The A-League National Youth League is an Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

n national football (soccer)

Football (soccer)

Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...

 league run in parallel to the A-League

A-League

The A-League is the top Australasian professional football league. Run by Australian governing body Football Federation Australia , it was founded in 2004 following the folding of the National Soccer League and staged its inaugural season in 2005–06. It is sponsored by Hyundai Motor Company...

. The aim of a league is to provide a pathway for young players and state league players to play regular high-level football, and allow reserve players from senior A-League teams to remain match fit. The league was announced by Football Federation Australia

Football Federation Australia

Football Federation Australia is the governing body for the sport of football in Australia. Before 1 January 2005, it was known as the Australian Soccer Association , which succeeded Soccer Australia in this role in 2003...

 at the start of March 2008, and the inaugural league started in August 2008 alongside the A-League 2008–09 season, although in a July interview with Ben Buckley

Ben Buckley

Benjamin "Ben" Buckley is an Australian businessman and former Australian rules footballer. He is the Chief Executive Officer of Football Federation Australia.- VFL/AFL career :...

, he stated the competition would start in September, after the finish of the various state leagues.

Player regulations

Each club contracts a squad of about 14 Youth Development Players. Players must be between the ages of 16 and 21 as of 1 January in the year the season commences. Four over-age players (including goalkeeper) are also allowed to be selected, usually these coming from the senior team. Each youth player must receive a minimum of 30 minutes game time. Players under 21 signed for the first team filling foreign player spots are classed as over-age players.

These players can be any Australian player within the age group. A-League clubs must draw replacement players for their senior teams from the Youth League squad, except under certain circumstances. Such would include severe injuries to over-age players where an injury replacement player is able to be signed.

Teams

Team	City	Entered Competition
	Adelaide Adelaide Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million... , SA South Australia South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...	2008-09 -
A.I.S.	Canberra Canberra Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne... , ACT Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory, often abbreviated ACT, is the capital territory of the Commonwealth of Australia and is the smallest self-governing internal territory...	2009-10 -
Brisbane Roar Brisbane Roar FC Youth League The Brisbane Roar FC Youth League team, also known as the Brisbane Roar Youth, represents the Brisbane Roar in the National football Youth League, the A-League National Youth League.-Formation:...	Brisbane Brisbane Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of... , QLD Queensland Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...	2008-09 -
	Gosford Gosford, New South Wales Gosford is a city located on the Central Coast of New South Wales, Australia, approximately 76 km north of the Sydney central business district... , NSW New South Wales New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...	2008-09 -
	Gold Coast Gold Coast, Queensland Gold Coast is a coastal city of Australia located in South East Queensland, 94km south of the state capital Brisbane. With a population approximately 540,000 in 2010, it is the second most populous city in the state, the sixth most populous city in the country, and also the most populous... , QLD Queensland Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...	2009-10 -
Melbourne Heart	Melbourne Melbourne Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater... , VIC Victoria (Australia) Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....	2011-12 -
Melbourne Victory	Melbourne Melbourne Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater... , VIC Victoria (Australia) Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....	2008-09 -
	Newcastle Newcastle, New South Wales The Newcastle metropolitan area is the second most populated area in the Australian state of New South Wales and includes most of the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie Local Government Areas... , NSW New South Wales New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...	2008-09 -
	Perth Perth, Western Australia Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000.... , WA Western Australia Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...	2008-09 -
	Sydney Sydney Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people... , NSW New South Wales New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...	2008-09 -

Premiers and Champions

Season	Regular season			Grand final
	Premiers	Points	Runners-up	Champions	Score	Runners-up
2010-11 2010–11 A-League National Youth League The A-League National Youth League's 2010-11 season is the third season of the Australian A-League National Youth League football competition. Like the previous season, the current season runs alongside the A-League 2010–11 season.-Home and away season:...	Gold Coast United	41-35	Central Coast Mariners	Gold Coast United	5-2	Brisbane Roar Brisbane Roar FC Youth League The Brisbane Roar FC Youth League team, also known as the Brisbane Roar Youth, represents the Brisbane Roar in the National football Youth League, the A-League National Youth League.-Formation:...
2009-10 2009–10 A-League National Youth League The A-League National Youth League's 2009-10 season is the second season of the Australian A-League National Youth League football competition. Like the previous season, the current season runs alongside the A-League 2009–10 season...	Central Coast Mariners	44-43	Perth Glory	Gold Coast United	2-1	Perth Glory
2008-09	Sydney FC Sydney FC Sydney FC is a professional football club based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia and competes in the country's premier football competition, the A-League...	41-35	Adelaide United	Sydney FC Sydney FC Sydney FC is a professional football club based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia and competes in the country's premier football competition, the A-League...	2-0	Adelaide United

Player of the Year

Year	Player	Club
2008-09	Adam Sarota Adam Sarota Adam Sarota is an Australian football player who plays for Utrecht in the Dutch Eredivisie.-Club career:Sarota was named National Youth League Player of the Year for 2008-2009...	Brisbane Roar Brisbane Roar FC Youth League The Brisbane Roar FC Youth League team, also known as the Brisbane Roar Youth, represents the Brisbane Roar in the National football Youth League, the A-League National Youth League.-Formation:...
2009-10 2009–10 A-League National Youth League The A-League National Youth League's 2009-10 season is the second season of the Australian A-League National Youth League football competition. Like the previous season, the current season runs alongside the A-League 2009–10 season...	Panni Nikas
2010-11 2010–11 A-League National Youth League The A-League National Youth League's 2010-11 season is the third season of the Australian A-League National Youth League football competition. Like the previous season, the current season runs alongside the A-League 2010–11 season.-Home and away season:...	Steven Lustica Steven Lustica Steven Peter Luštica in Canberra, is an Australian football player currently playing for Prva HNL club HNK Hajduk Split.-Gold Coast:...

External links

• A-League official website