| Pixels: | 180px |
| State: | NSW |
| Confed: | AFC |
| Founded: | 2014 |
| Teams: | 12 |
| Levels: | 2 |
| Domest Cup: | Australia Cup Northern NSW Football State Cup |
| Champions: | Lambton Jaffas (2023) |
| Premiers: | Lambton Jaffas (2023) |
| Current: | 2023 NPL season |
| Website: | Northern NSW Football NPL |
The National Premier Leagues Northern NSW is a regional Australian Professional association football league comprising teams from Northern New South Wales. As a subdivision of the National Premier Leagues, the league sits at Level 1 on the Northern New South Wales league system (Level 2 of the overall Australian league system). The competition is administered by Northern NSW Football, the governing body of the sport in the northern region of the state (the southern region is mostly governed by Football NSW). Prior to 2014, the league was formerly known as the Northern NSW State Football League.
The league originally started with 12 teams, all with a first grade, reserve grade and youth grade team. The league was then downsized to 10 teams still with all three grades. For the 2009 season it was decided by Northern New South Wales Football (the governing body) to downsize the league once again to 8 teams in order to improve the quality and give local players a chance to enter the A-league through the competition. The teams competing in the 2009 season were decided on the second of September 2008, with Highfields Azzurri FC and Lake Macquarie City Roosters FC being relegated to the Northern NSW State League Division 1.
Teams were judged on criteria which included facilities/ground (30%), financial status (25%), management (20%), playing strength/coaching staff (15%) and development program (10%). An independent body, chaired by former NSW gaming minister Richard Face, was assigned to make the decision.[1]
From the 2017 season onward the competition once again expanded to 11 teams with Lake Macquarie being promoted from the Northern NSW State League Division 1.[2]
From the 2020 season onward the competition contracted back to 10 teams after Newcastle Jets Youth transferred into the NPL New South Wales structure, now playing in the NPL NSW 4 competition. The reason was because the Newcastle Jets and Northern NSW Football believed that transferring the Youth Jets to the Sydney-centred competition would help develop their youth players.
From the 2022 season onward the competition once again expanded to 11 teams with the inclusion of Cooks Hill United being promoted from the HIT Northern League One.[3]
From the 2023 season onward the competition once again expanded to 12 teams with the inclusion of New Lambton being promoted from the HIT Northern League One.[4]
The competition consists of 12 teams from around the Newcastle, Hunter and Lake Macquarie area who each have a First Grade, and a reserves competing in the competition. All clubs also have a suite of youth teams (under 13, 14, 15, 16 and 18) competing in the Premier Youth League as part of the NPL NNSWF participation. A season takes place over 22 rounds, with each team playing each other at home and away. The team that finishes 1st at the end of 22 rounds is declared the minor premier. The top 5 teams at the end of 22 rounds contest in a finals series conducted under the following format, with the winner of the grand final being crowned as the NPL NNSW Champions:
| Week 1 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qualifying Final (QF) | 2nd Placed Team | v | 3rd Placed Team | |
| Elimination Final (EF) Loser Eliminated | 4th Placed Team | v | 5th Placed Team | |
| 1st Placed Team | BYE | |||
| Week 2 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Major Semi-Final (MSF1) | 1st Placed Team | v | Winner QF | |
| Minor Semi-Final (MSF2) Loser Eliminated | Loser QF | v | Winner EF | |
| Week 3 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Preliminary Final (PF) Loser Eliminated | Loser MSF1 | v | Winner MSF2 | |
| Winner MSF1 | BYE | |||
From the 2024 season, there has been an re-introduction of promotion and relegation within NPL NNSWF and HIT Northern League One.
The following 12 clubs will compete in the National Premier Leagues Northern NSW for the 2024 season.
| Club | Location | Ground | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adamstown Rosebud | Adamstown | Adamstown Oval | 2,500 |
| Broadmeadow Magic | Broadmeadow | Magic Park | 3,500 |
| Charlestown Azzurri | Whitebridge | Lisle Carr Oval | 3,000 |
| Cooks Hill Utd | Newcastle West | Fearnley Dawes Athletic Centre | 750 |
| Edgeworth Eagles | Edgeworth | Jack McLaughlan Oval | 5,000 |
| Lake Macquarie City | Speers Point | Macquarie Field | 5,000 |
| Lambton Jaffas | Lambton | Arthur Edden Oval | 2,000 |
| Maitland FC | East Maitland | Cooks Square Park | 1,500 |
| New Lambton | New Lambton | Alder Park | 1,000 |
| Newcastle Olympic | Hamilton | Darling St Oval | 1,000 |
| Valentine | CB Complex Cahill Oval (Belmont) | 1,000 3,500 | |
| Weston Workers Bears | Weston | Rockwell Automation Park | 4,000 |
| Year | Premiers | Champions - GF Winners | GF Runners up | NPL Finals Representation | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2-0 | Weston Workers | Weston Workers - Quarter Finalist | ||||
| 2-0 | Hamilton Olympic | Edgeworth Eagles - Quarter Finalist | ||||
| 2-1 | Broadmeadow Magic | Edgeworth Eagles - Runners up | ||||
| 2-0 | Edgeworth Eagles | Edgeworth Eagles - Semi Finalist | ||||
| 3-0 | Edgeworth Eagles | Edgeworth Eagles - Quarter Finalist | ||||
| 2-0 | Maitland FC | Maitland FC - Semi Finalist | ||||
| Edgeworth Eagles | 1-0 | Maitland FC | — | |||
| Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia | — | |||||
| 1-0 | Maitland FC | — | ||||
| Lambton Jaffas | 2-1 | — | ||||
| Year | Premiership | Champions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Hamilton Olympic Warriors | ||
| 2000 | Hamilton Olympic Warriors | ||
| 2001 | |||
| 2002 | |||
| 2003 | Edgeworth Eagles | ||
| 2004 | Broadmeadow Magic | ||
| 2005 | Broadmeadow Magic | ||
| 2006 | |||
| 2007 | Hamilton Olympic Warriors | ||
| 2008 | Broadmeadow Magic | ||
| 2009 | Hamilton Olympic Warriors | ||
| 2011 | |||
| 2012 | |||
| Broadmeadow Magic |