In Australia, soccer, also known as association football, is the most played outdoor team sport,[3][4] and ranked in the top ten for television audience as of 2015.

The season in Australia is played during the summer, to avoid clashing with Australian rules football and Rugby league which dominate spectator and media interest in the country.

The men's and women's national teams, known as the Socceroos and the Matildas respectively, compete globally.

The Matildas finished fourth in that tournament (Australia's best ever performance at any World Cup, male or female), and the majority of Australians watched them play on television or at the stadium.

[7] The first recorded match in Sydney under the Laws of the Game was contested between Wanderers and members of the Kings School rugby team at Parramatta Common on 14 August 1880.

[8] The Wanderers, considered the first soccer club in Australia, was established on 3 August 1880, by English-émigré John Walter Fletcher.

Later, in 1882, Fletcher formed the New South Wales English Football Association (also referred to as the South British Football Soccer Association), the very first administrative governing body of soccer within Australia and one of the first to be established outside the United Kingdom.

[9] Later that year, the first inter-colonial game was played at the East Melbourne Cricket Ground, between a representative Victorian team and one from the neighbouring colony of New South Wales.

During the tour the Australia men's national team lost two out of the three matches against the newly formed New Zealand side.

[15] After World War I, large numbers of British and southern European arrived seeking opportunities in new industries across parts of Australia which led to establishing soccer as a major sport in the country.

[16] A distinct rise in popularity in New South Wales and Victoria, among other states, was linked to the post-World War II immigration.

The most prominent soccer clubs in Australian cities during the 1950s and 1960s were based around migrant-ethnic groups, all of which expanded rapidly at that time: Croatian, Greek, Macedonian and Italian communities gave rise to most of the largest clubs, the most notable being South Melbourne (Greek-based), Sydney Olympic (Greek-based), Marconi Stallions (Italian-based), Adelaide City (Italian-based), Melbourne Knights (Croatian-based), Sydney United (Croatian-based) and Preston Lions (Macedonian-based).In 1956, Australia became a FIFA member through the Australian Soccer Association, though Australia's membership was soon suspended in 1960 after disobeying FIFA mandate on recruiting foreign players without a transfer fee.

[19] In 1961, the Australian Soccer Federation was formed and later admitted to FIFA in 1963, after outstanding fines had been paid.

[22] Migrants continued to boost interest in and player for the sport in the 1970s and 1980s, especially from the Middle East and from the former Yugoslavia.

[citation needed] Soccer reached notable popularity among Australian people during the second half of the 20th century.

Johnny Warren, a prominent advocate for the sport, who was a member of the Australia national team at their first FIFA World Cup appearance in 1974, entitled his memoir Sheilas, Wogs, and Poofters (a reference to the Australian slang: sheila, wog, poofter), giving an indication of how Warren considered the wider Australian community viewed "wogball".

[26] Australia ended a 32-year absent streak when the nation team qualified for the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

The team's qualification and success in the tournament helped increase the profile and popularity of the sport in the country.

[31] In summer 2021, Football Australia officials announced a series of major reforms: the shift in calendar by aligning with Domestic Match Calendar and to avoid clashing with FIFA days so it could help the Socceroos to compete; establishment of a second-tier professional league; club licensing framework; domestic transfer system; as well a potential adoption of promotion-relegation system, expected to be implemented by 2022–23.

This refers to clubs outside of NPL, although they still play in organised league competitions for each state in the Australian system.

[38] In 2013, an audit on the sport by Gemba found that 1.96 million Australians were actively involved in the game as a player.

[40] National Men's soccer teams of various age groups represent Australia in international competition.

Apart from London 2012, where it failed to qualify a team, Australia has competed in all Olympic Men's Football competitions since 1988.

The Matildas finished fourth in that tournament (Australia's best ever performance at any World Cup, male or female), and the majority of Australians watched them play on television or at the stadium.

[54] In 2013, FFA signed a joint A$160 million, four-year deal with Fox Sports and SBS for the A-League.

[57] In 2017, Fox Sports renewed its deal with FFA for a further six years, with Network 10 simulcasting one A-League match each week.

[60] Paramount+ currently holds the broadcasting rights for the A-Leagues and AFC Champions League competitions until the end of the 2025/26 season,[61] along with all Socceroos and Matildas matches until 2028.

[64] Similarly, Optus Sport briefly held exclusive rights to every game of the 2018 FIFA World Cup before relinquishing them to SBS due to technical issues.

[68] Soccer is a widely supported sport in Australia, with most Australians following the Socceroos and the Matildas.