The National Second Division (NSD), also referred to as the National Second Tier (NST), is a proposed Australian national second-tier men's soccer league, to be run by Football Australia and the Association of Australian Football Clubs (AAFC). It has been suggested that the league will consist of 12 to 16 teams, the bulk of which would be drawn from the existing National Premier Leagues competition. The league's focus would be to improve player development and to boost the overall standing of the game in Australia by generating new interest and revenue.^[1]

Although informally talked about for many years, momentum for the idea of a national second division increased in October 2016.^[2] In March 2017 "The Association of Australian Football Clubs (AAFC) Limited" was established, with the goal of opening dialogue with Football Federation Australia (FFA) and various other stakeholders about establishing a national second division.^[3] The board consists of several members representing their respective states and is chaired by Nick Galatas. In January 2018 the AAFC released a timeline for implementation of the league, requesting expressions of interest from clubs for participation in The Championship.^[4]

In February 2019, the AAFC announced they were of the belief that the competition could be up and running by the 2020–21 season.^[5] On 3 June 2019 the new national second division was given the green light by FFA, paving the way for the next stage of planning and a revised start date of the 2021–22 season.^[6]

On 15 September 2020, a provisional list of 30 "partner clubs" was released to the public. The official partners included National Premier League clubs from every state in Australia.^[7]

In October 2020, Football Australia released "XI Principles for the future of Australian football", also known as Vision 2035, which specifically categorised the creation of a second-tier division as part of football restructuring.^[8]

In a January 2021 report, the AAFC claimed that the establishment of a national second division competition would be affordable and feasible.^[9]

In July 2021 report, Football Australia spokesperson confirmed to ESPN Australia that the competition remained a priority to the federation, while its chairman Chris Nikou declared in May that he was "expecting (an NSD model) to come to the Football Australia board in the second half of this year, and [would] love to see a second division up for the 2022–23 season".^[10]

In late 2021, advocates for a national second-tier in Australia have been campaigning for the better part of two decades to introduce what is, at this point, a global footballing standard. The year 2022 may be an optimistic target, however with Football Australia CEO James Johnson pointing to the pandemic as a buffer to the NSD's unavoidable progression. The NSD would feature 12 foundation clubs with plans to expand up to 16 within the first four years.^[11] Officials also aimed to avoid the American-based franchise system and expressed it would become more aligned to the European format, which included promotion and relegation.^[12][13]

A national second division could be played by as early as 2023 with Football Australia set to invest in the establishment of a professional football competition to sit below the A-League. Football Australia says it has undertaken significant planning for a national second-tier competition and has identified a number of models of how it could operate. Senior sources suggest a start date of 2023 is already being targeted. The organisation has identified the second tier as a priority to improve player development with more pathways and a larger pool of professional players, bridge the gap between the semi-professional state leagues and the A-League while also expanding the footprint of the professional game across the country.^[14]

In February 2022, a report titled A Genuine National Second Division of Football in Australia was released. AAFC believed it is time for a merit-based competition structure to be introduced as meritocracy is both the "Australian way" and occurs in most competitions around the world. The report has been funded by the Partner Clubs with financial analysis undertaken by MI Associates.^[15] Association of Australian Football Clubs (AAFC) Chairman Nick Galatas commented that "all the pieces are there for a National Second Division competition for Australian football and the time to implement is now".^[16]

In 2022, Football Australia was working towards March 2024 as its preferred start date,^[17] with exprssions of interest sought in February 2023.^[18]

In March 2023, the bidding phase concluded, with 32 teams having entered bids, and 26 teams were accepted to progress to a formal proposal, announced in May 2023 with this proposal phase concluding in August 2023. Football Australia announced that a final phase for evaluation of bids is scheduled for late November 2023, while the proposed commencement of the league has been revised to March–April 2025.^[19]

On 29 January 2024, Football Australia announced that the final selection process for the final 2-4 had begun with 24 undisclosed teams with further announcements expected in April/May and June 2024.^[20]

As a part of the A Genuine National Second Division of Football in Australia report,^[15] a number of clubs reported that they could not operate at their full capacity within the National Premier Leagues. Many of these clubs competed in the National Soccer League, with 7 of the teams having won the National Premier Leagues finals series.

Teams were asked to submit Expressions of Interest (EOIs) to Football Australia indicating that they wanted to be part of the NSD.^[18] There are also two merger bids proposed: a Brisbane United franchise (the merging of Brisbane Strikers, Wynnum Wolves and Virginia United),^[21] and a South Australian franchise (the merging of Campbelltown City, North Eastern MetroStars and West Torrens Birkalla).^[22]

Key

  Red denotes that the club did not proceed to the Request for Proposal stage and/or have withdrawn their bid. ^[23]
  Green denotes that the club has been confirmed to have submitted a bid.^[24]

It was announced in November 2023 that eight teams have been selected as foundation clubs for the inaugural Second Division.^[51]

In addition to the eight clubs, two to four more clubs are expected to be announced in 2024. Seven teams have are still at the negotiation stage with Football Australia, to join the competition in 2025:

• Brisbane Strikers^{[lower-alpha 3]}
• Caroline Springs George Cross^{[lower-alpha 4]}
• Gold Coast United^[54]
• Heidelberg United^[55]
• Rockdale Ilinden^[56]
• Team Tasmania (formerly South Hobart)^[57][58]
• Sunshine Coast Fire^[59]

Teams that have now withdrawn bids include:

• Brisbane United^{[lower-alpha 5]}
• Melbourne Knights^{[lower-alpha 6]}

Football Australia plans for the first season to commence in March or April 2025.^[19] This is expected to involve between 10 and 16 teams, playing a full home and away season.^[62] Previously, a "Champions League" format was proposed by Football Australia (and opposed by the AAFC^[63]) where top teams would play in the national competition concurrently with their regional NPL league.^[64]

After the announcement of the eight inaugural teams, Football Australia announced the Second Division would feature ten or twelve teams, with a double round-robin format (18 or 22 matches) followed by a Finals Series towards the conclusion of the regular season.^[51]

The prevarication to start the tournament has been met with criticism due to lack of detail about how it will function; the slow pace to begin the first season is another point of contention.^[65] Following the first round of EOIs, two clubs that initially seemed like front runners, Blacktown City and Peninsula Power, had not been selected to advance and these teams then released statements critical of Football Australia.^[66][67]

• Australian soccer league system
• List of soccer clubs in Australia
• A-League Men
• A-League Women