2025–26 A-League Men

A-League Men
Season2025–26
Dates17 October 2025 – 23 May 2026
AFC Champions League TwoNewcastle Jets
Matches131
Goals357 (2.73 per match)
Top goalscorerSam Cosgrove
(10 goals)
Biggest home winMelbourne City 4–0 Perth Glory
(25 October 2025)
Melbourne Victory 5–1 Wellington Phoenix
(29 December 2025)
Macarthur FC 6–2 Melbourne City
(24 January 2026)
Melbourne Victory 4–0 Sydney FC
(26 January 2026)
Adelaide United 4–0 Perth Glory
(20 February 2026)
Biggest away winWellington Phoenix 0–5 Auckland FC
(21 February 2026)
Highest scoringNewcastle Jets 4–5 Macarthur FC
(26 December 2025)
Longest winning run8 matches
Newcastle Jets
Longest unbeaten run10 matches
Newcastle Jets
Longest winless run8 matches
Brisbane Roar
Longest losing run4 matches
Central Coast Mariners
Macarthur FC
Highest attendance33,265
Sydney FC 4–1 Western Sydney Wanderers
(31 January 2026)
Lowest attendance1,601
Central Coast Mariners 1–1 Macarthur FC
(18 January 2026)
Total attendance1,093,270
Average attendance8,346
2026–27 →
All statistics correct as of 22 March 2026.

The 2025–26 A-League Men, known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons, is the 49th season of national level men's soccer in Australia, and the 21st since the establishment of the competition as the A-League in 2004. Auckland FC are the defending premiers while Melbourne City are the defending champions.

Clubs

The number of clubs reduced from 13 in the 2024–25 season to 12, following the removal of Western United by Football Australia for financial reasons.[1]

Stadiums and locations

Twelve clubs are participating in the 2025–26 season.

Note: Table lists in alphabetical order.
Club City Home ground Capacity
Adelaide United Adelaide Coopers Stadium 16,500
Auckland FC Auckland Go Media Stadium 27,700 (new capacity)
Brisbane Roar Brisbane Suncorp Stadium 52,500
Kayo Stadium 10,000
Sunshine Coast Sunshine Coast Stadium 20,000
Central Coast Mariners Gosford Polytec Stadium 20,059
Macarthur FC Sydney Campbelltown Sports Stadium 17,500[2]
Melbourne City Melbourne AAMI Park 30,050
Melbourne Victory Melbourne AAMI Park 30,050
Newcastle Jets Newcastle McDonald Jones Stadium 30,000
Perth Glory Perth HBF Park 20,500
Sydney FC Sydney Allianz Stadium 42,500[3]
Leichhardt Oval 20,000
Wellington Phoenix Wellington Sky Stadium 34,500
Christchurch Apollo Projects Stadium 17,104
Western Sydney Wanderers Sydney CommBank Stadium 30,000

Personnel and kits

Team Manager Captain Kit manufacturer Kit sponsor
Adelaide United Airton Andrioli Craig Goodwin[4] UCAN[5] Mega Rewards[6]
1KOMMA5°[note 1][7]
Auckland FC Steve Corica Hiroki Sakai[8] New Balance[9] ANZ[10]
Brisbane Roar Michael Valkanis Jay O'Shea[11] Cikers[12] Value Dental Centres[13]
Central Coast Mariners Warren Moon Trent Sainsbury[14] O'Neills[15] polytec[16]
Macarthur FC Mile Sterjovski Luke Brattan[17] Kelme[18][19] SipEnergy[20][19]
Melbourne City Aurelio Vidmar Aziz Behich[21] Puma[22][23] Etihad Airways[23]
Melbourne Victory Arthur Diles Roderick Miranda[24] Macron[25] Turkish Airlines[26]
Newcastle Jets Mark Milligan Kosta Grozos[27] New Balance[28] Emerald Horizon[29]
Perth Glory Adam Griffiths Adam Taggart
Scott Wootton[30] 		Macron[31] La Vida Homes[32]
Sydney FC Ufuk Talay Rhyan Grant[33] Under Armour[34] Macquarie University[35]
Wellington Phoenix Chris Greenacre (caretaker) Alex Rufer[36] Dynasty Sport[37] Entelar Group[38]
Oppo[note 1][39]
Western Sydney Wanderers Gary van Egmond (caretaker) Lawrence Thomas[40] Adidas[41] Bathla[42]
Turner Freeman Lawyers[note 1][43]

Managerial changes

Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position on table Incoming manager Date of appointment
Newcastle Jets Robert Stanton End of contract 5 May 2025[44] Pre-season Mark Milligan 6 May 2025[45]
Brisbane Roar Ruben Zadkovich Mutual consent 6 May 2025[46] Michael Valkanis 7 May 2025[47]
Adelaide United Carl Veart End of contract 10 May 2025[48] Airton Andrioli 26 May 2025[49]
Central Coast Mariners Mark Jackson Signed by Buriram United 10 October 2025[50][51] Warren Moon (caretaker) 15 October 2025[52]
Perth Glory David Zdrilic Sacked 28 October 2025[53] 12th Adam Griffiths (caretaker) 31 October 2025[54]
Adam Griffiths (caretaker) Promoted to full-time N/A 5th Adam Griffiths 16 December 2025[55]
Central Coast Mariners Warren Moon (caretaker) Promoted to full-time N/A 11th Warren Moon 6 January 2026[56]
Western Sydney Wanderers Alen Stajcic Sacked 20 January 2026[57] 12th Gary van Egmond (caretaker) 21 January 2026[58]
Wellington Phoenix Giancarlo Italiano Resigned 21 February 2026[59] 10th Chris Greenacre (caretaker) 23 February 2026[60]

Foreign players

See also: A-League Men transfers for 2025–26 season
Club Visa 1 Visa 2 Visa 3 Visa 4 Visa 5 Non-visa foreigner(s) Former player(s)
Adelaide United Anselmo Joshua Smits Bart Vriends Juan Muñiz Ajak Riak[a] Julian Kwaaitaal
Auckland FC Louis Verstraete Felipe Gallegos Sam Cosgrove Hiroki Sakai Guillermo May Dan Hall[a]
Jake Brimmer[a]
Brisbane Roar Milorad Stajić Youstin Salas Chris Long Marius Lode Georgios Vrakas[a]
James McGarry[a]
Jay O'Shea[b]
Central Coast Mariners Kaito Taniguchi Seth Clark Alfie McCalmont Storm Roux[a] Ryan Edmondson
Abdelelah Faisal[a]
Macarthur FC Šime Gržan Damien Da Silva Rafael Durán Filip Kurto Ji Dong-won
Melbourne City Germán Ferreyra Andreas Kuen Samuel Souprayen Takeshi Kanamori Elbasan Rashani Mathew Baker[a]
Melbourne Victory Clarismario Santos Nikos Vergos Charles Nduka Roderick Miranda Juan Mata Adama Traoré[b]
Newcastle Jets Zach Clough Joe Shaughnessy Kota Mizunuma Lucas Scicluna[a]
Lachlan Bayliss[a]
Perth Glory Scott Wootton Sam Sutton Brian Kaltak Tom Lawrence Callum Timmins[b]
Charbel Shamoon[a]
Stefan Colakovski[a]
Joel Anasmo[a] 		Luke Amos
Sydney FC Marcel Tisserand Joe Lolley Ahmet Arslan Piero Quispe Víctor Campuzano Joe Lacey[a]
Wellington Phoenix Manjrekar James Kazuki Nagasawa Ifeanyi Eze Josh Oluwayemi Sander Kartum Ramy Najjarine[a] Hideki Ishige
Western Sydney Wanderers Bozhidar Kraev Hiroshi Ibusuki Kosta Barbarouses Ryan Fraser Dylan Scicluna[a] Mohamed Al-Taay[a]
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Australian citizens (or New Zealand citizens, in the case of Auckland FC and/or Wellington Phoenix) who have chosen to represent another national team
  2. ^ a b c Those players who were born and started their professional career abroad but have since gained Australian citizenship (or New Zealand citizenship, in the case of Auckland FC and/or Wellington Phoenix)[61]

Regular season

The regular season is made up of a full home-and-away 22-match schedule for each club, plus four extra rounds, for a total of 26 matches played. The top six will qualify for the finals series.

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Newcastle Jets (X) 22 14 1 7 46 33 +13 43 Qualification for AFC Champions League Elite and Finals series[a]
2 Auckland FC[b] 22 11 6 5 37 23 +14 39 Qualification for Finals series[a]
3 Melbourne Victory 22 10 5 7 38 28 +10 35 Qualification for AFC Champions League Two and Finals series[c]
4 Adelaide United 22 10 5 7 39 32 +7 35 Qualification for Finals series[a]
5 Sydney FC 22 10 3 9 29 23 +6 33
6 Macarthur FC 22 7 7 8 28 36 −8 28
7 Central Coast Mariners 21 7 6 8 29 32 −3 27
8 Wellington Phoenix[b] 22 7 6 9 33 41 −8 27
9 Melbourne City 21 6 8 7 22 28 −6 26
10 Brisbane Roar 22 6 6 10 22 29 −7 24
11 Perth Glory 22 6 5 11 25 35 −10 23
12 Western Sydney Wanderers 22 5 6 11 26 34 −8 21
Updated to match(es) played on 22 March 2026. Source: A-Leagues
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) goals scored; 4) wins; 5) head-to-head results; 5a) head-to-head points; 5b) head-to-head goal difference; 6) Fair Play points; 7) away goal difference; 8) away goals per match; 9) home goal difference; 10) home goals per match; 11) toss of a coin in an event of a tie of two clubs.
(X) Assured of qualification for AFC Champions League Two but may still qualify for other competitions.
Notes:
  1. ^ a b c The top two teams enter the finals series at the semi-finals, while the teams ranked third to sixth enter the finals series at the elimination-finals.
  2. ^ a b Auckland FC and Wellington Phoenix cannot qualify for Asian Football Confederation competitions as they are based in New Zealand, which is part of the Oceania Football Confederation.
  3. ^ Since the 2025 Australia Cup winners, Newcastle Jets, occupy an AFC Champions League Elite position, the 2026–27 AFC Champions League Two spot goes to the next eligible team.

Fixtures and results

Home \ Away ADL AKL BRI CCM MAC MCY MVC NEW PER SYD WEL WSW ADL AKL BRI CCM MAC MCY MVC NEW PER SYD WEL WSW
Adelaide United 0–1 0–4 1–1 4–1 2–1 2–3 4–0 2–1 1–1 2–0 3–2
Auckland FC 2–1 1–1 2–2 1–2 3–0 1–2 2–2 1–0 3–1 1–0 1–3
Brisbane Roar 2–3 0–2 1–2 1–0 0–0 1–0 3–0 1–1 0–3 2–2 1–2
Central Coast Mariners 1–1 1–2 1–2 1–1 0–0 1–0 3–2 1–2 1–1 a 0–0
Macarthur FC 2–1 1–1 2–1 1–3 6–2 0–0 0–2 0–3 1–1 2–2 0–4
Melbourne City 2–1 1–0 1–1 0–1 0–1 4–0 0–0 1–3 1–3
Melbourne Victory 2–1 0–0 1–1 4–1 4–1 0–2 3–2 4–0 5–1 0–1 1–1
Newcastle Jets 1–2 4–1 a 4–5 0–1 5–2 1–2 1–4 4–1 2–1 1–0 2–0
Perth Glory 0–1 2–1 1–2 0–1 1–1 0–2 1–3 0–1 2–2 1–0 3–0
Sydney FC 1–2 1–1 1–0 2–0 2–0 0–1 3–0 1–2 0–2 4–1 2–2
Wellington Phoenix 2–1 1–2 2–1 3–1 0–1 2–2 2–3 1–3 2–0 0–1 2–2 0–5
Western Sydney Wanderers 2–4 0–2 0–0 3–2 0–1 1–1 1–2 1–0 1–0 2–2 1–1 a
Updated to match(es) played on 22 March 2026. Source: Aleagues.com.au
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Top scorers

As of 22 March 2026[62]
Rank Player Club Goals
1 Sam Cosgrove Auckland FC 10
2 Ifeanyi Eze Wellington Phoenix 9
Luka Jovanovic Adelaide United
Jesse Randall Auckland FC
5 Max Caputo Melbourne City 8
Lachlan Rose Newcastle Jets
Clayton Taylor Newcastle Jets
8 Lachlan Brook Auckland FC 7
9 Sabit Ngor Central Coast Mariners 6
Harry Sawyer Macarthur FC
Nikos Vergos Melbourne Victory

Hat-tricks

Main article: List of A-League Men hat-tricks
Player For Against Result Date Ref.
Alexander Badolato Newcastle Jets Melbourne Victory 5–2 (H) 24 October 2025 [63]
Al Hassan Toure Sydney FC Newcastle Jets 1–4 (A) 1 November 2025 [64]
Tom Lawrence Perth Glory Melbourne City 1–3 (A) 28 December 2025 [65]
Nikos Vergos Melbourne Victory Wellington Phoenix 5–1 (H) 29 December 2025 [66]
Brody Burkitt Adelaide United Brisbane Roar 2–3 (A) 24 January 2026 [67]
Clayton Taylor Newcastle Jets Adelaide United 2–3 (A) 8 February 2026 [68]


Key
(H) Home team
(A) Away team

Clean sheets

As of 22 March 2026[69]
Rank Goalkeeper Club Clean sheets
1 Patrick Beach Melbourne City 8
Harrison Devenish-Meares Sydney FC
3 Michael Woud Auckland FC 7
4 Dean Bouzanis Brisbane Roar 6
5 Andrew Redmayne Central Coast Mariners 5
6 Jack Duncan Melbourne Victory 4
Lawrence Thomas Western Sydney Wanderers
8 James Delianov Newcastle Jets 3
Filip Kurto Macarthur FC
Joshua Smits Adelaide United
Matt Sutton Perth Glory

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b c Away kit

References

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  6. ^ Routley, Hayley (2 October 2025). "Adelaide United Unveils Mega Rewards as A-League Men's Home Front of Shirt Sponsor for 2025/26 Season". Adelaide United.
  7. ^ "1KOMMA5° Powers Adelaide United's A-League Men's Away Front of Shirt Partnership". Adelaide United. 20 October 2025.
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  10. ^ "All in for Auckland: Auckland FC Launches 25/26 Season Home & Away Jersey". Auckland FC. 28 August 2025.
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  48. ^ Monteverde, Marco (10 April 2025). "Adelaide United to part ways with coach Carl Veart at end of season". news.com.au.
  49. ^ "Airton Andrioli Appointed as Adelaide United's New Men's Head Coach". Adelaide United. 26 May 2025.
  50. ^ Monteverde, Marco (10 October 2025). "Treble-winning coach Mark Jackson parts ways with embattled Central Coast Mariners". news.com.au.
  51. ^ "OFFICIAL!!! บุรีรัมย์ ยูไนเต็ด ประกาศแต่งตั้ง "มาร์ค แจ็คสัน" เป็นหัวหน้าผู้ฝึกสอน คนใหม่" [OFFICIAL!!! Buriram United announces the appointment of "Mark Jackson" as the new head coach.] (in Thai). Buriram United. 15 October 2025 – via Instagram.
  52. ^ Monteverde, Marco (15 October 2025). "Ex-Brisbane Roar boss Warren Moon appointed interim coach of Central Coast Mariners". news.com.au.
  53. ^ Morgan, Gareth (28 October 2025). "ALM Head Coach David Zdrilic departs club". Perth Glory.
  54. ^ Morgan, Gareth (31 October 2025). "ALM Match Wrap: Clinical Victory claim the win at HBF Park". Perth Glory. Retrieved 8 November 2025. With Adam Griffiths in interim charge following the departure of Head Coach David Zdrilic earlier in the week
  55. ^ Morgan, Gareth (16 December 2025). "Griffiths becomes Glory's permanent ALM Head Coach". Perth Glory. Retrieved 20 December 2025.
  56. ^ Dodd, James (6 January 2026). "Warren Moon appointed Mariners boss on permanent basis: Full Details". A-Leagues.
  57. ^ Csaszar, Jessica (20 January 2026). "Wanderers part ways with head coach Alen Stajcic and assistant coach Nahuel Arrarte". Western Sydney Wanderers.
  58. ^ Csaszar, Jessica (21 January 2026). "Wanderers Coaching Staff Update". Western Sydney Wanderers.
  59. ^ Rollo, Phillip (21 February 2026). "Wellington Phoenix coach Giancarlo Italiano quits after horror derby loss to Auckland FC". Stuff (website).
  60. ^ "Club icon takes charge of the men". Wellington Phoenix. 23 February 2026.
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  63. ^ Comito, Matt (24 October 2025). "Australian football world reacts to 'freak' 20yo's unbelievable night: 'He's all class'". A-Leagues. Retrieved 24 October 2025.
  64. ^ Russo, Steve (1 November 2025). "A-League men's round 3: Toure bags hat trick as Sydney FC best the Jets". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2 November 2025.
  65. ^ Smith, Ben (28 December 2025). "A-League Men: Perth Glory star Tom Lawrence grabs hat-trick to steer side to 3–1 win over Melbourne City". The West Australian. Retrieved 28 December 2025.
  66. ^ Rollo, Phillip (29 December 2025). "Wellington Phoenix concede five in ugly defeat to Melbourne Victory". Stuff. Retrieved 29 December 2025.
  67. ^ Monteverde, Marco (24 January 2026). "Adelaide United teenager sinks Brisbane Roar with incredible second-half hat-trick". news.com.au.
  68. ^ Gagliardi, Lee (8 February 2026). "Taylor treble rocks the Reds, sends soaring Jets top". The Canberra Times.
  69. ^ "Player Statistics (Clean sheets)". Ultimate A-League. Retrieved 17 October 2025.
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