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.
| Organising 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) |
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:
| 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
| Year | Competition | Premiers | Champions |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | NPL 1 | ||
| 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 | ||
| 2023 | NPL 2 | ||
References edit
- ^ a b "NPLM/W 2024 Update | Football Victoria". www.footballvictoria.com.au. 4 October 2023. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
- ^ "Advanced Competitions - Rules of Competition 2024 (1).pdf". Google Docs. Football Victoria. 8 February 2024. p. 65. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
- ^ "Victoria restructures its NPL competition". footballtoday.news. 31 October 2018. Archived from the original on 19 October 2020. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
- ^ "2021 Start Up". Football Victoria. 16 October 2020. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
- ^ "Metro Melbourne 2021 season status". Football Victoria. 3 September 2021. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
External links edit
- Football Victoria website
- Victoria Premier League, standings, results & fixtures at Donnael.com