45-801: The Football Victoria Community Shield (formerly the Football Federation Victoria Community Shield) is the annual soccer match between the winners of the National Premier Leagues Victoria and the Dockerty Cup in the previous season. Serving as a " curtain raiser " in February ahead of the start of the season, it is considered to be a Super cup within the Victorian football league system . Organised by Football Victoria ,
90-507: A larger support base around Melbourne . On the field, the squad's performances slightly improved in finishing third last. However, with a stronger fan base not developing fast enough for the federations liking, and in a greater attempt to remove ethnicism from the sport as a whole, the federation decided to remove the Zebras and Heidelberg United from the 1995–96 season at late notice. Outraged, both clubs obtained court injunctions to prevent
135-548: A lineage to the Brunswick Zebras Football Club and all of its achievements prior to the unfortunate events of 1996. In 2003, under then president John Lewis, the club formed its first ever senior women's team. Coached by Paul Connolly, the team entered the Victorian state league division 3 north-west conference. In 2006, the club won its first senior women's premiership, with Connolly's team winning
180-561: A third division was added and the second division was no longer ran by two zones (East and West). From 2024 onwards, the second and third divisions were moved from the NPL Victoria system to the Victoria Premier League system leaving only the top division of NPL Victoria. Brunswick Juventus Brunswick Zebras Football Club is an Australian semi-professional association football (soccer) club that
225-449: A win , one point for a draw and no points for a loss. The clubs are ranked first based on the number of points acquired during the season. If two teams have an equal number of points, they are separated firstly by goal difference and then the number of goals scored, calculated across all matches. The Rules of Competition provide head-to-head aggregate and head-to-head away goals as further tiebreakers if necessary. The team ranked first at
270-542: Is a semi-professional soccer league in Victoria , Australia . The league is a part of the National Premier Leagues , and is the highest level within the Victorian soccer league system , serving jointly as the second tier within the overall Australian pyramid . Administered by Football Victoria , NPL Victoria is the latest iteration of first division competitions in the state. Historically known as
315-423: Is based in the northern Melbourne suburb of Brunswick East . Nicknamed the 'Zebras', the club fields both senior and reserves teams for men & women, and operates a junior academy under license from Football Victoria . For the 2019 Football Victoria season , the senior men finished seventh of the state league fourth division , and the senior women were premiers of the state league third division, both in
360-467: Is staged during the Australian winter, running from February to September. The league combines aspects of both the traditional European-style round-robin and Australian-style finals series within its competition format. The regular season consists of a double round-robin . Each club plays every other club twice, once at home and once away, for a total of 26 matches. Teams receive three points for
405-545: The Dockerty Cup winner in the FV Community Shield . The league commenced as the Victorian Soccer League in 1909 with Carlton United being the first champions. It has run continuously except for a three season postponement from 1916 to 1918 owing to World War I. After 1945 the league, like fellow state competitions around the country, received a massive boost in numbers and quality with
450-530: The Premier Division and Division 1 . The Premier Division was a single league season, whilst Division 1 separated by two zone leagues (East and West) and the winners qualifying for a Grand Final between the two Division 1 Premiers to determine the Champions. The leagues were renamed with the Premier Division becoming Division 1 , and Division 1 becoming Division 2 . In 2020,
495-706: The Victorian State League and later as the Victorian Premier League , the league was first founded in 1908 as the Victorian Amateur League and would soon become the Victorian First Division . It adopted its current branding in 2014, following Football Federation Australia 's 2012 National Competition Review. NPL Victoria is contested by 14 clubs. Running from February to September each year,
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#1732801488779540-477: The 'Zebras' group would merge with Italian backed Thomastown Devils to become ' Thomastown Zebras ', to also compete in the premier league. In 2000, the two clubs would re-merge to create the 'Bulleen Zebras', and later the Moreland Zebras in 2009. Both Moreland and Whittlesea Ranges , now both playing in the National Premier Leagues Victoria 2 , Victoria's second tier of state soccer, disputedly claim
585-543: The 2005 season when Vodafone became major naming rights sponsors, with the competition being renamed the Vodafone Cup. The 2005 season initially saw crowds attending in record numbers to witness the return of old derbies such as that between South Melbourne and Heidelberg United , but with the formation of the A-League filling the void of a national domestic league, 2006 saw a sharp decline in attendances. The end of
630-476: The 2006 season also witnessed a controversial finish to the relegation battle. With three teams finishing on 30 points, Sunshine George Cross were relegated on goal difference. However, a post-season appeal to the tribunal on the grounds that Essendon Royals had fielded a suspended player (Ilcho Mladenovski in round 24) saw the Royals deducted a point and relegated. Ultimately, both clubs reprised their position in
675-410: The 2025 season, the three bottom clubs at the conclusion of each season are automatically relegated. From VPL 1, the winners and runners-up are automatically promoted to NPL Victoria, with a third club promoted via a playoff between the clubs finishing 3rd through 6th for the season in that league. The following clubs will take part in the 2025 NPL Victoria season: The league ran through two divisions;
720-626: The FV Community Shield also has a focus on raising proceeds for various charity and community-based initiatives. The 2015 inaugural edition partnered with World Vision 's "One Goal" program, whilst the 2019 edition was held in support of the #SaveHakeem campaign, seeking to free refugee and Pascoe Vale FC player Hakeem al-Araibi from detention in Thailand. The FFV Community Shield was first announced in January 2015. The first match
765-517: The Italian club . The decision to name the club Juventus was due to the agreement of political neutrality by the founding members as the club was partly established remnants of several smaller clubs in Melbourne , including Savoia that was founded in the early 1930s, and is believed to have been Victoria's first Italian sporting club. The first competitive match was played on 16 April 1949, being
810-556: The Victorian Premier League expected to be rebranded for the 2014 season. Although Football Federation Victoria's initial proposal was halted with the announcement of a deferral in November 2013 after several clubs objected to the process for selecting team. However, by December 2013, a resolution was reached whereby Victorian teams would participate in the 2014 season. NPL Victoria comprises 14 teams. The season
855-599: The Victorian State League. From 1962 until 1976 the league was largely dominated by South Melbourne Hellas and Footscray JUST , which won 11 titles between them. With creation of the National Soccer League (NSL) in 1977, the league gradually lost most of its stronger clubs, a trend that reached its peak between 1984 and 1986, when the NSL used a split conference system. After 1987, however,
900-520: The Victorian state system. With two non-competitive seasons in the national league, the senior team commenced 1989 in the state league where they would finish second, and would repeat this feat in 1990. After its last first place finish at the highest state level in 1977, the club would break its twenty one year gap, finishing ahead of second-placed and fellow Italian backed club Bulleen by ten goals after being equal on thirty-eight points. Another competitive season in 1993 saw Brunswick be re-admitted to
945-401: The club and the senior men win its first premiership in twenty years, finishing first in the seventh tier state league . With the club seeing itself as 'a sports club with a social purpose', the 2016 season saw the club have 500 registered players, 200 of which were female. In 2019, one of the club's women's senior teams finished first in the state tier four league northern conference. It was
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#1732801488779990-435: The club being split into three groups. The 'Brunswick' group that contained the original Australian Business Number remained based at Sumner park, a tenancy that continues as of 2019. The 'Juventus' group would merge with fellow Italian backed clubs Box Hill , Bulleen , and Clayton to create ' Bulleen Inter Kings ', taking with it the license to compete in the premier league for the 1997 season. The third group, referred to as
1035-402: The club name from 'Juventus' to 'Brunswick United Juventus' in 1980. However, they generally continued to be called Brunswick Juventus. With financial stability being regained in the early 1980s, the team finished third in both 1982 and 1983. When the national federation decided to implement a geographical conference system for the 1984 season to reduce travel expenses, Brunswick applied for
1080-567: The club which ushered in the European migrant dominance of Victorian soccer which remains to the present. In the 1960s, while the club remained more than competitive, the rise of other migrant clubs, principally the Greek backed South Melbourne and the Yugoslav backed Footscray JUST , saw this dominance ended and the club waited until 1970 to add to its trophies. The club largely struggled in
1125-554: The concept of a youth development squad was reintroduced in 2010 with the National Training Centre team playing in midweek fixtures throughout the season but not for competition points. In 2011 the team, mostly comprising players from the Melbourne Victory youth squad, was renamed Victorian Training Centre Football and was eligible to score competition points for its matches but ineligible to qualify for
1170-555: The division 3 north-west title ahead of second-placed Whittlesea Stallions. The team was promoted to division 2 north-west for the 2007 season. In 2007, after a ten-year hiatus, the senior men's team were granted a license to compete in state tier seven league , then known as 'Provisional League Division 3' in the North-West conference. In 2008, the club renamed itself for a fifth time to its present name of 'Brunswick Zebras Football Club' and updated its emblem. The 2011 season saw
1215-404: The division below, Victoria Premier League 1 . In the 2024 season, Football Victoria included a provision that relegation in the 2024 season would be suspended if a National Second Division commences in 2025; instead assigning two relegation spots in the 2025 season. The league premier qualifies as Victoria's representative in the national finals series , whilst the champion plays against
1260-445: The end of the regular season is termed the premiers, and becomes Victoria's entry for the national NPL finals . At the conclusion of the regular season, the six highest-ranked clubs qualify for the (Victorian) finals series. The finals take place over three weeks, with teams entering the series based on their respective finishes in the regular season. The teams ranked 3–6 enter at the elimination finals stage. The third-ranked team plays
1305-418: The finals series or be relegated. On 15 September 2013, Victoria Police arrested up to ten people, including Southern Stars FC players David Obaze, Nick McKoy and Joe Woolley as well as the coach, Zaya Younan, for allegations of match fixing. They are expected to be charged with corrupting the outcome of betting. In early 2013, it was announced that Victoria would join the National Premier Leagues , with
1350-623: The first round of the Victorian third tier league, that is now the Victorian State League Division 1 as of 2019. Juventus defeated Brighton SC 8-2 away, in what would be the beginning of a thirteen game winning streak that would ultimately help the club finish second and be promoted at the season's conclusion. Brunswick Juventus became the dominant side in Victoria in the 1950s, winning six titles, including five consecutive titles from 1952 to 1956, and were arguably
1395-496: The following season's competition with the inclusion of the Australian Institute of Sport evening out the numbers to 16, and as the first part of reforms to the competition set to be brought about in 2008. The Australian Institute of Sport experiment was largely derided by the local clubs, and after their removal from the competition in 2008, the league reverted to 12 teams and a Top 5 Finals-Series in 2009. However,
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1440-475: The league during the 1970s due to financial difficulty after their 1970 championship and Dockerty Cup victory. With the exception of finishing third in 1977, the team would finish no higher than mid-table and narrowly avoided relegation multiple times. though there were would be another four Dockerty Cup wins during this time. As a result, the club decided not to pursue membership of the newly established National Soccer League in 1977 , and would later change
1485-456: The league rebranded again to become the Victorian Premier League and the first finals to determine the champions were staged in 1992, won by the newly promoted North Geelong . Following the demise of the NSL in 2004, the remaining two Victorian NSL teams Melbourne Knights and South Melbourne were granted permission to play in the VPL season of 2005. The league received a major boost at the start of
1530-473: The league season going ahead. Eventually, the injunction was lifted in the Federal Court of Australia to allow the league to start, albeit several weeks late. Following dismissal from the national league, the club was allowed to return to the state league system's first tier league for a second time. It was at this time however that the club had developed dissension among its members, that resulted in
1575-402: The league sees teams play 26 regular season fixtures, once at home and once away against each other club. The first-placed team at the conclusion of the regular season is termed the "premier". The top six-placed clubs then play a knock-out finals series , with the winner becoming the "champion". As of the 2025 season, the three bottom-placed teams at the conclusion of the season are relegated to
1620-399: The league slowly started regaining clubs, firstly those discarded when the conference system experiment was abandoned and later when clubs became permanently relegated by the NSL to their respective state leagues. The dominant side during the years from 1977 to 2004 was Green Gully , who won six titles during this period, despite also missing the years 1984–1986 from being in the NSL. In 1991
1665-465: The name 'Brunswick Juventus', the club participated in the National Soccer League from 1984 to 1988 , where they would be national champions in 1985 and southern conference premiers in 1986 . The club again participated in the national competition for the 1993–94 and 1994–95 seasons under the names 'Brunswick Pumas' and 'Melbourne Zebras' respectively. The club was established by Melbourne's Italian community in 1948 as 'Juventus', named after
1710-414: The national grand final. In 1986 Brunswick finished first on the southern conference table, but consecutive losses to Adelaide City and Footscray JUST in the conference play-offs ended their season and was the last season in which they were to be finals competitive at national league level. Finishing eighth and thirteenth respectively in the 1987 and 1988 seasons saw Brunswick be relegated back to
1755-418: The national league for the 1993–94 season , changing its name to 'Brunswick Pumas' in accordance with federation's ruling of removing ethnicism from club names. The return to the national wouldn't be as successful as the clubs first stint, with the pumas finishing second last. The season after, the club would change its name again for the fourth time in its history to 'Melbourne Zebras' in an attempt to gain
1800-479: The northern conferences. To date, the club have been national champions and premiers on one occasion each, Victorian state league premiers on eight occasions, state cup winners on six occasions, and winners of various lower state competitions throughout its existence. The club was founded in 1948 as 'Juventus' by the Italian community of Melbourne and operates from the original clubrooms at Sumner Park. Under
1845-491: The post-war influx of European migrants, whose dominance was established so effectively that no club which had won the title before 1952, Juventus ' first title, has won one since. Juventus would go on to dominate the league in the 1950s, winning six titles, including five in a row from 1952 to 1956. In 1958, after the Victorian Amateur Soccer Federation was formed, the league became known as
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1890-412: The semi-finals. The winner of the grand final is crowned the champions. As all finals matches require a winner, they are all knock-out fixtures . If a draw occurs at the end of normal time, 30 minutes of extra time are played. A penalty shoot-out is played if the teams are still drawn. NPL Victoria also operates a system of promotion and relegation with the division immediately below, VPL 1 . As of
1935-402: The sixth-ranked team, whilst the fourth-ranked team plays the fifth-ranked one. The two winners of the elimination finals meet the teams ranked 1 and 2 in the semi-finals. The premier in the regular season plays the lower-ranked qualifier from the elimination finals, whilst the runner-up plays the higher-ranked qualifier. The finals conclude with the grand final , played between the two winners of
1980-473: The southern conference and were accepted, becoming the first Italian backed Melbourne club to compete at a national level. Brunswick would reach the finals in their debut season, but it would be the 1985 season that would see the club peak in its glory. Brunswick finished second on the southern ladder but would defeat Heidelberg United , South Melbourne and Preston in the southern conference play-offs before eventually defeating Sydney City over two legs in
2025-708: Was held that year in support of World Vision's One Goal program, whose aims are to leverage the power of football to tackle malnutrition in Asia and Australia. A women's FFV Community Shield commenced in 2017, featuring the winner of the Team App Cup and the NPL Victoria Women competition. This article about an Australian football competition is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . National Premier Leagues Victoria The National Premier Leagues Victoria , commonly known as NPL Victoria ,
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