The Victoria Premier League 2 (formerly National Premier Leagues Victoria 3, 2020-2024), commonly referred to as VPL 2, is a semi-professional soccer league in Victoria, Australia. The league is the third-highest in the Victorian league system, behind NPL Victoria and Victoria Premier League 1, and forms part of the fourth tier of the overall Australian pyramid.
| Founded | 2020 as National Premier Leagues Victoria 3 |
|---|---|
| Country | Australia |
| State |  Victoria |
| Number of teams | 12 |
| Level on pyramid | 4 |
| Promotion to | Victoria Premier League 1 |
| Relegation to | State League 1 |
| Domestic cup(s) | Australia Cup Dockerty Cup |
| Current champions | Caroline Springs George Cross (2023) |
| Most championships | Preston Lions Caroline Springs George Cross (1 title each) |
The league was created from the bottom halves of NPL Victoria 2 East and West, when the league was reorganised from two geographic conferences to two separate vertical NPL divisions.[1]
The competition is administered by Football Victoria, the governing body of the sport in the state. Due to start 2020 season NPL Victoria 3 has been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Beginning in the 2024 season, the third-tier competition has been renamed the Victoria Premier Leagues 2,[2] the name of the state-tier competition prior to the formation of NPL Victoria.
Format edit
The NPL Victoria 3 is contested by 12 teams. Each team plays home and away against teams against all other teams in the league for a total of 22 fixtures per team each season. The winner of each conference gains automatic promotion to the NPL Victoria 2 while 2nd in both conferences will play off in a final; the winner to play the third last team in the NPL Victoria for entry into the top flight.
Due to the entry of Western United into the A-League, NPL Victoria competition rules contain a provision allowing the new professional side to place a development team directly into NPL Victoria 3. This will occur in 2021, so the league would compete for that season with 13 teams, with promotion/relegation rules for State League 1 temporarily modified to revert the structure back to twelve clubs per league.[3]
Current clubs (2024) edit
The following clubs will take part in the 2024 VPL 2 season:
| Club | Location | Grounds | Capacity | Club Heritage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Altona City | Altona | HC Kim Reserve | 500 | Maltese and British |
| Beaumaris | Beaumaris | Beaumaris Reserve | 250 | Australian |
| Boroondara-Carey Eagles | Bulleen | Carey Bulleen Sports Complex | 100 | Italian |
| Box Hill United | Box Hill | Wembley Park | 1,000 | Greek |
| Brunswick Juventus | Fawkner | CB Smith Reserve | 2,000 | Italian |
| Doveton | Eumemmerring | Waratah Reserve | 400 | English |
| Essendon Royals | Essendon | Cross Keys Reserve | 500 | Italian (Triestine) |
| Goulburn Valley Suns | Shepparton | John McEwan Reserve | 3,200 | Australian |
| Melbourne Srbija | Burnley | Kevin Bartlett Reserve | 2,500 | Serbian |
| North Sunshine Eagles | St Albans | Larissa Reserve | 500 | Albanian |
| Nunawading City | Forest Hill | Mahoney's Reserve | 1,000 | Australian |
| Pascoe Vale | Fawkner | CB Smith Reserve | 2,000 | Macedonian (Vlach) |
History edit
In 2018, pressures from member clubs and a desire to re-evaluate league structure and organisation lead Football Victoria to commission a report into how the NPL Victoria leagues could be re-worked. Among a series of recommendations on improvements to the youth structure, the report recommended that NPL Victoria 2 - then a two-conference division with ten teams each in an east-west split, contesting 28 fixtures each per season - should be reformed with NPL Victoria 2 turned into a single division of 12 teams and a new 12-team division - NPL Victoria 3 - created.[1]
The proposed changes were agreed, and to enact the split the top six teams of each NPL Victoria 2 conference in the 2019 season were given places in the 2020 Victoria 2 competition, with the bottom four of the two conferences all relegated to Victoria 3. Four additional teams were promoted from Victorian State League 1 to make up the numbers. Among the sides moved to NPL Victoria 3 were the NPL development sides of A-League duo Melbourne City and Melbourne Victory.[4]
Past winners edit
| Year | Champions |
|---|---|
| 2020 | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia.[5] |
| 2021 | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia.[6] |
| 2022 | |
| 2023 |
References edit
- ^ a b "Victoria restructures its NPL competition". footballtoday.news. 31 October 2018. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
- ^ "NPLM/W 2024 Update | Football Victoria". www.footballvictoria.com.au. 4 October 2023. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
- ^ "FFV Men's and Boy's[sic] Football Competition Review" (PDF). Football Victoria. 2018. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
- ^ "Football Victoria Announces New 2020 NPL Structures". Football Victoria. 11 October 2019. 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.