National Premier Leagues Victoria 2
The National Premier Leagues Victoria 2, commonly referred to as NPL Victoria 2, is a regional Australian semi-professional soccer league comprising teams from Victoria. The league sits at level 2 on the Victorian league system, behind the National Premier Leagues Victoria,. The competition is administered by Football Federation Victoria, the governing body of the sport in the state.
Format
In 2014, the competition was a 14 team league.For the 2015–2019 seasons, the league was divided into East and West conferences of 10 teams each. Each team played home and away against teams in their conference and single games against each team in the opposite conference. The winner of each conference was promoted to the NPL Victoria, while second place in each conference entered into a promotion/relegation series.
In 2020, the competition reverted to a 12 team league.
Clubs
The following 12 clubs are competing in the NPL Victoria 2 during the 2020 season:Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
Brunswick City | Brunswick West | Dunstan Reserve | |
Bulleen Lions | Bulleen | David Barro Stadium | |
Goulburn Valley Suns | Shepparton | John McEwan Reserve | |
Kingston City | Clayton South | The Grange Reserve | |
Langwarrin | Langwarrin South | Lawton Park Reserve | |
Manningham United | Templestowe | David Barro Stadium | |
Moreland City | Coburg | Campbell Reserve | |
Moreland Zebras | Moreland | CB Smith Reserve | |
North Geelong Warriors | Geelong | Elcho Park | |
Northcote City | Thornbury | John Cain Memorial Reserve | |
Pascoe Vale | Fawkner | CB Smith Reserve | |
Werribee City | Werribee | Galvin Park Reserve |
History
were the inaugural champions of the National Premier Leagues Victoria 1 division in 2014, while North Geelong finished the season as runners up with both sides earning promotion to the National Premier Leagues Victoria.On 6 November 2014, Football Federation Victoria announced Melbourne City FC NPL and Melbourne Victory FC Youth would join the league in 2015. Eastern Lions SC, Murray United FC, Nunawading City FC and Moreland City FC all also joined the expanded competition for the 2015 season. FC Bulleen Lions and Richmond SC were the two clubs to achieve automatic promotion in the revamped league in 2015 by winning their respective conferences. Melbourne Victory joined them by beating NPL2 West runner up Moreland Zebras FC in the NPL2 preliminary promotion playoff, and then North Geelong in the promotion playoff, with North Geelong joining automatically relegated sides Werribee City FC and Dandenong Thunder SC in NPL2 for 2016.
In 2016, St Albans Saints SC and Kingston City FC won automatic promotion by winning their respective West and East conferences, while North Geelong immediately bounced back into the top-flight, beating Dandenong Thunder in the NPL2 playoff and Richmond in the NPL promotion-relegation playoff. Richmond, Melbourne Victory and Northcote City FC were the relegated sides from NPL, joining the NPL2 for 2017.