A-Leagues 2025/26: records, growth and a World Cup farewell

As the curtain closes on season 2025/26, the A-Leagues reflect on another memorable season headlined by entertaining football, record finals crowds and continued growth in broadcast numbers.

This season the A-Leagues welcomed more than 1.6 million fans to stadiums across Australia and New Zealand and reached a cumulative TV audience on free-to-air of more than 11m – as fans flocked to watch up-and-coming stars and international heroes across two incredibly even campaigns.

Adding to this is a boom of interest across digital and social media channels with A-League and Club social media followers growing to over 7.4m – a 10% increase this season – while A-League and Club website visitors grew by 6% to 8.2m, and A-Leagues app users grew by 14%.

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Isuzu UTE A-League Men:

It was the Newcastle Jets, the youngest squad in the league, that captured the hearts of the Hunter with their attacking football and flair – lifting their first-ever Premier’s Plate. Before Auckland FC captivated the city to lift the Championship in the first-ever A-League Grand Final in New Zealand.

Auckland FC’s Sam Cosgrove and Adelaide United’s Luka Jovanović shared the Golden Boot with 11 goals each this season, while Newcastle young-gun Eli Adams was named the Young Footballer of the Year.

163 games, and an average of 2.82 goals per game – with the top six ladder positions confirmed on the final weekend of the season, and just 12 points separating second and tenth place.
Over 1.45m cumulative season attendance across Australian and New Zealanders, with 13 less matches compared to last season.
More than 10m cumulative TV audience across the season on 10 Drama.
Biggest ever streaming audience with average minutes and stream starts up 27% on Paramount+, and up 17% on 10 Streaming.
Huge Finals Series, headlined by three sold out matches, and a 22% increase in total attendance compared to last season’s Isuzu UTE A-League Finals Series.
Third sold out Isuzu UTE A-League Grand Final in a row, including the first-ever in New Zealand which reached more than 1.1m across both countries.
A-League DNA in World Cup squads; with ten A-League players in New Zealand’s All Whites squad and five in the Socceroos final squad.
The Socceroos have qualified for every World Cup since the inception of the A-League, with 19 of the final 26-man squad having played in the A-League – each on average more than 80 games.
Newcastle Jets broke their best attendance since 2018 three times this season, culminating in their Semi Final crowd of 25,028.
Adelaide United posted their best season average in three years, and Perth Glory had their strongest crowd since 2021 with 12,594.
Melbourne Victory superstar, Juan Mata added another accolade to his glittering career being named the 2026 Johnny Warren Medalist, awarded to the best player in the Isuzu UTE A-League.
Auckland FC’s Sam Cosgrove and Adelaide United’s Luka Jovanović shared the Golden Boot with 11 goals each this season, while Newcastle young-gun Eli Adams was named the Young Footballer of the Year.

Ninja A-League Women:

Melbourne City won the double – winning their third-consecutive Premier’s Plate, and being crowned Champions for a record-equalling fifth, as streaming numbers grew for the top ranked league in Asia.

117 games, with over 190k attendees – the third highest attended season on record, despite fewer matches than previous seasons.
Continued growth in TV audiences with the free-to-air average match audience up 7%, with cumulative reach over 1m.
This season was the biggest ever Ninja A-League season on Paramount+ with average minutes viewed and stream starts both up 31%.
Second highest attended Ninja A-League Final Series on record, including four sold out matches (Brisbane twice, Wellington, Canberra) – and total attendance up 56% on last season’s finals.
Biggest ever season for women’s transfer fees, reflecting the burgeoning global market and demand for Ninja A-League talent (up 378% year-on-year and continuing a broader trend of an 82% CAGR since 20/21).
A-League DNA across the Matildas and Football Ferns with seven Ninja A-League Women called into the Matildas, including three into the Women’s Asian Cup squad, and 17 into Football Ferns squads this season.
The Ninja A-League continues to be the proven pathway to develop Matildas – with all of the Matildas’ Women’s Asian Cup squad having played in the A-League each on average 80 games.
Brisbane Roar broke their attendance record at Spencer Park three times this season, with the Semi Final attracting just shy of 4,000 fans for their home leg.
Canberra United saw the highest ever crowd at McKellar Park with 3,290 at their home Elimination Final.
Wellington Phoenix posted their highest ever Ninja A-League home attendance with a pulsating 5,923 fans at Porirua Park as they booked their ticket to the Grand Final.
Willa Pearson broke the 17-year-old record set by Sam Kerr, becoming the youngest ever goal scorer in league history at 15 years and 51 days old.
Young Matildas stars won the league’s top honours, as Melbourne City’s Holly McNamara won back-to-back Golden Boots, and Central Coast Mariners’ star, Isabel Gomez, won the Julie Dolan Medal as the best player across the season.
17-year-old Pia Vlok was named the Young Footballer of the Year, becoming the first Kiwi to take out the award in her debut season in the Ninja A-League.