Just messing of course - I do worry about the entire league’s sustainability.
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Newcastle Jets into the semis of the Australia Cup! We gave to Macarthur 3-0 - good, long, hard and effin’ indifferent.
Imagine if we win the thing. 
I was hoping that the Bulls go back to back. Oh well. Speaking of the remaining teams, if Heidelberg or Avondale win it all and play in the 2026 AFC Champions League 2, lets just say you would have a lot of scores during those games that would normally be NRL Scores and with the Melbourne Teams on the losing side.
Also it’s a shame that Auckland FC isn’t eligible to compete as New Zealand is in the OFC instead of the AFC otherwise they would be in this year’s AFC Champions League Elite.
In the Premier League yesterday, Everton celebrated the opening of their new Merseyside venue (Hill Dickinson Stadium) with a 2-0 win over Brighton & Hove Albion.
Apparently there is talk that if Auckland and Newcastle make the final, the mighty Jets have got ACL2 qualification in the bag because Auckland can’t play Asian club football as they are in the OFC and they don’t want NPL clubs in the ACL2. I don’t believe it, as the NPL clubs would probably launch legal action if they’re denied ACL2 football.
Why NZ teams are in the Australia Cup is beyond me. They know they can’t play AFC club football. Shows just how badly Australian football is run.
If NZ teams want to stay in the A-League, they move to the AFC and integrate their league system with ours. Especially if and when they bring promotion and relegation. No ifs or buts. Stuff the OFC.
The reason the Cup includes NZ teams and the silly playoffs is because that extra guaranteed game takes the clubs to the minimum required annual games to satisfy AFC minimums.
The NPL teams could be in the ACL2 next season if they win the competition or make it to the final with Auckland. They would just have 4 months to meet the licensing requirements.
Football journalist Joey Lynch posted the relevant AFC regulations on X on Tuesday.
Reached out to Football Australia for official confirmation of Heidelberg and Avondale’s eligibility for the ACL2 should they win the Australia Cup
— Joey Lynch (@joeylynchy) August 25, 2025
In short, they can win a place in Asia but this is contingent on a successful extraordinary application via AFC club licensing
1/2 pic.twitter.com/q64pqdrlKL
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The draw for the league phase of 2025-2026 UEFA Champions League was made overnight.
Kairat, based in Almaty, becomes the easternmost team to ever qualify for the Champions League proper. Almaty’s location in Central Asia makes it ideal for the UEFA to schedule Kairat’s home matches (against Real Madrid, Club Brugge, Olympiacos and Pafos) to suit primetime audience in East Asia, where the competition is popular with fans. Conversely, it also means Kairat’s home matches will be shown in the afternoon back into Europe.
So basically, it relies on the AFC allowing second tier teams qualifying for their competitions. If the AFC won’t allow them, and I can think of several corrupt reasons why they won’t, then I can see them suing.
Of course, I will point out my Jets would be the benefactors of this, as Auckland can’t qualify, but again, we’ve been screwed over by FA and the A-League before (one grand final comes to mind), so I’m not ruling anything in or out at this stage. If we win it, which I have greatr hopes of, and believe it’s the only right and popular outcome (
) then it’s a moot point.
I feel like Avondale would have a stronger argument given their involvement In the championship
Sounds like WUFC’s demise is official now
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I dont think that’ll register in the AFC’s mind. It’s not a true 2nd division as we don’t have promotion or relegation from NPL to A-League.
That’s the last time someone should listen to Fox Sports re: expansion of your league. 
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Goodbye Western United. You will be “missed”.
I remember recently a J2 team won their cup and qualified.
Was just bloody stupid, wasn’t it. Went for half-cocked bids in the big cities just because the then-broadcaster wanted it and ignored cities with real football communities. This is the legacy of that decision.
That’s Japan though. They run their leagues properly and have standards. We don’t. That’s why despite our national teams doing quite nicely, we don’t get that many ACL spots.
The two NPL teams need to demonstrate that they have the required stadiums, equipment, cash, etc., to compete. On those grounds, you’d have to say the Jets would well and truly have that in spades. But on the other hand, it could always deny us our chance to play ACL2 if Auckland win or the NPL teams win and they’re denied a license by AFC.
We’re not in yet. After the way we got shafted in that grand final, they owe us.
Canberra and Wollongong should’ve been admitted.
Western United and Macarthur could’ve formed the basis of a proper A-League 2.
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