Hi all,

I’ve been working on a heavily edited Australian football pyramid for FM26, based originally on the structure/concept from James Wray’s Australian database, but with a large number of changes, additions and balancing edits of my own. I have also done all the testing in FM26, I have run long holiday sims, it incorporates some Daveincid files as well, but I have run it with additional leagues/files and have had no issues, but if you do have problems try running it with less fmf files in the editor data.

The aim of this file is not to exactly recreate the current Australian system. Instead, it creates a more connected “what if?” Australian football pyramid with promotion and relegation from the A-League down through a deep state-based structure.

## Main features

- 16-team A-League with finals series
- Australian Championship as a national second tier
- Three national/regional Tier 3 leagues:
 - Australian Northern
 - Australian Southern
 - Australian Western
- State-based NPL and lower league systems
- Deep Victorian pyramid with regional divisions
- Promotion and relegation throughout the structure

-U21 leagues for first 2 tiers, then state u23 leagues for tiers 3-5, and reserve divisions for rest of the pyramid.
- Reworked finances, prize money and participation money
- Adjusted contract cycles to suit an Australian summer season
- Better support for smaller/developing states such as Tasmania, ACT and Northern Territory
- Reworked club reputations, finances, scouting ranges and professional/semi-pro status rules
- Added and corrected a number of lower-league clubs, cities and grounds
- Designed for long-term saves rather than one-season realism. I have run holiday sims to 2050+ to make sure nothing is breaking and the structures are holding and no random Tassie sides ending up lost in Victorian Tier 11.

## A-League structure

The A-League has been expanded to 16 teams. (given 4 existing clubs in South Melbourne, Bayswater, Canberra Croatia and Wollongong Wolves spots in the a-league)

There is a final 8 series, adapted from the current A-League finals format:

- 5th v 8th and 6th v 7th in the opening week
- winners progress to play 3rd and 4th
- winners then play 1st and 2nd in preliminary finals
- Grand Final is hosted by the higher-ranked team

No promotion/relegation until 2030. Once the grace period ends, the bottom two A-League clubs are relegated to the Australian Championship.

## Australian Championship

The Championship is a professional national second tier.

The top two clubs are promoted to the A-League. (from 2030 onwards)

Relegated Championship clubs receive parachute support and remain professional for a short grace period to reduce the unrealistic pro/semi-pro yo-yo effect.

## Tier 3

The third tier is split into three national/regional leagues:

- Australian Northern
- Australian Southern
- Australian Western

Each league has 16 clubs. The champion of each league is promoted to the Championship.

The intention is that promotion to the professional second tier must be earned by finishing top over a full season, rather than through a playoff.

## State leagues

Each state system has been adjusted to work within the broader pyramid.

Some states follow reality fairly closely. Others have been adapted for balance and editor stability.

Victoria has a deeper pyramid and more movement between some levels, reflecting the depth of the Victorian system. (being from Melbourne this was my main wheelhouse, so the regions between north/south/east/west are working seamlessly now)

Smaller states have more financial support to help them remain viable in a national pyramid. (e.g. Northern Territory with their extensive travel)

## Finances and balancing

A lot of work has gone into making the money flow more sensibly through the pyramid.

This includes:

- A-League TV and participation money
- Championship central funding
- Tier 3 participation and TV money
- NPL participation money
- State cup prize money
- Lower-league participation money to help prevent amateur clubs haemorrhaging money unrealistically

The idea is to reward performance, but also provide structural support to smaller or more geographically difficult regions.

## Contract and season changes

The Australian structure has been moved to a summer-season model.

A major change was correcting contract expiry dates so clubs are not losing half their squad right at the start of the season. Contracts have been adjusted to better fit a June expiry cycle.

This should help the transfer market behave more naturally and allow lower clubs to receive actual transfer fees rather than everyone simply becoming free agents at the wrong time.

## Known notes

- This is an alternate-universe pyramid, not a strict real-life recreation.

- Screenshots are from a holiday sim I did until 2030, so there has been a bit of movement between the leagues from tier 2 down. I have created rules to keep the NPL leagues within 2-3 teams of their original size. If a side from a different state ends up in an NPL league, they can't get relegated from that division, and they usually get shuffled back to their parent state within a year or two (I have regional rules to ensure its more nearby states where a side will end up if necessary)
- Some club placements are based on a mix of history, current/recent level, geography and suitability for a connected national pyramid.
- Some lower-league clubs have been added or corrected manually.
- Cross-divisional promotion/relegation playoffs have mostly been avoided because the FM editor can be very temperamental with them.
- Long-term testing has been done, but custom databases can always throw up surprises.
- Feedback is welcome, especially on club placement, finances, regional allocation and lower-league details.

Credits

James Wray for the original Australian pyramid concept/structure that this file is based on/inspired by. 

This version includes extensive personal edits, restructuring and balancing changes, but the original work deserves clear recognition. 

Hope people enjoy it. The goal was to create a deeper, more interesting Australian save where clubs can rise through the pyramid and the whole system feels more alive over time.