A-League
The A-League is a professional men's soccer league run by Football Federation Australia. At the top of the Australian league system, it is the country's primary competition for the sport; the A-League was established in 2004 as a successor to the National Soccer League and competition commenced in August 2005. The league is contested by ten teams, it is known as the Hyundai A-League through a sponsorship arrangement with the Hyundai Motor Company. Seasons run from October to May and include a 27-round regular season followed by a Finals Series playoff involving the highest-placed teams, culminating in a grand final match; the winner of the regular season tournament is dubbed the'premier' while the winner of the grand final is the season's'champion'. This differs from the other major football codes in Australia, where'premier' refers to the winner of the grand final and the winner of the regular season is the'minor premier'. Successful A-League clubs gain qualification into the continental competition, the Asian Football Confederation Champions League known as "AFC Champions League".
Similar to the United States and Canada's Major League Soccer, as well as other professional sports leagues in Australia, Australia's A-League does not practice promotion and relegation. Since the league's inaugural season, a total of six clubs have been crowned A-League Premiers and five clubs have been crowned A-League Champions; the current premier is Perth Glory. The current champions are Melbourne Victory, who won the 2018 A-League Grand Final, equaling the record of four domestic titles held by Marconi Stallions, South Melbourne, Sydney City; the A-League does not recognize the history of its predecessor, the National Soccer League, the nations premier football competition from 1977 to 2004. A national round-robin tournament existed in various forms prior to the formation of the A-League, with the most notable being the National Soccer League; the formation of the NSL came after Australia's qualification for the 1974 FIFA World Cup, which led to discussion of a national league, with 14 teams chosen to participate in the inaugural season of the NSL in 1977.
Under the guidance of the then-governing body, the Australian Soccer Federation, the NSL flourished through the 1980s and early 1990s but fell into decline with the increasing departure of Australian players to overseas leagues, a disastrous television deal with the Seven Network and the resulting lack of sponsorship. Few clubs continued to grow with Sydney Olympic, Perth Glory, the newly established Adelaide United the exception in a dying league. In April 2003, the Australian Federal Government initiated the Independent Soccer Review Committee to investigate the governance and management of the sport in Australia, including that of the NSL. In December 2003, the Crawford Report found that the NSL was financially unviable, in response the chairman of the sports new governing body, Frank Lowy of Football Federation Australia, announced that a task force would be formed to create a new national competition as a successor to the NSL which dissolved at the conclusion of the 2003–04 season after 27 years of operation.
The A-League was announced in April 2004, as a successor to the NSL. Eight teams would be part of the new national competition, with one team from each city of Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, plus a New Zealand team and one from a remaining expressions of interest from either Melbourne or Sydney; the competition start date was set for August 2005. By June 2004, 20 submissions had been received and a month 12 consortiums sent in their final bids for the eight spots. Three bids were received from Melbourne, two each from Sydney and Brisbane, one from each of the remaining preferred cities and a bid from the New South Wales Central Coast city of Gosford. Over the next three months, each bid was reviewed and on 1 November 2004, the eight successful bidders and the major sponsor were revealed, for what would be known as the Hyundai A-League, with the Hyundai Motor Company unveiled as the official naming rights sponsor for the league; the eight founding teams for the league were Adelaide United, Central Coast Mariners, Melbourne Victory, Newcastle Jets, New Zealand Knights, Perth Glory, Queensland Roar and Sydney FC, with three former NSL clubs taking part, those being Adelaide United, Newcastle Jets and Perth Glory, as well as Queensland Roar and New Zealand Knights who were formed from NSL clubs Brisbane Lions and New Zealand Football Kingz.
Each club was given a five-year exclusivity deal in its own market as part of the league's "one-city, one-team" policy. This was intended to allow clubs to grow and develop an identity in their respective region without local competition. On 26 August 2005, 16 months after the demise of the NSL, the inaugural season of the A-League began; the first season would see Adelaide United win the premier's plate by seven points over Sydney FC with Central Coast and Newcastle filling the final two spots in the final series. In the final series, it was Sydney that took out the title after they defeated Central Coast by a Steve Corica goal to claim the first title on 5 March 2006. On 20 March 2007, it was announced that Wellington Phoenix would replace New Zealand Knights from the start of the 2007–08 season. Both Gold Coast United and North Queensland Fury joined the league in the 2009–10 season. On 12 June 2009, Melbourne Heart was awarded a licence to join the 2010–11 season. On 1 March 2011 North Queensland Fury's A-League licence was revoked for financial reasons.
On 29 February 2012, Gold Coast United had its licence revoked. On 4 April 2012 it was announced that a new We
Defender (association football)
In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to prevent the opposing team from scoring goals. There are four types of defenders: centre-back, full-back, wing-back; the centre-back and full-back positions are essential in most modern formations. The sweeper and wing-back roles are more specialised for certain formations. A centre-back defends in the area directly in front of the goal, tries to prevent opposing players centre-forwards, from scoring. Centre-backs accomplish this by blocking shots, intercepting passes, contesting headers and marking forwards to discourage the opposing team from passing to them. With the ball, centre-backs are expected to make long and pinpoint passes to their teammates, or to kick unaimed long balls down the field. For example, a clearance is a long unaimed kick intended to move the ball as far as possible from the defender's goal. Due to the many skills centre-backs are required to possess in the modern game, many successful contemporary central-defensive partnerships have involved pairing a more physical defender with a defender, quicker, more comfortable in possession and capable of playing the ball out from the back.
During normal play, centre-backs are unlikely to score goals. However, when their team takes a corner kick or other set pieces, centre-backs may move forward to the opponents' penalty area. In this case, other defenders or midfielders will temporarily move into the centre-back positions; some centre-backs have been known for their direct free kicks and powerful shots from distance. Brazilian defenders David Luiz and Naldo have been known for using the cannonball free kick method, which relies more on power than placement. In the modern game, most teams employ three centre-backs in front of the goalkeeper; the 4–2–3–1, 4–3–3, 4–4–2 formations all use two centre-backs. There are two main defensive strategies used by centre-backs: the zonal defence, where each centre-back covers a specific area of the pitch; the sweeper is a more versatile centre-back who "sweeps up" the ball if an opponent manages to breach the defensive line. This position is rather more fluid than that of other defenders who man-mark their designated opponents.
Because of this, it is sometimes referred to as libero. Though sweepers may be expected to build counter-attacking moves, as such require better ball control and passing ability than typical centre-backs, their talents are confined to the defensive realm. For example, the catenaccio system of play, used in Italian football in the 1960s, employed a purely defensive sweeper who only "roamed" around the back line; the more modern libero possesses the defensive qualities of the typical libero while being able to expose the opposition during counterattacks. The Fundell-libero has become more popular in recent time with the sweeper transitioning to the most advanced forward in an attack; this variation on the position requires great fitness. While seen in professional football, the position has been extensively used in lower leagues. Modern libero sit behind centre-backs as a sweeper before charging through the team to join in the attack; some sweepers move forward and distribute the ball up-field, while others intercept passes and get the ball off the opposition without needing to hurl themselves into tackles.
If the sweeper does move up the field to distribute the ball, they will need to make a speedy recovery and run back into their position. In modern football, its usage has been restricted, with few clubs in the biggest leagues using the position; the position is most believed to have been pioneered by Franz Beckenbauer, Gaetano Scirea, Elías Figueroa, although they were not the first players to play this position. Earlier proponents included Alexandru Apolzan, Ivano Blason, Velibor Vasović, Ján Popluhár. Other defenders who have been described as sweepers include Bobby Moore, Franco Baresi, Ronald Koeman, Fernando Hierro, Matthias Sammer, Aldair, due to their ball skills and long passing ability. Though it is used in modern football, it remains a respected and demanding position. A recent and successful use of the sweeper was made by Otto Rehhagel, Greece's manager, during UEFA Euro 2004. Rehhagel utilized Traianos Dellas as Greece's sweeper to great success, as Greece became European champions.
Although this position has become obsolete in modern football formations, due to the use of zonal marking and the offside trap, certain players such as Daniele De Rossi:, Leonardo Bonucci, Javi Martínez and David Luiz have played a similar role as a ball-playing central defender in a 3–5–2 or 3–4–3 formation. Some goalkeepers, who are comfortable leaving their goalmouth to intercept and clear through balls, who participate more in play, such as René Higuita, Manuel Neuer, Edwin van der Sar, Fabien Barthez, Hugo Lloris, among others, have been referred to as sweep
Auburn, New South Wales
Auburn is a suburb in western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Auburn is located 24 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district and is in the local government area of Cumberland Council, having been the administrative centre of Auburn Council. Auburn prides itself as one of the most multicultural communities in Australia; the traditionally immigrant Anglo-Celtic European population has been replaced by a high percentage of immigrants from Turkish and Vietnamese backgrounds. The suburb was named after Oliver Goldsmith's poem The Deserted Village, which describes'Auburn' in England as the loveliest village of the plain; the Auburn area was once used by Aboriginal people as a market place for the exchange of goods, a site for ritual battles and a'Law Place' for ceremonies. The area was located on the border between the Darug inland group and the Eora/Dharawal coastal group; the Wangal and Wategoro, sub-groups or clans, are the groups most recognised as the original inhabitants of the Auburn/Homebush Bay region.
Bennelong, one of the most famous Aboriginies of the time, was a member of Wangal, as was his wife, Barangaroo. Pemulwuy, who organised tribes to resist the white settlement of the Sydney region from 1790 to 1802 was a member of the Wangal. On 5 February 1788, soon after the landing of Captain Phillip at Sydney Cove, Captain John Hunter and Lieutenant William Bradley sailed up what is now known as the Parramatta River, as far as Homebush Bay. Captain Hunter was the first white person to set foot within the Auburn Local Government Area. Ten days the Governor, along with a well-armed party in three boats, reached Homebush Bay, they ventured about 3 kilometres inland. The following day a party of explorers traced the river in a westerly direction, coming to the place where the Duck River enters the Parramatta River, they explored the tributary as far. Seeing what appeared to be ducks rising out of a swamp covered with reeds, they named the river Duck River; the ducks were Eastern Swamp Hens, but the name Duck River remained.
The Eastern Swamp Hen featured prominently on the Council's Coat of Arms and was part of the former Auburn City Council logo. In February 1793 Auburn area was established as the first free-agricultural settlement thanks to Governor Phillip's repeated applications to the British government for free settlers. Phillip was of the opinion that only free settlers with the assistance of convicts will be able to create an environment in which a country could support its inhabitants. Secretary Dundas endorsed Governor's opinion and secured an agreement with several farmers, some of them were members of Religious Society of Friends – Quakers, to settle in the colony; the first grants were given to Thomas Rose, Frederic Meredith and Joseph Webb as well as Edward Powell. The deeds of the land described the farms’ location as Liberty Plains and this is the name given to the neighbourhood of their farms by the first settles, although the actual area bearing that name was a little further, lying at the upper part of Port Jackson.
Dwellers of the Liberty Plains Parish were proud of the fact that in the colony of felons they were the first people who came to Australia as free men and were given a privilege of choosing their own grants. When in 1876 Auburn adopted its name, inspired by Oliver Goldsmith's poem The Deserted Village, describing the English village of Auburn as "the loveliest village of the plain", the people of Auburn still wanted to emphasise the fact that they were free settles. Hence, the first Auburn coat of arms depicted this in its motto: "Liberty, with steady zeal". One of the early settlers in the area was Fred Chisholm, who had an estate west of the present site of Auburn railway station. In the 1880s, John Buchanan, a timber merchant, purchased land from Fred Chisholm and built his home, Duncraggarn Hall, a two-storey Italianate mansion with a central tower and elaborate wrought-iron balconies. In 1892, Buchanan sold his thirteen-acre estate to the Sisters of Charity, who turned the house into St Joseph's Hospital for Consumptives.
In 1903, extensions to the hospital were constructed and the house itself became a convent for the sisters. Further modifications and extensions took place over the years, with the eventual result that the old hospital site became St Joseph's Village—a retirement village—with a modern hospital next door. Duncraggarn Hall is heritage-listed; the formal Auburn Local Government Area was formed in 1948, when Auburn and Lidcombe Councils merged into Auburn Municipal Council. In 2006 it became the City of Auburn. In the late 20th century, Auburn became a popular point of settlement for successive waves of immigrants. In the post-World War II era, immigrants from the Ukraine, Russia and Greece settled in Auburn, who were succeeded in the 1960s by immigrants from Turkey and Vietnam. More a large number of immigrants have settled in Auburn from China and the Middle East; the history of immigrant settlement in Auburn has resulted in a suburb, noted for its multicultural environment. Auburn has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: Great Southern and Western railway: Auburn Railway Signal Box 93 Parramatta Road: Electricity Substation No. 167 Auburn has a mixture of residential and industrial areas.
A commercial area is located close to Auburn railway station. There are many multicultural cafes. South of the railway station, the commercial area stretches for 1 km and features many shops and supermarkets, including a number of shops and restaurants specialising in Middle Eastern and East Asian products and cuisine; this reflects Auburn's history as a popular pl
Brisbane Roar FC
Brisbane Roar Football Club is a professional Australian soccer club based in Brisbane, Queensland. and has won the domestic title on three separate occasions, as well as holding the longest unbeaten record of 36 league matches without defeat. Brisbane competes in the country's premier competition, the A-League, under licence from Football Federation Australia; the club was formed in 1957 as Hollandia-Inala, became Brisbane Lions, before it transitioned into Queensland Roar, playing under that name from the inaugural 2005–06 season of the A-League until the 2008–09 season. Since joining the A-League, the club has won two league Premierships, three Championships and has competed in five AFC Champions League competitions. Brisbane Roar holds the record for the longest unbeaten run at the top level of any Australian football code, which stands at 36 league matches without defeat. Brisbane Roar are the first and only club to win back to back Hyundai A-League Championships; the club plays home matches at Suncorp Stadium, a 52,500 seat multi-use venue in Milton, with First team training taking place at Logan Heritage Park which hosts the clubs administration staff.
In March 2018, the club relocated its Playing and Administration Headquarters to a purpose built, $9 million Center-of-Excellence in Logan hosting training, sports science and medical facilities for the A League team, W-League team and over 16 youth development teams. The youth team competes in the National Youth League and the women's team competes in the W-League. Commencing in 2014, the youth and women's teams compete in the NPL Queensland in order to maintain fitness and further develop their abilities; the youth team competes in the senior men's division while the women's team compete in the U15 boy's division. The youth and women matches are played at various locations across Brisbane, including Heritage Park, Goodwin Park, QSAC, A. J. Kelly Park, Perry Park and Suncorp Stadium; the origins of Brisbane Roar are traced back to the founding of Hollandia-Inala in 1957, by Dutch immigrants. The club was based in the Brisbane suburb of Richlands. After adopting the name Brisbane Lions in the 1970s, the club joined the National Soccer League as one of the founding clubs in the 1977 season and competed until the end of the 1988 season before reverting down to the Brisbane Premier League thereafter.
In the 1990s, the club again changed its name to Queensland Lions after coming to an agreement with the Australian rules football club, Brisbane Lions. At the time of conception of the A-League, teams from several capital cities were preferred to form the foundation clubs. By June 2004, two of the twenty submissions for joining the league were sought by partnerships formed in Brisbane, the capital of Queensland. On 1 November 2004, the group headed by Queensland Lions were chosen as operators of the Brisbane team. On 2 March the following year, Queensland Roar FC were announced; the clubs's first-ever board consisted of chairman John Ribot, a former CEO of both National Rugby League clubs Brisbane Broncos and Melbourne Storm, deputy chairman Gary Wilkins, former Queensland and Australian international player, CEO Lawrence Oudendyk, Queensland Lions CEO. Miron Bleiberg was appointed as the Queensland Roar's inaugural manager on 2 March 2005. Under pressure from the fans to deliver on his promises of attractive and successful football he resigned on 12 November 2006 following a poor start to the 2006–07 season.
After much speculation, Bleiberg was replaced by former Australian national team coach, Frank Farina just three days after Bleiberg's resignation. Frank Farina's arrival led to a mini-revival which saw the club narrowly miss out on what would have been the Roar's first finals appearance, on goal difference; the 2007–08 season, saw Farina make up for the shortfall of the previous season, qualifying for the finals for the first time in the club's history. A memorable performance in the second leg of the semi-final saw the Roar defeat arch rivals 2–0 Sydney FC in front of a club record 36,221 fans to qualify for the preliminary final against the Newcastle Jets; the Roar would controversially lose 3–2 to the Newcastle side, who would go on to win the Grand Final. Farina again qualified for the finals in 2008–09, where the Roar dispatched of Central Coast Mariners 4–2 on aggregate, however they lost, again in the preliminary final, to Adelaide United after failing to capitalise on their dominance.
In 2009, the club was renamed to Brisbane Roar Football Club due to two other Queensland-based clubs entering the competition. On 10 October 2009, Farina was arrested by Queensland Police for Driving under the influence, he was suspended by the Roar and asked to show cause as to why he should not be sacked for tarnishing the name of the club. It was announced that assistant manager, Rado Vidošić would step into a caretakers role until a decision had been made which would include the M1 Derby, which the Roar lost 1–0 at home. Farina was sacked on 14 October 2009, with the club tasked with finding a replacement for the remainder of the 2009–10 season. Ange Postecoglou arrived mid-season armed with the task of picking up the pieces of a season in tatters. Postecoglou's first season ended as the worst in the club's short history, finishing second from the bottom. Postecoglou completed a turn-around in the 2010–11 season, he made wholesale changes to the squad, commencing with the replacement of the "old-guard" of Charlie Miller, Craig Moore and Danny Tiatto and brought in his own squad, a mixture of youth and talented experience.
Under his brand of possession/attacking
Gold Coast City FC
Gold Coast City FC,is an Australian semi-professional soccer club based in Gold Coast, Queensland. The club was formed in 1966 as Palm Beach SC before changing their name in 2016 when joining the Queensland NPL; the club competes in the National Premier League Queensland. In 1964 Eddie Wardell organised a group of boys, one of, his son, to play football out of Palm Beach and compete in a three team football competition against Kingscliff and Twin Towns; the first game for Palm Beach was held at Salk Oval and the team members wore plain green T-shirts but the team would move to a council paddock located in Palm Beach. By 1965 the local Gold Coast Association football competition wanted a presence in Palm Beach and invited the team to join the local junior competitions; the first official playing strip was debuted in 1965, a plain T-shirt that embossed with a single blue stripe. In 1966 the team incorporated three teams. During sign on time it was decided the team needed to unofficially become a club and held its inaugural meeting in the Currumbin RSL.
Neville Cripps, a father of a Palm Beach player, was elected the first president and names for the club began being thrown around. Names such as Palm Beach Hotspurs and Palm Beach Pilchards were put forward at the meeting but Palm Beach Currumbin Soccer Club was voted the winner. In 1966 the club began wearing playing strip, a white shirt emblazoned with a large blue vee. 1971 saw the council reclaim the playing field of the club and urgent calls to council were made which led to a field behind the Tugun Bowls Club becoming their new home ground. With the team being located in Tugun their official name was changed to the Palm Beach Currumbin Tugun Soccer Club; the following year while John Neumann was developing the suburb of Palm Beach he suggested to the club that they should attempt to be given two recreational fields in Mallawa Drive, Palm Beach. Club president Mal Sutherland met with the council which would lead to the club being given two fields at their present location on Mallawa Drive.
The Palm Beach Currumbin Lions Football Club donated the blue and white striped strip that the club would begin wearing. The Gold Coast Association decided in 1975 to begin a senior football competition and the following year Palm Beach would enter their first senior team. By 1977 the building of a clubhouse began as well as the instalment of the floodlights which allowed the club to hold night training sessions. In 1979 a club meeting was held which resulted in the decision for the club to become the first soccer club on the Gold Coast to register as a limited company. 1979 saw Palm Beach enter an under 16s team in the Brisbane South competition in an attempt to attract higher quality players to begin playing on the Gold Coast and more at Palm Beach. 1983 saw the additional of more floodlights which allowed the club to host night matches as well as the club introducing the shark as the emblem and become the Palm Beach Sharks. In June 1992 the club was granted a full licence by the Licensing Commission which allowed the Sharks apply and be given permission to install poker machines.
Thirty year anniversary celebrations took place for the Sharks in 1997 at the Currumbin RSL, the venue in which the club held their first meeting 31 years earlier. In 2000 the Sharks were invited to compete in the Brisbane-based State League; the Sharks would prove their worth in 2005 by capturing the minor premiership, the premier cup as well as finishing runner up in the championship. In 2008 the club would withdraw senior teams from all Brisbane competition due to a lack of funds. In October 2012 it was announced that Football Federation Australia granted the Palm Beach Sharks a five-year licence into the newly formed National Premier Leagues Queensland along with teams from Brisbane, Moreton Bay, Sunshine Coast and Townsville. From 2016 Palm Beach teams competing in the National Premier Leagues Competitions are called Gold Coast City FC, to represent all the Gold Coast community. Brisbane Premier League Premiers: 2005 Brisbane Premier Cup Winners: 2005 NPL Queensland Champions: 2014 Premiers: 2014 Official website
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state on the east coast of Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria to the south, South Australia to the west, its coast borders the Tasman Sea to the east. The Australian Capital Territory is an enclave within the state. New South Wales' state capital is Sydney, Australia's most populous city. In September 2018, the population of New South Wales was over 8 million, making it Australia's most populous state. Just under two-thirds of the state's population, 5.1 million, live in the Greater Sydney area. Inhabitants of New South Wales are referred to as New South Welshmen; the Colony of New South Wales was founded as a penal colony in 1788. It comprised more than half of the Australian mainland with its western boundary set at 129th meridian east in 1825; the colony included the island territories of New Zealand, Van Diemen's Land, Lord Howe Island, Norfolk Island. During the 19th century, most of the colony's area was detached to form separate British colonies that became New Zealand and the various states and territories of Australia.
However, the Swan River Colony has never been administered as part of New South Wales. Lord Howe Island remains part of New South Wales, while Norfolk Island has become a federal territory, as have the areas now known as the Australian Capital Territory and the Jervis Bay Territory; the prior inhabitants of New South Wales were the Aboriginal tribes who arrived in Australia about 40,000 to 60,000 years ago. Before European settlement there were an estimated 250,000 Aboriginal people in the region; the Wodi Wodi people are the original custodians of the Illawarra region of South Sydney. Speaking a variant of the Dharawal language, the Wodi Wodi people lived across a large stretch of land, surrounded by what is now known as Campbelltown, Shoalhaven River and Moss Vale; the Bundjalung people are the original custodians of parts of the northern coastal areas. The European discovery of New South Wales was made by Captain James Cook during his 1770 survey along the unmapped eastern coast of the Dutch-named continent of New Holland, now Australia.
In his original journal covering the survey, in triplicate to satisfy Admiralty Orders, Cook first named the land "New Wales", named after Wales. However, in the copy held by the Admiralty, he "revised the wording" to "New South Wales"; the first British settlement was made by. After years of chaos and anarchy after the overthrow of Governor William Bligh, a new governor, Lieutenant-Colonel Lachlan Macquarie, was sent from Britain to reform the settlement in 1809. During his time as governor, Macquarie commissioned the construction of roads, wharves and public buildings, sent explorers out from Sydney and employed a planner to design the street layout of Sydney. Macquarie's legacy is still evident today. During the 19th century, large areas were successively separated to form the British colonies of Tasmania, South Australia and Queensland. Responsible government was granted to the New South Wales colony in 1855. Following the Treaty of Waitangi, William Hobson declared British sovereignty over New Zealand in 1840.
In 1841 it was separated from the Colony of New South Wales to form the new Colony of New Zealand. Charles Darwin visited Australia in January 1836 and in The Voyage of the Beagle records his hesitations about and fascination with New South Wales, including his speculations about the geological origin and formation of the great valleys, the aboriginal population, the situation of the convicts, the future prospects of the country. At the end of the 19th century, the movement toward federation between the Australian colonies gathered momentum. Conventions and forums involving colony leaders were held on a regular basis. Proponents of New South Wales as a free trade state were in dispute with the other leading colony Victoria, which had a protectionist economy. At this time customs posts were common on borders on the Murray River. Travelling from New South Wales to Victoria in those days was difficult. Supporters of federation included the New South Wales premier Sir Henry Parkes whose 1889 Tenterfield Speech was pivotal in gathering support for New South Wales involvement.
Edmund Barton to become Australia's first Prime Minister, was another strong advocate for federation and a meeting held in Corowa in 1893 drafted an initial constitution. In 1898 popular referenda on the proposed federation were held in New South Wales, South Australia and Tasmania. All votes resulted in a majority in favour, but the New South Wales government under Premier George Reid had set a requirement for a higher "yes" vote than just a simple majority, not met. In 1899 further referenda were held in the same states as well as Queensland. All resulted in yes votes with majorities increased from the previous year. New South Wales met the conditions; as a compromise to the question on where the capital was to be located, an agreement was made that the site was to be within New South Wales but not closer than 100 miles from Sydney, while the provisional capital would be Melbourne. The area that now forms the Australian Capital Territory was ceded by New South Wales when Canberra was selected.
In the years after World War I, the high prices enjoyed durin
AFC Champions League
The AFC Champions League known as the Asian Champions League, is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation. Introduced in 2002, the competition is a continuation of the Asian Club Championship which had started in 1967, it is the premier club tournament in Asia, equivalent to the CONMEBOL Copa Libertadores, the UEFA, CAF, CONCACAF and OFC Champions League competitions. A total of 32 clubs compete in the round robin group stage of the competition. Clubs from Asia's strongest national leagues receive automatic berths, with clubs from lower-ranked nations eligible to qualify via the qualifying playoffs, they are eligible to participate in the AFC Cup. Since 2009, the champions do not qualify automatically for the following year's competition; the winner of the AFC Champions League qualifies for the FIFA Club World Cup. The most successful club in the competition is the Pohang Steelers with a total of three titles; the reigning champions of the competition are the Kashima Antlers, who won the competition for the first time.
The competition started as the Asian Club Championship, a tournament for the champions of each AFC nation, had a variety of different formats, with the inaugural tournament staged as a straightforward knockout format and the following three editions consisting of a group stage. Israeli clubs dominated the first four editions of the competition due to the refusal of Arab teams to face them. In 1970, Lebanese side Homenetmen refused to play against Hapoel Tel Aviv in the semi-final and Hapoel thus went straight to the final, while in 1971, Al-Shorta of Iraq refused to play against Maccabi Tel Aviv on two separate occasions in the tournament including the finale itself, with the Arab media considering the Iraqi side as the tournament's winners and the team holding an open top bus parade. After these two editions, the AFC decided that teams who refused to play matches for political reasons would be disqualified from the tournament, but this failed to act as a deterrent as the 1972 edition had to be cancelled after two Arab teams refused to commit to playing against Israeli side Maccabi Netanya.
After this, the AFC stopped holding the competition and Israel were expelled from the confederation. Asia's premier club tournament made its return in 1985, in 1990, the Asian Football Confederation introduced the Asian Cup Winners' Cup, a tournament for the cup winners of each AFC nation; the 1995 season saw the introduction of the Asian Super Cup where the winners of the Asian Club Championship and Asian Cup Winners' Cup faced against each other. The 2002–03 season saw the Asian Club Championship, Asian Cup Winners' Cup and Asian Super Cup combine to become the AFC Champions League. League champions and cup winners would qualify for the qualifying playoffs with the best eight clubs from East Asia and the eight best clubs from West Asia progressing to the group stage; the first winners under the AFC Champions League name were Al-Ain, defeating BEC Tero 2–1 on aggregate. In 2004, 29 clubs from fourteen countries participated and the tournament schedule was changed to March–November. In the group stage, the 28 clubs were divided into seven groups of four on a regional basis, separating East Asian and West Asian clubs to reduce travel costs, the groups were played on a home and away basis.
The seven group winners along with the defending champions qualified to the quarterfinals. The quarterfinals and finals were played as a two-legged format, with away goals, extra time, penalties used as tie-breakers; the 2005 season saw Syrian clubs join the competition, thus increasing the number of participating countries to 15, two years following their transfer into the AFC in 2006, Australian clubs were included in the tournament. Owing to the lack of professionalism in Asian football, many problems still existed in the tournament, such as on field violence and late submission of player registration. Many blamed the lack of expensive travel cost as some of the reasons; the Champions League expanded to 32 clubs in 2009 with direct entry to the top ten Asian leagues. Each country received up to 4 slots, though no more than one-third of the number of teams in that country's top division, rounded downwards, depending on the strength of their league, league structure, financial status, other criteria set by the AFC Pro-League Committee.
The assessment criteria and ranking for participating associations would be revised by AFC every two years. The current format sees the eight group winners and eight runners-up qualify to the Round of 16, in which group winners play host to the runners-up in two-legged series, matched regionally, with away goals, extra time, penalties used as tie-breakers; the regional restriction continues all the way until the final, although clubs from the same country cannot face each other in the quarterfinals unless that country has three or more representatives in the quarterfinals. Since 2013, the final has been held as a two-legged series, on a home and away basis; as of the 2009 edition of the tournament, the AFC Champions League has commenced with a double round-robin group stage of 32 teams, preceded by qualifying matches for teams that do not receive direct entry to the competition proper. Teams are split into east and west zones to progress separately in the tournament; the number of teams that each association enters into the AFC Champions League is determined annually through criteria as set by the AFC Competitions Committee.
The criteria, a modified version of the UEFA coefficient, measures such thing as marketability and stadia to determine the specific number of berths that an association receives. The higher an association's ranking as determined by the
