The full fixture for the Ninja 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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FULL FIXTURES: Every match of the Ninja A-League 25-26 season here
DERBY DATES: The matches to circle in your calendar now
FIRST 5 FIXTURES: Your Ninja A-League team’s start to the 2025-26 season
FINALS SERIES: 2025-26 structure and dates
TRANSFER CENTRE: Your club’s ins/outs ahead of the upcoming season
Season Format
The Ninja A-League 2025-26 season will be played across 22 rounds, with each club playing 20 home-and-away fixtures, plus two bye rounds, following Western United FC being placed into conditional hibernation.
The 2026 Finals Series will follow last season’s format with the top six sides qualifying. Week one of the Finals will see third face sixth, and fourth take on fifth in two Elimination Finals.
The two winners will advance to a two-legged Semi-Final against the top two sides, with the winners qualifying for the Ninja A-League Grand Final 2026.
FINALS SERIES: 2025-26 structure and dates
FULL FIXTURES: Every match of the Ninja A-League 25-26 season here
Mid-season break for AFC Women’s Asian Cup
The Ninja A-League 2025-26 season will see a two-week pause from late February to mid-March for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup.
The domestic competition will return on 13 March during the knock-out stages of the continental tournament to maximise continuity for the majority of players and to avoid fixture congestion.
Working closely with Football Australia and the local organising committee for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup, the APL has ensured that all Ninja A-League Women matches scheduled during the knock-out stages will be played at a different time, in a different market, to avoid any clash with Asian Cup fixtures and to maximise cross-promotional opportunities.
The Ninja A-League Women season will also observe the October, February and April FIFA international windows, with the Ninja A-League Women again playing up to five matches through the November window.
FIRST 5 FIXTURES: Your Ninja A-League team’s start to the 2025-26 season
FINALS SERIES: 2025-26 structure and dates
TRANSFER CENTRE: Your club’s ins/outs ahead of the upcoming season
Family-friendly fixtures and less doubleheaders
The 2025-26 fixture has also taken into account club, partner and fan feedback to ensure more games can be played at more family-friendly times, and where possible, avoid simultaneous kick-offs and clashes with grassroots football.
The season’s fixture has also seen a reduction in double headers.
This has been a concerted effort from clubs and the league to tie these to select, marquee matches only, and to increase the number of standalone fixtures to develop uniquely A-League Women’s match day experiences and bring fans closer to their heroes in smaller venues.
There has also been a continued effort to minimise the number of simultaneous kick-offs across each round, allowing fans to enjoy as many matches as possible every weekend.
CLICK HERE TO BECOME AN A-LEAGUES CLUB MEMBER TODAY!
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE FULL 2025-26 FIXTURE
Engaging more fans across Australia and New Zealand
Paramount Australia remains the exclusive home of Australian football for the 2025-26 season with football fans across Australia able to enjoy access to a mountain of football with every single A-Leagues match available to stream live on Paramount+.
Building on the success of last season, Network 10 and naming rights partner Shark Ninja, have teamed up again to continue to elevate the women’s game with select Ninja A-League games to be shown on free-to-air across 10 Drama in season 2025-26.
The APL, Network Ten and Shark Ninja are working through the free-to-air schedule to maximise cross-promotional opportunities and will confirm the specific fixtures shortly. Last season, the Ninja A-League reached over 900k Australians on 10 and Paramount+, and on 10 streaming and Paramount+ the league had over 1 million stream starts across the 2024-25 season.
For New Zealand fans, Sky remains the exclusive home of the Ninja A-League Women. For season 2025-26, matches will 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.
Ninja A-League season broadcast notes, include:
- Every Ninja A-League match will be made available live on 10 streaming and Paramount+.
- This season, select Ninja A-League matches will be broadcast live and free on 10 Drama.
- Minis, highlights and replays are also available to stream exclusively on Paramount+.
- In New Zealand, matches will be broadcast live on Sky Sport, Sky Sport Now and Sky Go, with select games available to watch free-to-air on Sky Open.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE FULL 2025-26 FIXTURE
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 21) 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 Wellington, there is no ‘Summer Period’ factored into the New Zealand schedule.
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.
DERBY DATES: The matches to circle in your calendar now
Melbourne City in the AFC Women’s Champions League
Melbourne City will once again represent the Ninja A-League in the AFC Women’s Champions League – one of the richest competitions in women’s professional team sport.
It’s City’s second appearance at the competition after falling just short of taking out the tournament in its inaugural year in May, losing out to China’s Wuhan Jiangda in the Final on penalties.
The draw is scheduled for September 11, with the Group Stages to be played across one week in a central location from November 9. Should Melbourne City progress to the Quarter Finals stage in March, considerations will be given to their adjacent fixtures should the team need to travel.
The dates of each stage of the AFC Women’s Champions League group, include:
- Group Stage (location details, TBC): Sunday 9 November – Sunday 23 November
- Quarter Finals (played either home or away): Friday 22 March – Saturday 23 March
- Semi Finals & Final (played in one central location; TBC): Thursday 21 May – Sunday 24 May (post the 2024-25 Ninja A-League Women Grand Final)
