~
* 2021
* 2022

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