Enthused by the Socceroos’ participation in the 1974 World Cup it was decided that a national league was needed, to further boost interest in the sport down under.
So it was that the National Soccer League (NSL) was formed, a domestic competition that thrived and struggled across the next three decades, always hampered by a lack of investment; forever managing to survive despite repeatedly losing its best homegrown players to foreign shores.
Then in 2004 everything changed as the super-charged A-League was founded, a properly funded division that was the NSL on steroids. Think the Premier League only with a hundredth of the budget, but plenty of sunshine.
In the A-League all was different not least that only one club would be allowed in per major city, plus one from New Zealand. Subsequently, bidding arrived from several brand new clubs, all existing at that point only on paper.
With just four existing clubs making the cut it made the A-League unrecognisable to its predecessor.
The same applied to its structure. In the A-League every side plays each other twice with the eventual victor being known as the ‘Premier’.
Biggest Clubs In Australian Football:
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Sydney FC
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Melbourne Victory
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Brisbane Roar
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Central Coast Mariners
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Perth Glory
But then there is a series of Play-Off games played over a fortnight, involving the top six teams that concludes with a Grand Final.
The winner of this is crowned the Champion, a more illustrious and sought-after title.
For the purposes of seeking out Australia’s biggest clubs we have focused solely on the A-League, simply because so many of the NSL clubs no longer exist, or now compete in inferior leagues.
There is one club however that stayed the course, holding its own in both incarnations. They duly get their props below.
5) Perth Glory
The Glory may have only a singular success in the A-League as Premiers – going on to lose in the Grand Final on penalties to Sydney – but silverware isn’t the only criteria to denote stature.
Global renown matters, name recognition, and maybe it’s because they play so many pre-season friendlies against British opposition; or perhaps its because Robbie Fowler played for them; or most likely it’s due to their longevity, Perth residing among the elite since forming in the mid-Nineties, but in this regard they can hold their head high.
Simply put, ask someone to reel off Australian clubs and the Glory would be one of the first to be uttered, without any or much hesitation.
As for trophies won, the Rectangular Stadium residents can consider themselves extremely unfortunate that their brief era of dominance coincided with the NSL’s demise.
They were champions for the last two seasons before the A-League came into being.
4) Central Coast Mariners
One of the eight new clubs that helped form the A-League, the ‘Coasties’ have gone on to be Premiers three times and lifted the Championship thrice-over too, in 2024 achieving the double.
Based out of New South Wales and followed passionately by the ‘Yellow Army’, this is a club that has enjoyed a resurgence in recent times after several seasons of mediocrity.
As stated, this year they won the league as well as the Play-Offs, but much more impressively they then went on to triumph in the AFC Cup, beating Al-Ahed in the final. In doing so they became the first Australian club to win that tournament.
Known for being forward-thinkers and bold in strategy, the ‘Coasties’ were quick to realise the value in affiliating themselves with clubs overseas, forging bonds with Sheffield United and Brazil’s Sao Paulo among others as early as 2008.
These friendships are designed to bolster the Mariner’s youth set-up via transfers made.
3) Brisbane Roar
Founded by Dutch immigrants in the late-Fifties, Brisbane’s principle club were known as Queensland Lions FC for the bulk of their existence before changing their name to Queensland Roar on joining the A-League. They rebranded again in 2009, this time to Brisbane Roar.
Whatever their moniker, the Black and Orange are associated with having a passionate and loyal fanbase, with supporter groups such as ‘The Den’ ensuring the club’s 52,000 capacity Lang Park stadium is always well attended.
The large following has had plenty to cheer in modern times too, with the Roar winning the league twice and the Play-Offs three times, all between 2010 and 2014.
Around this period it would have been seriously remiss not to include Brisbane in any bet builder incidentally. Guided by Ange Postecoglou – whatever happened to him? – the club embarked on an Australian record of 36 games undefeated.
2) Melbourne Victory
Victory have won a quartet of Championships, three Premierships, a Pre-Season Challenge Cup and the Australian Cup twice. Indeed, they are the only club to win all four of these major honours in the modern era.
Central to these successes has been Kevin Muscat, who first led them to silverware as a player before excelling in a management role, but there have been other Premier League stars wearing the famous dark blue too.
These include Harry Kewell while in more recent times Adama Traore saw several opponents bounce off him before lacking an end product, as is his way.
It's not just trophies won that places Victory so highly here. With Melbourne boasting a population of 5.3 million, they have a colossal catchment area of fans to draw upon.
1) Sydney FC
The betting odds on Sydney being voted in as number one were short indeed. They have won the most trophies, including five Championships and four Premierships.
They have had the most famous players, not least Dwight Yorke who played rarely across two seasons but brought priceless international pedigree to the Sky Blues.
Among their other ‘marquee’ signings, Juninho and Benito Carbone stand out, two entertaining attackers who came to epitomise a time when the Premier League was fun, first and foremost.
Mostly though, they are quite straightforwardly the biggest club in Australia, a behemoth who routinely compete at, or near, the summit of the A-League, a formidable prospect when hosting at the imposing Allianz Stadium.
*Credit for the photos in this article belongs to Adobe*
