Tickets, fixtures, how to watch

The 2026/27 A-League Men season kicks off this week, and aleagues.com.au has everything you need to know ahead of the opening matchweek.

Will Auckland FC retain their Championship crown? Can Newcastle Jets challenge once again after their scintillating 2025/26 campaign? How do Western Sydney Wanderers bounce back after taking home the Wooden Spoon?

These are just some of the big questions heading into the 22nd season of the A-League Men competition.

In total there have been 84 new player signings, five clubs have new coaches, some of the most talented youngsters in Australia and New Zealand have signed their first professional contracts and a truck load of new kit designs will be on display come Matchweek 1.

So whether you want to find out who your club has signed, which exisiting players have inked new deals or you need to secure your tickets to the game simply read on below as aleagues.com.au has everything you need to know.

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What’s making news heading into season 2026/27?

Since Auckland FC’s Cam Howieson bagged the winner against Sydney FC in the 2025/26 Grand Final, PLENTY has happened.

The Black Knights have a new head coach, with Portuguese Pedro Moreira replacing A-Leagues legend Steve Corica, after he left the club to take up an opportunity in Japan.

After winning both the Australia Cup and Premiers Plate last season Mark Milligan’s Newcastle Jets will be hoping to go one better this season after they were defeated in the semi-finals. That said, Millsy’s young side will be juggling A-League Men and AFC Champions League Elite commitments this campaign, with their Asian participation coming as reward for winning the Premiership.

Also playing in Asian competition this season will be Adelaide United and Melbourne Victory, with both sides playing in the AFC Champions League Two following their respective second and fourth place finishes last season. Following their loss in the Australia Cup final, Victory will be hoping to impress domestically under new head coach Giovanni Savarese.

TRANSFER CENTRE: A-League Men 2026/27 Transfer Centre: Your club’s moves

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – OCTOBER 10: Victory Head coach Giovanni Savarese stands for the national anthem during the Australia Cup Final match between South Melbourne FC and Melbourne Victory FC at AAMI Park, on October 10, 2026 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Josh Chadwick/Getty Images)

Moreira and Savarese aren’t the only two new head coaches in the competition though, with Macarthur Bulls now coached by former Socceroos defender Sasa Ognenovski and Central Coast Mariners under the guidance of club legend John Hutchinson.

Furthermore, Sydney FC and Wellington Phoenix handed permanent deals to Patrick Kisnorbo and Chris Greenacre respectively after impressive ends to their respective seasons, whilst Ufuk Talay officially takes charge of the Wanderers after agreeing to join the club in the latter stages of the 2025/26 season.

When it comes to recruitment Melbourne City have certainly caught the eye, signing Socceroo Awer Mabil on a three-year deal to go alongside former Premier League midfielder Emiliano Marcondes and Costa Rican international Julio Cascante, whilst they’ve also handed midfielder Matthew Leckie a new deal.

CLICK HERE TO GET YOUR TICKETS TO THE 2026/27 A-LEAGUE MEN SEASON

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – AUGUST 12: Awer Mabil poses during a media opportunity at AAMI Park on August 12, 2026 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Morgan Hancock/Getty Images)

In other big signing news Ryan Fraser swapped the Wanderers for the Bulls, who also have Apostolos Stamatelopoulos leading the line, Sydney FC have bagged two-time Asian Champions League winner Takahiro Sekine and a 2025 Johnny Warren Medallist Nicolas Milanovic is back in the competition with his old side the Wanderers.

Speaking of which, the side from Western Sydney are now coached by former Sky Blues boss Ufuk Talay, with the Wanderers desperate to bounce back in a big way after a disastrous 2025/26 season saw the club take home the Wooden Spoon in both the men’s and the women’s competitions.

Another side looking to improve will be Brisbane Roar. Michael Valkanis’ side enjoyed an excellent start to the season but fell away in 2026, failing to win any of their final 12 matches of the campaign to finish second-last.

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When does it all get underway?

The 2026/27 A-League Men season kicks off on Friday, October 16, with games to be played on Friday, Saturday and Sunday across the opening weekend.

A small change to the league this season can be found in the terminology, with ‘Rounds’ now switching to ‘Matchweeks’.

Meanwhile Western United are officially no longer part of the competition after having their Club Participation Agreement terminated.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE FULL 2026/27 ISUZU UTE A-LEAGUE FIXTURE LIST

What’s happening in Matchweek 1?

It all gets underway with a blockbuster Sydney Derby on Friday night as fierce rivals Sydney FC and Western Sydney Wanderers go head-to-head at Allianz Stadium.

Saturday sees three big A-League Men clashes, kicking off in New Zealand as reigning Champions Auckland FC host Melbourne City at Go Media Stadium before Macarthur Bulls FC then welcome Perth Glory to Campbelltown Sports Stadium.

The action then comes to a head on Saturday night at polytec Stadium as last season’s Premiers Newcastle Jets head down the freeway to face arch-rivals Central Coast Mariners in an F3 Derby.

Matchweek 1 then wraps up on Sunday afternoon as Melbourne Victory fly across the ditch to take on Wellington Phoenix at Hnry Stadium.

Adelaide United’s home clash against Brisbane Roar was initially slated for Sunday afternoon at Coopers Stadium, however that game as now been rescheduled for a later date due to the Reds’ participation in the ACL Two.

FULL FIXTURE LIST: 2026/27 Isuzu UTE A-League season fixtures released

Derby dates and other notable fixtures

SYDNEY DERBY

Friday, October 16
Sydney FC v Western Sydney Wanderers (Allianz Stadium)

Saturday, January 30
Western Sydney Wanderers v Sydney FC (CommBank Stadum)

Saturday, April 3
Sydney FC v Western Sydney Wanderers (Allianz Stadium)

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE FULL 2026/27 ISUZU UTE A-LEAGUE FIXTURE LIST

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE FULL 2026/27 ISUZU UTE A-LEAGUE FIXTURE LIST

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE FULL 2026/27 ISUZU UTE A-LEAGUE FIXTURE LIST

Auckland FC: Lachlan Bayliss, Ronan Wynne, Daniel Normann, Aaron Calver, Marley Leuluai

Brisbane Roar: Marko Ilic, Joel King, Sabit Ngor, Tate Russell, Jacob Nasso, Nam Tae-hee, Emin Durakovic, Dimitri Valkanis, Tom Aldred, Virgiliu Postolachi, Tyrese Francois

BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA – OCTOBER 07: Joel King of the Roar poses during a media opportunity ahead of the A-League season at Suncorp Stadium, on October 07, 2026 in Brisbane, Australia. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images for A-Leagues)

Central Coast Mariners: Oliver O’Carroll, Noah McCann, Max Naylor, Luke Becvinovski, Alex Bolton, Stevan Rujak, Presley Ortiz, Gabriel Tilo, Daniel Scarlett, Rufai Abubakar, John-Kymani Gordon

Macarthur Bulls FC: Nathan Paull, Ben Gibson, Jing Reec, Jonathan Aspropotamitis, James Hilton, Kosta Grozos, Connor Pain, Kai Kennedy, Ryan Fraser, Tatsuki Nara, Musa Toure, Apostolos Stamatelopoulos, Dylan Rose

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – OCTOBER 06: Connor Pain of Macarthur Bulls speaks to the media during a media opportunity ahead of the A-League season at Wentworth Park Soccer Fields on October 06, 2026 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Darrian Traynor/Getty Images)

Melbourne City: Quinn MacNicol, Macklin Freke, Matheus Rossetto (loan), Awer Mabil, Emiliano Marcondes, Julio Cascante

Melbourne Victory: Harry Shillington, Harrison Sawyer, Franco Lino (Loan), Phillip Ziereis, Tom Lockyer, Guillermo May

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – OCTOBER 06: Matthew Leckie of Melbourne City and Philipp Ziereis of Melbourne Victory pose during a media opportunity ahead of the A-League season at Fawkner Park, on October 06, 2026 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)

Newcastle Jets: Nikos Vergos, Zane Schreiber, Patrick Wood, Joe Lolley, Will Kennedy, Alex Grant, Julian Recchia

Perth Glory: Matthew Dench, Lucas Scicluna, Calem Nieuwenhof (loan), Henry Hore, Lachlan Jackson, Daniel Solsky, Cher Deng, Matt Ellis, Pieter Jacobsz

PERTH, AUSTRALIA – OCTOBER 06: Lachlan Jackson and Tadi Kuzamba pose for a photo during a media opportunity ahead of the A-League season at Perth Glory HQ on October 06, 2026 in Perth, Australia. (Photo by Janelle St Pierre/Getty Images for A-Leagues)

Sydney FC: Jake Hollman, Gabriel Popovic, Takahiro Sekine, Oriola Sunday, James Overy, Jacob Farrell

Wellington Phoenix: James McGarry, Henry Gray, Rafael Duran, Riley Bidois, Max Anderson, Bryce Duke, Walter Scott

Western Sydney Wanderers: Ufuk Talay (Head Coach), Atiya Waraga, Miguel Di Pizio, Liam Gillion, Panashe Madanha, German Ferreyra, Nicolas Milanovic

WELLINGTON, NEW ZEALAND – OCTOBER 07: Rafael Durán looks on during a Wellington Phoenix men’s A-League squad training session at NZCIS on October 07, 2026 in Wellington, New Zealand. (Photo by Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images for A-Leagues)

Departures

Adelaide United: Stefan Mauk, Panashe Madanha, Luka Jovanovic
Auckland FC: Jesse Randall (Dundee United), Finn McKenlay, James Hilton, Adama Coulibaly, Guillermo May, Dan Hall, Steve Corica (Head Coach), Liam Gillion, Marlee Francois, Jake Girdwood-Reich, Louis Verstraete
Brisbane Roar: Ben Warland, Austin Ludwik, Antonee Burke-Gilroy, Michael Ruhs, Ben Halloran, Chris Long, Quinn MacNicol and Jacob Brazete, Marius Lode, Youstin Salas, Nick D’Agostino, Giorgios Vrakas, Sam Klein, Henry Hore, Macklin Freke, Matthew Dench, Jay O’Shea
Central Coast Mariners: Brad Tapp, Nathan Paull, Miguel Di Pizio, Christian Theoharous, James Donachie, Sabit Ngor, Nathanael Blair, Will Kennedy, Logan Sambrook, Kaito Taniguchi, Seth Clark, Jacob Nasso, Alfie McCalmont
Macarthur Bulls FC: Harrison Sawyer, Joshua Damevski, Frans Deli, Sime Grzan, Ji Dong-won, Matt Jurman, Walter Scott, Rafael Duran, Kristian Popovic, Luke Brattan, Chris Ikonomidis, Tomislav Uskok, Filip Kurto, Mitch Duke, Anthony Caceres, Ali El-Sabeh (Loan), Trypp McLachlan (Loan)
Melbourne City: German Ferreyra, Andreas Kuen, Samuel Souprayen, Daniel Arzani, Ryan Teague, Marcus Younis, Zane Schreiber, Harry Shillington, Emin Durakovic, Patrick Beach, Elbasan Rashani
Melbourne Victory: Adama Traore, Lachlan Jackson, Reno Piscopo, Nikos Vergos, Jing Reec, Emre Saglam, Joshua Rawlins (Dundee United), Arthur Diles (Head Coach) Roderick Miranda, Sebastian Esposito, Nishan Velupillay, Juan Mata
Newcastle Jets: Lachie Rose (Dundee United) Mark Natta, Kota Mizunuma, Clayton Taylor, Lachlan Bayliss, Ben Gibson, Noah James, Lucas Scicluna, Ben van Dorssen, Christian Bracco, Kosta Grozos, Eli Adams, Richard Nkomo
Perth Glory: Josh Risdon (Retired), Joel Anasmo, Mark Birighitti, Cameron Cook, Zach Lisolajski, Kaelan Majekodunmi, Nicholas Pennington, Luca Tevere, Lachie Wales, Callum Timmins, Khoa Ngo, Adam Taggart, Arion Sulemani
Sydney FC: Joe Lolley, Joel King, Patrick Wood, Ahmet Arslan, Corey Hollman, Apostolos Stamatelopoulos, Piero Quispe, Alex Grant, Paul Okon-Engstler, Zac De Jesus (Loan), Akol Akon (departing end of season)
Wellington Phoenix: Josh Oluwayemi, Paulo Retre, Carlo Armiento, Manjrekar James, Dan Edwards, Luke Supyk, Nikola Mileusnic, Ifeanyi Eze, Tim Payne, Gabriel Sloane-Rodrigues, Sarpeet Singh, Sander Kartum, Ramy Najjarine
Western Sydney Wanderers: Aidan Simmons, Josh Brillante, Kosta Barbarouses, Bozhidar Kraev, Phillip Cancar, Jacob Farrell, Ruon Tongyik, Alou Kuol 

Full Squads

Click on the below links to get a full list of who is in YOUR club’s squad this season:

Adelaide United
Auckland FC
Brisbane Roar
Central Coast Mariners
Macarthur Bulls FC
Melbourne City
Melbourne Victory
Newcastle Jets
Perth Glory
Sydney FC
Wellington Phoenix
Western Sydney Wanderers

In the Hot Seat

There are FIVE new coaches in the A-League Men this season.

A new era begins in Auckland as the reigning Champions will take to the field under the stewardship of Portuguese Head Coach Pedro Moreira. Central Coast Mariners icon John Hutchinson is now back at the club, but this time as a coach, as he takes the reigns following the departure of ex-boss, Warren Moon.

There’s also a new sheriff in town in Sydney’s South West, with former Socceroo Sasa Ognenovski now in charge of Macarthur Bulls following the club’s decision to part ways with Mile Sterjovski.

Melbourne Victory will be led by Giovanni Savarese this coming campaign, with the Venezuelan head coach coming within a penalty kick of winning silverware at the first time of asking as Victory were beaten by South Melbourne FC in the Australia Cup Final.

And finally, the Ufuk Talay A-League Men era officially starts at Western Sydney Wanderers on Friday, October 16, with the former Sydney FC boss facing his old side in Matchweek 1 of the new campaign after joining the Wanderers at the back end of last season.

New Western Sydney Wanderers Head Coach Ufuk Talay

Isuzu UTE A-League coaches for 2026/27

• Adelaide United: Airton Andrioli
• Auckland FC: Pedro Moreira
• Brisbane Roar: Michael Valkanis
• Central Coast: John Hutchinson
• Macarthur FC: Sasa Ognenovski
• Melbourne City: Aurelio Vidmar
• Melbourne Victory: Giovanni Savarese
• Newcastle Jets: Mark Milligan
• Perth Glory: Adam Griffiths
• Sydney FC: Patrick Kisnorbo
• Wellington Phoenix: Chris Greenacre
• Western Sydney Wanderers: Ufuk Talay

New Threads

New season means new kits, and there will be some absolute crackers on display this coming season!

For a look at all the new threads, click on the link below.

A-LEAGUES KITS: Every team’s new jerseys for the 2026/27 season

Things to read and watch

Catch up with aleagues.com.au’s comprehensive pre-season coverage, including player and coach interviews, highlights reels, pre-season content and much, much more!

Feature Reads

Auckland: REVEALED: Cosgrove CLEARED to face City in season opener & ready to embrace ‘villain’ tag
Adelaide: The beautiful challenge awaiting ‘Aussie boy’ Muñiz – and how Mata, Villa and Morata fit in
Brisbane: Roar legend opens up over emotional return: ‘Bring me home’
Central Coast: Hutchinson reveals major challenge of pre-season after ‘unacceptable’ displays
Macarthur: Sharpshooter’s simple message after sealing A-Leagues return: “Just cross the ball!”
Melbourne City: Four Socceroos, a World Cup winner and the call that helped bring Danish ace to City
Newcastle: Clough: ACL hammering a ‘great lesson’ as Jets 2.0 prepare for Premiership defence
Perth: Glory star Lawrence ready to play ‘big part’ after injury nightmare: ‘I couldn’t run’
Sydney: Aussie details tumultuous UK stint that killed his desire to play: ‘You don’t fit’
Wellington: McGarry drawing on title experience to help regain Kiwi throne and silence noisy neighbours
Wanderers: Socceroo’s brutal take on Wooden Spoon campaign and why things are now different