Sydney FC is the most widely supported A-League club ahead of the Brisbane Roar and Melbourne Victory
New research from Roy Morgan shows Sydney FC topping the 2023 Roy Morgan A-League club supporter ladder with 693,000 fans, virtually unchanged on a year ago, and almost 100,000 more fans than any other club in the league.
Sydney FC has been the most successful club in the A-League Men winning 5 Championships including winning two out of the last five in 2018-19 and 2019-20.
There’s a close contest for second place between the Brisbane Roar and Melbourne Victory. The Roar has 595,000 supporters, an increase of 58,000 (+10.6%) on a year ago – the largest numerical increase of any club, and the Melbourne Victory has 590,000 supporters, an increase of 30,000 (+5.5%) on a year ago.
The Victory have been the second most successful club in the A-League Men winning 4 Championships with their most recent win in the 2017-18 season just ahead of the Roar that have won 3 A-League Men Championships but have not tasted success for nearly a decade since winning in 2013/14.
The current A-League Men Champions Central Coast Mariners increased their support by 5,000 (+3%) in the last year to 177,000 and have more than doubled their support since the low of 2020 (84,000). The Mariners won their first Championship in a decade during the first week of June.
A-League Club Supporter Ladder 2023
Over 3.8 million Australians now support an A-League club, up almost 1 million on 2019
Support for the A-League as a whole has increased almost 200,000 (+5.4%) from a year ago and is up 990,000 (+35.1%) on four years ago.
Since 2019 two new clubs have joined the A-League Men although neither club yet enjoys widespread support. Western United joined the A-League Men for the 2019-20 season and is now has 66,000 supporters and won its first Championship just over a year ago in the 2021-22 season. Macarthur FC joined the A-League Men for the 2020-21 season and now has 69,000 supporters.
In total, almost 1.6 million Australians (7.4%) watch the A-League on TV. However, a much larger 4.6 million (21.6%) have watched any soccer match on TV.
This large audience which includes 3.7 million (17.2%) who watched at least part of the FIFA World Cup – held in Qatar in November and December 2022. This means a significant untapped market of around 3 million Australians is available for the A-League, in the shape of those who exclusively watch international leagues or international tournaments such as the FIFA World Cup.
A look at who engages with the A-League shows TV viewership is highest for the youngest generation, Generation Alpha*, now aged 14-17, at 8.9%, ahead of Gen X (8.4%), Millennials (7.5%) and Baby Boomers (7.0%). When it comes to attending a soccer match however, Millennials lead the way at 6.0%, followed by Generation Alpha at 5.3%.
Roy Morgan Industry Communications Director Julian McCrann says:
“An impressive 11 out of 12 A-League clubs have increased their supporter bases over the last year as Australia emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic. Over 3.8 million Australians now profess support for an A-League club, an increase of almost 200,000 (+5.4%) from a year ago. Even more impressively, support for A-League clubs has increased by 990,000 (+35.1%) from 2019.
“Unsurprisingly, the three most widely supported clubs are the three most successful clubs located in Australia’s three largest cities of Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. Sydney FC is once again out in front with 693,000 supporters, about 100,000 in front of both the Brisbane Roar on 595,000 and Melbourne Victory with 590,000 supporters.
“Sydney FC has won five A-League Men’s Championships (2006, 2010, 2017, 2019 & 2020) ahead of Melbourne Victory with four (2007, 2009, 2015 & 2018) and Brisbane Roar in a clear third place with three (2011, 2012 & 2014).
“Two clubs to have increased their supporter bases the most rapidly in recent year played off in early June for this year’s A-League Men’s Championship – Central Coast Mariners and Melbourne City.
“The Central Coast Mariners recently won their first A-League Men’s Championship in a decade and over the last three years have more than doubled their support base – up from 84,000 in 2020 to 177,000 now – an increase of 93,000 (+110.7%). In further good news for the club the Central Coast Mariners are due to re-join the A-League Women’s later this year after Australia and New Zealand host the much-anticipated FIFA Women’s World Cup – due to begin later next month in July.
“Melbourne City have also experienced a stunning increase in support in recent years with support for the club more than doubling from 140,000 in 2020 to 281,000 today – an increase of 141,000 (+100.7%) from three years ago. During this period the club has won its first three A-League Men’s Premierships, for seasons 2020-21, 2021-22 and 2022-23, and its first and only Championship in 2021. Clearly the club’s success during recent years has led to a rapid rise in support since 2020.
“Looking ahead, the FIFA Women’s World Cup is coming to Australia in July and August and the tournament provides a huge opportunity for the game to grow its profile in Australia by attracting the support of new fans – both women and men.
“The Matildas are one of Australia’s most popular national sporting teams and are one of the favourites to lift the trophy in August. A Matildas victory would be the first by a senior Australian football team in a World Cup.
“The challenge for A-League clubs is to build on the expected success of the FIFA Women’s World Cup during the next few months and find a way to connect with the millions of Australians who love their football but don’t presently engage with the A-League – many of whom who are likely to be paying significant attention to the fate of the Matildas at next month’s World Cup.”
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*Roy Morgan Generations
Each generation denotes a specified period of 15 years in which people were born. The years that relate to each generation are as follows: Pre-Boomers (born pre-1946); Baby Boomers (born 1946-1960); Generation X (born 1961 - 1975); Millennials (born 1976 - 1990); Generation Z (born 1991 - 2005) and Generation Alpha (born 2006-2009+).
In mid-2023 these generations correspond to the following ages: Pre-Boomers (76+yrs old); Baby Boomers (62-76yrs old); Generation X (47-62yrs old); Millennials (32-47yrs old); Generation Z (17-32yrs old) and Generation Alpha (14-17yrs old).
Margin of Error
The margin of error to be allowed for in any estimate depends mainly on the number of interviews on which it is based. Margin of error gives indications of the likely range within which estimates would be 95% likely to fall, expressed as the number of percentage points above or below the actual estimate. Allowance for design effects (such as stratification and weighting) should be made as appropriate.
| Sample Size | Percentage Estimate |
| 40% – 60% | 25% or 75% | 10% or 90% | 5% or 95% | |
| 1,000 | ±3.0 | ±2.7 | ±1.9 | ±1.3 |
| 5,000 | ±1.4 | ±1.2 | ±0.8 | ±0.6 |
| 7,500 | ±1.1 | ±1.0 | ±0.7 | ±0.5 |
| 10,000 | ±1.0 | ±0.9 | ±0.6 | ±0.4 |
| 20,000 | ±0.7 | ±0.6 | ±0.4 | ±0.3 |
| 50,000 | ±0.4 | ±0.4 | ±0.3 | ±0.2 |
