at
Middle Park, 1909
19th century An early match took place at the
Woogaroo Lunatic Asylum, located in
Wacol in suburban
Brisbane, on 7 August 1875, when a team of inmates and wards men from the asylum played against the visiting
Brisbane Australian rules football club; the rules of the match which clearly stated that the "ball should not be handled nor carried" was a direct reference to British Association Rules. A match was recorded to be played in
Hobart on 10 May 1879, when members of the Cricketer's Club played a
scratch match under
English Association Rules, which were adopted by the club. The game was a return match to one played on 24 May by the clubs, under a variant of the
Victorian rules; to prevent the disadvantage faced by the Cricketers, the clubs agreed that that Association rules would be adopted in the return match. Later that year, the first inter-colonial game was played at the
East Melbourne Cricket Ground, between a representative
Victorian team and one from the neighbouring colony of
New South Wales. As soccer continued to grow throughout Australia, John Fletcher's New South Wales soccer association gave inspiration to other states to establish their own governing bodies for the sport. In 1884, Victoria formed its own association, the Anglo-Australian Football Association (now
Football Victoria), as did
Queensland, in the Anglo-Queensland Football Association (now,
Football Queensland), and Northern New South Wales, in the
Northern District British Football Association (now,
Northern New South Wales Football). In 1896, the Western Australian Soccer Football Association was formed. In 1900, a
Tasmanian association was formed, and later, the South Australian British Football Association was formed in 1902.
20th century It was not until 1911 that a governing body was formed to oversee soccer activities in the whole of Australia. The first such organisation was called the
Commonwealth Football Association. However, this body was superseded by the Australian Soccer Association, which was formed in 1921. Australia is regarded as the first country where
squad numbers in soccer were used for the first time when Sydney Leichardt and HMS Powerful players displayed numbers on their backs, in 1911. One year later, numbering in soccer would be ruled as mandatory in
New South Wales. On 17 June 1922, the first Australian national representative soccer team was constituted by the Australian Soccer Association to represent Australia for a tour of
New Zealand. During the tour the
Australia men's national team lost two out of the three matches against the newly formed
New Zealand side. After World War I, large numbers of
British and southern European arrived seeking opportunities in new industries across parts of Australia which led to establishing soccer as a major sport in the country. A distinct rise in popularity in New South Wales and Victoria, among other states, was linked to the
post-World War II immigration. Migrant players and supporters were prominent, providing the sport with a new but distinct profile. Soccer served as a cultural gateway for many emigrants, acting as a social lubricant. Soccer transcended cultural and language barriers in communities which bridged the gap between minority communities and other classes within the country, thus bringing about a unique unity. The most prominent soccer clubs in Australian cities during the 1950s and 1960s were based around
migrant-ethnic groups, all of which expanded rapidly at that time:
Croatian,
Greek,
Macedonian and
Italian communities gave rise to most of the largest clubs, the most notable being
South Melbourne (Greek-based),
Sydney Olympic (Greek-based),
Marconi Stallions (Italian-based),
Adelaide City (Italian-based),
Melbourne Knights (Croatian-based),
Sydney United (Croatian-based) and
Preston Lions (Macedonian-based).In 1956, Australia became a
FIFA member through the Australian Soccer Association, though Australia's membership was soon suspended in 1960 after disobeying FIFA mandate on recruiting foreign players without a transfer fee. In 1961, the Australian Soccer Federation was formed and later admitted to FIFA in 1963, after outstanding fines had been paid. In 1966, Australia became founding members of the Oceania Football Federation (now
Oceania Football Confederation). Pre-1960s, competitive soccer in Australia was state-based. In 1962, the
Australia Cup was established, but its ambition of becoming an
FA Cup style knockout competition went unfulfilled with its demise in 1968. In 1977, the first national soccer competition, the
National Soccer League, was founded. Migrants continued to boost interest in and player for the sport in the 1970s and 1980s, especially from the
Middle East and from the former
Yugoslavia. In 1984, the
National Soccer Youth League was founded as a reserve and academy league to run in parallel to the National Soccer League. In 1996, the first national women's soccer competition, the
Women's National Soccer League was founded. The National Soccer League and those for women and youth flourished through the 1980s and early 1990s, though with the increasing departure of Australian players to overseas leagues. Soccer reached notable popularity among Australian people during the second half of the 20th century.
Johnny Warren, a prominent advocate for the sport, who was a member of the Australia national team at their first
FIFA World Cup appearance in 1974, entitled his memoir
Sheilas, Wogs, and Poofters (a reference to the
Australian slang:
sheila,
wog,
poofter), giving an indication of how Warren considered the wider Australian community viewed "wogball".
21st century The sport experienced major change in the country in 2003, after the then
Minister for Sport,
Rod Kemp, and the
Australian Parliament commissioned a
report by the Independent Soccer Review Committee. Its findings in the structure, governance and management of soccer in Australia led the restructure of
Football Federation Australia (previously Australian Soccer Federation, Soccer Australia, Australia Soccer Association) and later in 2005, the succeeding relaunched national competition, the
A-League. The restructuring of the sport in Australia also saw the adoption of "football" by administrators, in preference to "soccer", to align with the general international
name of the sport. Although the use of "football" was largely cultural, as part of an attempt to reposition the sport within Australia, there were also "practical and corporate reasons for the change", including a need for the sport to break away from the baggage left over from previous competitions. Australia ended a 32-year absent streak when the nation team qualified for the
2006 FIFA World Cup. The team's qualification and success in the tournament helped increase the profile and popularity of the sport in the country. The national team qualified for second and third consecutive
FIFA World Cups in
2010 and
2014; and placed second in the
2011 AFC Asian Cup. The joining of
Western Sydney Wanderers to the A-League in 2012 saw a rise in interest for the league within Australia, particularly increasing mainstream interest and re-engagement with disaffected Western Sydney soccer fans. Also, the formation of the
National Premier Leagues in 2013 and subsequent restructuring of state leagues as part of the National Competition Review and Elite Player Pathway Review has paved the way for the development of the sport throughout the country. The launch of the
Australia Cup (then known as FFA Cup) in 2014 has also similarly increased mainstream interest and grassroots development. In the 21st century, a major migrant group furnishing new players in the A-League has been the
African Australian community, with 34 players making an appearance in the
2020-2021 A-League season, up on 26 the previous year. These include
Kusini Yengi and his brother,
Tete Yengi, from
South Sudan, and their friends, brothers
Mohamed and
Al Hassan Toure. In summer 2021, Football Australia officials announced a series of major reforms: the shift in calendar by aligning with Domestic Match Calendar and to avoid clashing with FIFA days so it could help the Socceroos to compete; establishment of a
second-tier professional league; club licensing framework; domestic transfer system; as well a potential adoption of promotion-relegation system, expected to be implemented by 2022–23. ==Organisation==