A-Leagues Confirms Updated Rules And Regulations For Season 2024/25

17 October, 2024: Following a thorough review and consultation process, the Australian Professional Leagues (APL) has today confirmed the key rules and regulations updates ahead of the 2024/25 A-Leagues season.

The competition regulations and policies are reviewed annually to ensure they reflect the changing needs of the professional game in line with international and local standards, and enable the most compelling product on the pitch. As part of the annual off-season review, the APL consulted with all key stakeholders including fans via the Fan Representative Group (FRG), clubs and football stakeholders including the PFA and Football Australia.

The final competition regulations and policies for the 2024/25 season will be uploaded to aleagues.com.au, with some of the notable changes outlined below.

Ladder Sorting Rules

In the off-season prior to season 2023/24, the APL increased its ladder sorting rules from a 5-step to an 11-step criteria to reduce the chance of clubs being tied at the end of the regular season - as part of this certain criteria were also reordered.

Following further consultation this off-season with clubs and fans via the FRG, the top three criteria have been updated ahead of season 2024/25, with the order of the remaining eight separators remaining unchanged from last season.

If two or more Clubs are level on points accumulated, the following 11 step criteria will be applied, in order, until all Clubs can be separated and ranked:

1. Highest goal difference - last season ranked second

2. Highest number of goals scored - last season ranked third

3. Total number of wins - last season ranked first

4. Highest number of points accumulated in Matches between the Clubs concerned; 5. Highest goal difference in Matches between the Clubs concerned;

6. Lowest number of Fair Play Points accumulated;

7. Away goals difference (being the number of goals scored by the Club in away Matches minus the number of goals scored against the Club in away Matches);

8. Away goals per away Match;

9. Home goals difference (being the number of goals scored by the Club in home Matches minus the number of goals scored against the Club in home Matches);

10. Home goals for per home Match; and

11. Toss of a coin (tie of two clubs) or drawing of lots (tie of three or more clubs).

Clubs in the Isuzu UTE A-League Men will have three Byes in season 2024/25. The APL has also confirmed today that there will be no points allocated to teams for Byes.

Video Assistant Referee (VAR)

VAR will again be utilised in all Isuzu UTE A-League Men regular season and final series matches in season 2024/25.

The implications of VAR are significant in terms of venue infrastructure, TV production and technology and are not feasible for the Ninja A-League Women as it stands. The APL regularly reviews all operational elements of the game in line with global standards, and this includes VAR, and this will continue to be a topic under discussion in seasons to come.

Concussion Policy

Following a trial period, the International Football Association Board (IFAB) implemented a permanent Concussion Substitutes Protocol on 1 July 2024. This protocol is currently in place in the Australia Cup and the 2024/25 AFC Club Competitions, and will be used across the forthcoming Isuzu UTE A-League Men and Ninja A-League Women seasons.

The permanent Concussion Substitutes Protocol, is a hybrid of the two trial protocols, and permits one concussion substitution per team, and one additional substitute per team.

An additional permanent concussion substitution occurs when a player who has an actual or suspected concussion is substituted and takes no further part in the match. This substitution does not count as one of the ‘normal’ permitted substitutions or substitution opportunities.

The principles of the permanent Concussion Substitutes Protocol include: 1. Each team is permitted to use a maximum of one ‘concussion substitute’ in a match. 2. A ‘concussion substitution’ may be made regardless of the number of substitutes already used.

3. When a ‘concussion substitute’ is used, the opposing team then has the option to use an ‘additional substitute’ for any reason, and also receive one ‘additional substitution opportunity’.

4. In the Ninja A-League Women, where the number of named substitutes is the same as the maximum number of ‘normal substitutes’ that can be used, the ‘concussion substitute’ can be a player who has previously been substituted and may be used at any time, regardless of the number of substitutes already used.

Heat Policy: cooling breaks

With reference to IFAB Protocols, ‘cooling breaks’ - previously referred to as ‘drinks breaks’ - can be extended from 90 to up to 180 seconds for season 2024/25, with players now able to leave the field of play to seek shade during the break, take on fluid and other heat management strategies in order to mitigate exposure to heat (for example, use of wet towels or ice vests).

In accordance with the APL Heat Policy, ‘cooling breaks’ can be implemented if the Ambient temperature is measured at 31 degrees celsius or higher and/or when the Wet Bulb Globe temperature is measured at 26 degrees celsius or higher prior to kick-off.

The number and length of ‘cooling breaks’ per half will be determined by the Match Commissioner in consultation with Team Doctors and Match Officials before the start of the game.

Following a successful trial last season, the ‘Summer Period’ has also been extended by a month in 2024/25 and will run from early December through to the end of March. During the ‘Summer Period’ there will be no 3pm kick off times, with all matches kicking off from 5pm local time, with the exception of a few matches due to time zones and broadcast commitments.

The APL Heat Policy, recognised as a conservative policy by international standards, also remains in place and is an important contributing factor in the scheduling process and match management throughout the season.

The 20th season of the Isuzu UTE A-League Men kicks off tomorrow with a Grand Final rematch between the Central Coast Mariners and Melbourne Victory, while the Ninja A-League Women start season 2024/25 on November 1, before all clubs descend on Sydney for the second edition of Unite Round on the weekend of November 22-24.

Notes:

Fan Representative Group:

Established in September 2023, the APL Fan Representative Group (FRG) is an initiative designed to provide a voice for fans, ensuring their views are considered in future plans for the A-Leagues.

Each A-Leagues club has its own FRG, comprising 10 or more members, who meet a minimum of four times per year. One member of each of these clubs is elected ‘chair’ and takes on the responsibility of joining the league-wide FRG.

The A-Leagues FRG’s purpose is to provide a structured forum for A-Leagues’ club fans to engage with the Leagues in a constructive manner, in an environment where ideas and feedback can be shared and discussed.

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