Australia A-League Summary

Seasons run from October to May and include a 27-round regular season and an end-of-season finals series playoff tournament involving the highest-placed teams, culminating in a grand final match. The winner of the regular season tournament is dubbed premier and the winner of the grand final is 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. The A-Leagues non-standard terminology is reflective of the increased prestige associated with winning the regular season in association football compared to other football codes in Australia.
Successful A-League clubs gain qualification into the continental competition, the Asian Football Confederation Champions League (ACL) also known as \"AFC Champions League\". Similar to the United States and Canadas Major League Soccer, as well as other professional sports leagues in both Australia and in North America, Australias A-League does not practice promotion and relegation, unlike various football leagues in Europe.