18 Oct 2023

Sydney scores A-League's debut Unite Round

Football fans will be treated to a jam-packed 4-day schedule in January 2024 with the A-League’s first ever Unite Round.

Unite Round is a coming together of all 13 A-Leagues men’s and women’s clubs, as well as grassroots competitors from under-8 to under-18 age groups.

The Unite Round is being introduced for the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons, as the Australian Professional League’s partnership with Destination NSW enters its second year.

As part of the updated partnership, the hosting rights for the finals series from season 2023-24 will revert to previous arrangements whereby the final is hosted by the highest placed qualifier from the Semi Finals.

During Unite Round, grassroots tournaments for junior boys and girls will take place at venues across Sydney from Thursday 11 January, while double-header A-Leagues matches will be hosted at Allianz Stadium, CommBank Stadium and Leichhardt Oval between Friday 12 and Sunday 14 January.

There will be a festival of football surrounding the A-Leagues fixtures with activations, a fan festival and other events taking place across four days.

The Unite Round will provide more opportunity for all players and fans to be part of an inclusive football celebration in Sydney, and strong economic and community benefits for the people of NSW.

Tickets for A-Leagues Unite Round will be on sale from Monday 6 November.

Premier Chris Minns said:

“Unite Round is great news for the football community, and for NSW.

"This will bring fans and players from around the country together in Sydney.

“I encourage fans to get involved in this festival of football."

Minister for Jobs and Tourism John Graham said:

“This is a chance for fans and players from right around Australia to come together, be united and be part of something special right here in Sydney.

“The Unite Round is a win-win for fans, the game and NSW as it will provide more opportunity for all players and fans to be part of an inclusive football celebration in Sydney.

“Unite Round will also deliver strong economic and community benefits for the people of NSW – it is estimated Unite Round will attract more than 42,000 people to Sydney for the event and generate more than $10.2 million in visitor expenditure for the state’s economy."

Minister for Sport Steve Kamper said:

“Sydney has more football fans and players than any other state and our culture of celebrating major sporting milestones is second-to-none.

“We can’t wait to welcome Australia’s football family to Sydney for the debut A-Leagues Unite Round next January and to see this tradition grow.

“This will be the first sporting code to celebrate a full men’s and women’s round in a single city in Australia.”

Australian Professional Leagues Chair the Hon Stephen Conroy said:

“We saw record crowds in the men’s and women’s finals series last season, and we again saw the appetite for professional football in NSW during the FIFA Women’s World Cup. Having all of our teams in one place, over one weekend, is a fantastic way to serve up the best of the A-Leagues for our fans. 

“We are one of the only leagues in the world where almost every club has both men’s and women’s teams, so we are uniquely positioned to create an event like this.

“We thank Premier Minns, the NSW Government and Destination NSW for this fundamentally important partnership and for their continuing support for the development of football in Australia.”

Australian Professional Leagues CEO Danny Townsend said:

“The Unite Round is a brand-new experience which brings together all A-Leagues clubs, fans and grassroots players together for the very first time in Sydney in an unprecedented celebration of football. With the women’s domestic attendance record already broken twice on the first day of this season, we are looking forward to welcoming A-Leagues fans, old and new, to experience our leagues.”

“We have worked closely with our clubs and fans to ensure that there are suitable constructive mechanisms for the voices of fans to be heard. Many of the resulting conversations have included the hosting of the Grand Finals, and the strong sentiments around that, and we thank Destination NSW and Premier Minns for their partnership in creating a truly inclusive experience for our game.”