What are the Australian Football Rankings?
Despite the launch of the Australian Championship, there is still plenty of speculation regarding each state's strength and how strong their NPL is. We are here to settle the debate with the Australian Football Rankings (AFR). The AFR is an unofficial ranking system, updated weekly where possible, to track the performance and give a visual idea of where they sit in the Australian footballing landscape.
Think of us as the Australian club football version of the FIFA World Rankings, and the formula we used is heavily based on what they use. It is as follows:
FORMULA FOR MATCHES
P = Pb + I ( W + We )
P = Points After | P = Points Before | I = Match Importance | W = Team Result (win = 1, draw = 0.5, loss = 0) | We = Expected Result
We (Expected Result) = HOME TEAM (We = 1 / ( 10 ^ ( ( O - ( T + Ha ) ) / R ) + 1 )) | AWAY TEAM (We = 1 / ( 10 ^ ( ( ( O + Ha ) + T ) / R ) + 1 ))
O = Opponent points before | T = Team points before | Ha = Home Advantage (80) | c = Range (700)
MATCH IMPORTANCE
Each match has its own importance. The more important the match, the more points are exchanged.
League match = 10
League Finals match = 20*
Association Cup match (before semi) = 10*
Association Cup match (semi and final) = 20*
Australia Cup match (playoff) = 10*
Australia Cup match (before quarters) = 30*
Australia Cup match (quarters, semi and final) = 40*
A-League finals match = 30*
Australian Championship match (before knockouts) = 20
Australian Championship match (knockouts) = 30*
*Indicates that losers are not penalised points
How were the original rankings made?
The original rankings were based on the final game of the 2025 National Premier League season. We split the calculation of the ranking between each association and gave each association a range of strength to distribute among the clubs in that particular association.
Each team was given an average weighted position on their last three finishing positions in their respective associations (2025 = 0.55, 2024 = 0.35, and 2023 = 0.1).
For example:
Preston Lions finished 5th in NPL 2025, 2nd in VPL 2024, and 8th in VPL 2023. They were given an initial points total of 1646.34 (42nd).
Whereas Green Gully finished 8th in NPL in 2025, 12th in NPL in 2024, and 7th in NPL in 2023. They were given a points total of 1661.71 (41st).
| Association and Leagues Considered | Range (Strength) Given |
|---|---|
| A-League | 2100-1800 |
| Victoria NPL, VPL1, VPL2 - 42 teams | 1800-1100 |
| New South Wales NPL, L1, L2 - 48 teams | 1790-1000 |
| Queensland NPL, FQPL, FQPL2 - 36 teams | 1750-900 |
| South Australia NPL, SL1, SL2N, SL2S - 40 teams | 1730-700 |
| Western Australia NPL, SL1, SL2 - 36 teams | 1710-750 |
| Northern NSW NPL, NL1, ZL1 - 34 teams | 1700-500 |
| Australian Capital Territory NPL, CPL - 16 teams | 1600-800 |
| Tasmania NPL - 8 teams | 1500-1100 |
| Northern Territory NPL - 8 teams | 1100-700 |
The strength given to each association was based on subjective merit of each league as there is no objective data to compare each association. However, the purpose and process of the ranking and formula is designed to give the best indicator of each teams position in Australian football, so regardless of the initial rankings, throughout the season a team will find their true place in the ranking.
When will more leagues be added?
| League Added | Date |
|---|---|
| Victoria State League 1 | 25 October 2025 |
More leagues will be added depending on their workload. The process involves a lot of data entry, so the more the community helps, the easier it will become, and more leagues will be added. The next leagues to be added will be discretionary and based on the availability of data, strength of league and community preference.
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