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 ...

(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 (), commonly known as Ericsson (), is a Swedish multinational networking and telecommunications company headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden. Ericsson has been a major contributor to the development of the telecommunications industry and is one ...

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 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 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 indictable (mo ...

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 Association football, soccer club based in South Granville, New South Wales, South Granville, New South Wales. The club was e ...

, Melbourne SC and Heidelberg United were excluded from the national league, while Newcastle Breakers returned after a one-season absence. The Canberra Cosmos entered the league for the first time.

Sydney Olympic Sydney Olympic Football Club is an Australian semi-professional soccer club, based in Belmore, Sydney, New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states o ...

signed a deal with the

University of Technology Sydney The University of Technology Sydney (UTS) is a public university, public research university located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The university was founded in its current form in 1988, though its origins as a Institute of technology, ...

(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, with Melbourne Knights prevailing 2–1.

Teams

Prior to the start of the season, the Newcastle Breakers 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:

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 semi-professional soccer club based in Oakden, a north-eastern suburb of Adelaide. The club was a founding member of the now-defunct National Soccer League (NSL) and currently competes in the National Premier ...

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

(

) – 31 goals *Coach of the Year: John Perin (

)

Notes

References

- NSL Awards
{{DEFAULTSORT:1995-96 National Soccer League National Soccer League (Australia) seasons

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...