The 1995–96 A-League season was the first year of a rebranded Australian

National Soccer League The National Soccer League (NSL) was the top-level soccer league in Australia, run by Soccer Australia and later the Australian Soccer Association. The NSL, the A-League's predecessor, spanned 28 seasons from its inception in 1977 until its d ...

(NSL) and the twentieth since the national league began in 1977. The competition was variously known as the A-League and the Ericsson Cup (as part of a sponsorship arrangement) at the time.

Background

After an attempt to reduce the number of NSL teams from 14 to 12, the Australian Soccer Federation announced that a new competition known as the A-League would operate in parallel to the NSL. After a series of legal challenges, the A-League became the sole national league with largely the same composition of teams as the previous NSL season. The change was seen at the time as a rebranding rather than a new competition. Prior to the season beginning, the league announced a sponsorship agreement with

Ericsson (lit. "Telephone Stock Company of LM Ericsson"), commonly known as Ericsson, is a Swedish multinational networking and telecommunications company headquartered in Stockholm. The company sells infrastructure, software, and services in informat ...

that was supposed to last until 2000, though was terminated a year early in mid-1999. The sponsorship led to the league being renamed the Ericsson Cup, though the A-League and NSL names were still used in various forms. The commencement of the season was delayed as relegated teams Melbourne SC and

Heidelberg United Heidelberg United Alexander Football Club (founded as Alexander the Great-Melbourne Soccer Club) established in 1958 is a football (soccer) club based in the northern Melbourne suburb of Heidelberg West, Victoria, Australia. The team currently ...

obtained court injunctions to prevent the league going ahead. Eventually the injunction was lifted in the

Federal Court of Australia The Federal Court of Australia is an Australian superior court of record which has jurisdiction to deal with most civil disputes governed by federal law (with the exception of family law matters), along with some summary (less serious) and indic ...

to allow the league to start, albeit several weeks late.

Changes from 1994–95

Parramatta Eagles Parramatta Football Club, commonly known as Parramatta Melita Eagles or just Melita, are a semi-professional Australian soccer club based in South Granville, New South Wales. The club was established by Maltese migrants in 1956 and played sev ...

, Melbourne SC and Heidelberg United were excluded from the national league, while

Newcastle Breakers Newcastle Breakers FC are a defunct Australian football (soccer) club. Formed out of elements of the Newcastle Austral club, they participated in the National Soccer League from season 1991/1992, until their dissolution in 1999/2000. The club fare ...

returned after a one-season absence. The

Canberra Cosmos Canberra Cosmos Football Club was an Australian soccer club based in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. It participated in the National Soccer League from the 1995/96 season until the end of the 2000/01 season, after which it folded, primar ...

entered the league for the first time.

Sydney Olympic Sydney Olympic Football Club is an Australian semi-professional association football, soccer club, based in Belmore, New South Wales, Belmore, Sydney, New South Wales, that plays in the National Premier Leagues NSW. The Club was founded as Pan- ...

signed a deal with the

University of Technology Sydney The University of Technology Sydney (UTS) is a public research university located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Although its origins are said to trace back to the 1830s, the university was founded in its current form in 1988. As of 2021 ...

(UTS) to become known as UTS Olympic. After using penalty shootout to break ties in 1994–95, the draw returned for league play in 1994–95.

Overview

The league was composed of 12 teams. After 33 rounds, Marconi-Fairfield were crowned minor premiers. In the final series, Marconi-Fairfield and the

Melbourne Knights Melbourne Knights Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in the suburb of Sunshine North, Melbourne. The club currently competes in the National Premier Leagues Victoria, the second-tier of the Australian soccer league ...

contested the

1996 A-League Grand Final The 1996 A-League Grand Final was the first grand final to be held under the A-League name after the short-lived rebranding of the National Soccer League (NSL) began before the 1995–96 season. Melbourne Knights defeated Marconi-Fairfield 2–1 ...

, with Melbourne Knights prevailing 2–1.

Teams

Prior to the start of the season, the

withdrew from the competition citing financial difficulties. The withdrawal of the Breakers left 13 teams, meaning each team had two byes for the season.

Regular season

League table

Finals series

Grand Final

Individual awards

Johnny Warren Medal The Johnny Warren Medal is awarded to the best player of the Australian national soccer club competition. It was first awarded in the National Soccer League in 1990, and upon the NSL's demise in November 2004, was carried forward into the new na ...

Damian Mori Damian Mori (born 30 September 1970) is an Australian former football player who is an assistant coach for Adelaide United. He won two Johnny Warren Medals, awarded to the best player in the Australian league and was top scorer on 5 occasions ...

(

Adelaide City Adelaide City Football Club is a soccer club based in Adelaide, South Australia. The club was known historically as Juventus — the original name given to the club by its founders in Adelaide's Italian community. Adelaide City is one of Aust ...

) *U-21 Player of the Year: Jim Tsekenis ( West Adelaide) *Top Scorer:

(

) – 31 goals *Coach of the Year:

John Perin John Perin (born 10 June 1948) is an Australian former football (soccer) Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the b ...

(

)

Notes

References

- NSL Awards
{{DEFAULTSORT:1995-96 National Soccer League National Soccer League (Australia) seasons 1996 in Australian soccer 1995 in Australian soccer Aus Aus