Key talking points from the 2025-26 A-League Men draw

The full fixture for the Isuzu UTE A-League 2025-26 season has arrived and there is no shortage of talking points. Here’s everything you need to know.

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Format

The Isuzu UTE A-League 2025-26 season fixture has taken into account fan feedback, club requests, venue availability based on shared stadia and live events, Asian club competitions and the FIFA World Cup.

The 2025-26 season will be played across 26 rounds, with each club playing 22 home-and-away fixtures, plus four additional third-match up fixtures – two home and two away – following Western United being placed into conditional hibernation.

More marquee match-ups

The 2025-26 fixture features the most ever marquee match-ups, fewer mid-week fixtures and more continuity across the weekend to drive fan engagement in stadium and at home.

In total, the Isuzu UTE A-League season includes 12 traditional, cross-city derbies, plus tentpole fixtures across Australia and New Zealand on Boxing Day, New Years Eve, New Years Day, Australia Day, Waitangi Day and ANZAC Day. The fixture also features greater continuity than previous seasons with more rounds including a key Friday night fixture, two Saturday games and at least one Sunday match to deliver more consistency and less simultaneous kick-offs for fans and partners.

Meanwhile, another blockbuster ‘Summer of Football’ awaits with A-Leagues football returning to Boxing Day, and with fans able to enjoy at least one game of the Isuzu UTE A-League Men or Ninja A-League Women everyday from December 26 to January 4.

The action then continues throughout the January school holidays culminating with the traditional Australia Day Big Blue at AAMI Park.

Engaging more fans across Australia and New Zealand

Paramount Australia remains the exclusive home of Australian football for the 2025-26 season in Australia. Football fans across the country will once again enjoy access to a mountain of football with every single A-Leagues match available to stream live on Paramount+.

Building on the growth in TV viewership (up 9%) in 2024-25, this season will again see a Saturday night doubleheader shown live on free-to-air – with back-to-back Isuzu UTE A-League Men matches on 10 Drama and 10 streaming from 5pm and 7:35pm AEST.

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In New Zealand, Sky remains the exclusive home of the Isuzu UTE A-League, with all matches broadcast live on Sky Sport, Sky Sport Now and Sky Go, and selected A-Leagues’ games will be available to watch free-to-air on Sky Open.

Over 1.4 million New Zealanders tuned in to watch Isuzu UTE A-League football on Sky during the 24-25 season. An additional 450,000 viewers streamed matches via Sky Sport Now and Sky Go.

Isuzu UTE A-League Men season broadcast notes, include:

Every Isuzu UTE A-League Men’s match will be shown live on Paramount+.
Each Saturday two Isuzu UTE A-League Men matches will be broadcast live and free on 10 Drama and available to stream live and free on 10.
Outside of the Saturday double-header on 10 Drama and 10 streaming, Paramount+ is the only place to catch every Isuzu UTE A-League Men match.
New Zealand fans can enjoy every Isuzu UTE A-League match live on Sky Sport, Sky Sport Now and Sky Go, with selected A-Leagues games also broadcast free-to-air on Sky Open.
Minis, highlights and replays are also available to stream on Paramount+.

Regulations factored into fixturing

The ‘Summer Period’, which was extended by a month in 2024-25, will remain in place from early December (Round 6) through to mid-March (Round 20) to avoid teams playing through the hottest part of the day in the cities prone to extreme heat across these months.

During the ‘Summer Period’ there will be no 3pm kick-off times, with all matches kicking off from 5pm local time – with the exception of a few matches due to time zones and broadcast commitments.

Following an off-season analysis on weather patterns across Australia and New Zealand, the ‘Summer Period’ will be slightly shorter in Newcastle and Victoria running from Round 7 to 18, where temperatures historically do not exhibit extreme temperatures for as long. Given the cooler climate in New Zealand there is no ‘Summer Period’ factored into the schedule for Auckland FC and Wellington Phoenix.

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The A-Leagues Heat Policy, recognised as a conservative policy by international standards, remains part of each match’s operational assessment and will be implemented for any match in or outside the ‘Summer Period’ where extreme weather conditions may present a risk for players and the comfort of fans.

Working closely with Football Australia and the local organising committee for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup, the APL has also ensured there are no Isuzu UTE A-League matches kicking off at the same time as any CommBank Matildas or knock-out stage fixtures. The A-League will also avoid playing A-League matches in the same market as other women’s Asian Cup fixtures to avoid any clash and maximise support and cross-promotional opportunities between 1 – 21 March, 2026.

This season the Isuzu UTE A-League will again observe all FIFA international windows.

AFC Club Competitions

This season Melbourne City and Macarthur Bulls FC will represent the Isuzu UTE A-League in the AFC’s continental club competitions; AFC Champions League Elite and AFC Champions League Two.

With the match schedules for both competitions having been released, the APL is working with both clubs to ensure there is as much time as possible to travel and recover for their adjacent A-League matches. As a result, there are some matches that require final scheduling and will be confirmed in the coming weeks

Melbourne City begin their ACL Elite campaign at home against J1 League side Sanfrecce Hiroshima, while Macarthur’s matchday one ACL Two game is away in Hong Kong against Tai Po FC. Should either team progress into the knock-out stages of either competition, the A-Leagues may need to make amendments to the season 25-26 fixture.

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The dates of each stage of the AFC Champions League Elite, include: