Victoria Premier League 2
Football league
| Founded | 2020 as National Premier Leagues Victoria 3 |
|---|---|
| Country | Australia |
| State |  Victoria |
| Number of teams | 12 |
| Level on pyramid | 4 |
| Promotion to | Victoria Premier League 1 |
| Relegation to | State League 1 |
| Domestic cup(s) | Australia Cup Dockerty Cup |
| Current champions | Caroline Springs George Cross (2023) |
| Most championships | Preston Lions Caroline Springs George Cross (1 title each) |
The Victoria Premier League 2 (formerly National Premier Leagues Victoria 3, 2020-2024), commonly referred to as VPL 2, is a semi-professional soccer league in Victoria, Australia. The league is the third-highest in the Victorian league system, behind NPL Victoria and Victoria Premier League 1, and forms part of the fourth tier of the overall Australian pyramid.
The league was created from the bottom halves of NPL Victoria 2 East and West, when the league was reorganised from two geographic conferences to two separate vertical NPL divisions.[1]
The competition is administered by Football Victoria, the governing body of the sport in the state. Due to start 2020 season NPL Victoria 3 has been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Beginning in the 2024 season, the third-tier competition has been renamed the Victoria Premier Leagues 2,[2] the name of the state-tier competition prior to the formation of NPL Victoria.
Format
The NPL Victoria 3 is contested by 12 teams. Each team plays home and away against teams against all other teams in the league for a total of 22 fixtures per team each season. The winner of each conference gains automatic promotion to the NPL Victoria 2 while 2nd in both conferences will play off in a final; the winner to play the third last team in the NPL Victoria for entry into the top flight.
Due to the entry of Western United into the A-League, NPL Victoria competition rules contain a provision allowing the new professional side to place a development team directly into NPL Victoria 3. This will occur in 2021, so the league would compete for that season with 13 teams, with promotion/relegation rules for State League 1 temporarily modified to revert the structure back to twelve clubs per league.[3]
Current clubs (2024)
The following clubs will take part in the 2024 VPL 2 season:
Beaumaris
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Locations of 2024 NPL 3 Victoria clubs within metropolitan Melbourne.| Club | Location | Grounds | Capacity | Club Heritage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Altona City | Altona | HC Kim Reserve | 500 | Maltese and British |
| Beaumaris | Beaumaris | Beaumaris Reserve | 250 | Australian |
| Boroondara-Carey Eagles | Bulleen | Carey Bulleen Sports Complex | 100 | Italian |
| Box Hill United | Box Hill | Wembley Park | 1,000 | Greek |
| Brunswick Juventus | Fawkner | CB Smith Reserve | 2,000 | Italian |
| Doveton | Eumemmerring | Waratah Reserve | 400 | English |
| Essendon Royals | Essendon | Cross Keys Reserve | 500 | Italian (Triestine) |
| Goulburn Valley Suns | Shepparton | John McEwan Reserve | 3,200 | Australian |
| Melbourne Srbija | Burnley | Kevin Bartlett Reserve | 2,500 | Serbian |
| North Sunshine Eagles | St Albans | Larissa Reserve | 500 | Albanian |
| Nunawading City | Forest Hill | Mahoney's Reserve | 1,000 | Australian |
| Pascoe Vale | Fawkner | CB Smith Reserve | 2,000 | Macedonian (Vlach) |
History
In 2018, pressures from member clubs and a desire to re-evaluate league structure and organisation lead Football Victoria to commission a report into how the NPL Victoria leagues could be re-worked. Among a series of recommendations on improvements to the youth structure, the report recommended that NPL Victoria 2 - then a two-conference division with ten teams each in an east-west split, contesting 28 fixtures each per season - should be reformed with NPL Victoria 2 turned into a single division of 12 teams and a new 12-team division - NPL Victoria 3 - created.[1]
The proposed changes were agreed, and to enact the split the top six teams of each NPL Victoria 2 conference in the 2019 season were given places in the 2020 Victoria 2 competition, with the bottom four of the two conferences all relegated to Victoria 3. Four additional teams were promoted from Victorian State League 1 to make up the numbers. Among the sides moved to NPL Victoria 3 were the NPL development sides of A-League duo Melbourne City and Melbourne Victory.[4]
Past winners
| Year | Champions |
|---|---|
| 2020 | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia.[5] |
| 2021 | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia.[6] |
| 2022 | |
| 2023 |
References
- ^ a b "Victoria restructures its NPL competition". footballtoday.news. 31 October 2018. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
- ^ "NPLM/W 2024 Update | Football Victoria". www.footballvictoria.com.au. 4 October 2023. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
- ^ "FFV Men's and Boy's[sic] Football Competition Review" (PDF). Football Victoria. 2018. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
- ^ "Football Victoria Announces New 2020 NPL Structures". Football Victoria. 11 October 2019. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
- ^ "2021 Start Up". Football Victoria. 16 October 2020. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
- ^ "Metro Melbourne 2021 season status". Football Victoria. 3 September 2021. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
Notes
External links
- Football Victoria website
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