2020-21 A-League Fixture revealed – every game, every stadium
The A-League fixture has been announced for the upcoming 2020/21 season, with Bankwest Stadium to host the opener on December 27 in a double-header with the W-League.
UPDATE: There have been fixture changes for the opening rounds due to the Covid situation in NSW. These fixture details have been updated on the A-League Fixture on Austadiums. The season will now commence on December 28 at GMHBA Stadium.
Hub-style fixturing has been abandoned for the upcoming season, with the exception of the Phoenix who’ll be based in Australia, while crowds will be back in the stands after much of last season was played inside closed stadiums.
With the introduction of new club Macarthur FC, the A-League expands to 156 regular-season games, with each club playing 26 games, before the finals series kicks-off.
15 stadiums around Australia are featured in the upcoming season, but that may grow with the venues for nine games listed as TBC.
Wellington Phoenix will base themselves in Wollongong for the upcoming season, playing their home games at the 23,000-capacity WIN Stadium. The venue has hosted A-League football just once previously, with a Sydney FC home game in front of 11,377 fans in 2015.
Campbelltown Stadium will become a regular venue as home of the Bulls, with their first home game on January 3 against the Mariners, while Brisbane Roar have confirmed their exit from Suncorp Stadium, with all 13 of their home games to be played at Dolphin Stadium in Redcliffe, north of Brisbane’s CBD.
As Western United wait for construction of their new stadium to commence, the club has at this stage scheduled three of their first four home games at Geelong’s GMHBA Stadium, and their third and final home game at Ballarat’s Mars Stadium. In the middle of these, eight home games are listed as TBC.
It has been reported Melbourne’s newest club had wanted to play six home games at AAMI Park, but home teams Melbourne Victory and City, who share the stadium with the Melbourne Storm and Rebels, were against the proposal.
Western United believe in the current coronavirus environment, AAMI Park represents a safer and more financially viable option than their original plan of using smaller grounds in the western suburbs, including Knights Stadium and Whitten Oval, which would require more investment to be made COVID-19 safe and to meet A-League standards.
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Sydney FC has ditched the Sydney Cricket Ground and will play their home games across at least four venues – with seven games at Jubilee Stadium, three at Leichhardt Oval, one each at Stadium Australia (formerly ANZ Stadium) and WIN Stadium, while one game is TBC.
Melbourne Victory will continue to spread their home games across two home venues, but will reduce their home games at Docklands, with just two games at Marvel Stadium.
It’s the first time the A-League and W-League seasons will commence on the same date, and double-headers will be a feature across the season. Western Sydney Wanderers will kick-off the season on December 27 against new rivals Macarthur FC at Bankwest Stadium, with the Wanderers W-League team facing Melbourne Victory prior to the A-League game.
Every A-League match will be broadcast live on Fox Sports, with every game able to be streamed live on Kayo Sports – new customers can sign up for a 14-day free trial. They’ll also broadcast two W-League matches per round, while ABCTV will televise one A-League and W-League match on FTA per week.
A festival of football begins with 18 matches played over eight days, including a W-League and A-League Grand Final rematch between Sydney FC and Melbourne City at Jubilee Stadium (relocated from ANZ Stadium) on December 30, and an F3 Derby (Central Coast Mariners v Newcastle Jets) on New Year’s Eve at Central Coast Stadium.
If Sydney FC, Perth Glory or Melbourne Victory advance beyond the group stages of the AFC Champions League, which they are currently competing in in Qatar, the draw will need to be amended. Perth won’t start their season until January 16 due to WA’s strict border controls.
Fans will once again be permitted to attend A-League matches, with restrictions continuing to ease around the country. As it stands, Queensland is allowing stadiums to be filled to 100% of their capacity, while NSW, ACT, WA & SA allows 50%, and Victoria are currently at 25% but that’s set to increase due to no active cases.
You can view the full round-by-round A-League fixture, not only for the upcoming season, but every season prior, here on Austadiums. Also view A-League matches integrated with other sports on stadium events pages and our new city pages. The W-League fixture will be revealed later this week.
