Top Division Soccer Leagues in Asia & Oceania

When looking at the leagues that play their football in both Asia and Oceania, it is undoubtedly true that one of the regions has had a bigger impact on the other. Most fans of a division such as the Premier League would probably be able to name any number of Asian players who have sold name recognition, whilst the same can’t be said of players from Oceania. With the likes of Japan, China and India coming under the auspices of of Asia, it is perhaps only surprising that even more players haven’t made the breakthrough at some point or another. In Oceania, however, the name recognition is largely not there for many players.

That might be something to do with their location, meaning that the likes of scouting and regular watching of the leagues can be hard, whilst it could also be down to the fact that the quality of the leagues on offer simply aren’t good enough. As a result, a player has to be particularly talented in order to break through into divisions such as the Premier League, the Bundesliga and La Liga, which simply doesn’t happen anywhere near often enough for it to pierce the public consciousness. That being said, it isn’t as though it is a region in which nothing happens and that the residents aren’t keen to see some top-level football.

It is clearly a region with plenty of games being played on a regular basis in leagues that have a lot to recommend them, with numerous countries promising some top-notch games for the locals to get behind. Generally speaking, the various countries come under the auspices of the Oceania Football Confederation, but there are other countries in the region that have top-flight leagues but are not members of the association. A similar thing is true of Asia, of course, which is a continent almost as vast and all-encompassing as Africa is for the African continent.

• • Jump To:
  • Oceania
  • Southeast Asia
  • Central Asia
  • East Asia
  • South Asia
  • West Asia

Oceania

There is an extent to which the Oceania region is one of the most forgotten about when it comes to looking at the top-flight leagues that take place on a regular basis.

It is that the local areas themselves forget about anything, give that they are the divisions that the people spend their time going to watch, but rather that their impact on the footballing world is minimal enough to mean that they aren’t often thought about as having a big impact on the sport.

Whilst Europe, Africa and the Americas all send countless players to the top of the game, the same isn’t true of the likes of Australia, New Zealand and others.

American Samoa

The FFAS Senior League was first launched in 1976, but the extent to which it struggled to make an impact initially can probably be demonstrated by the fact that several of the league winners in the early years aren’t known. Many of the games take place at the pitch in Pago Pago, resulting in the 2009 season being cancelled when a tsunami left the pitch badly damaged. There are ten teams that play in the league, which sits at the top of the football pyramid in the island nation.

Cook Islands

Covering an area roughly the size of Western Europe, the Cook Islands is actually one of the smaller nations that is a member of FIFA in terms of population. The fact that the top-flight in the country is called the ‘Cook Islands Round Cup’, also known as the ‘Rarotonga Round Cup’, gives you a sense of how small it is in scale. It is more like a cup competition than a league as most people would know it, largely because it only has six teams.

Fiji

Sitting at the top of the pile when it comes to football in Fiji is the Fiji Premier League, which was founded as the Fiji National League in 1977. It operates a system of promotion and relegation with the Fiji Senior League and sees ten teams competing for supremacy. The clubs play one another twice in a double round-robin format, with sides being separated at the end of the campaign by points, goal difference and goals scored. If needed, a play-off match will be played to decide the winners, relegated teams and so on.

Kiribati Islands

The Kiribati National Championship was created in 2002 by the island’s governing body for football. The National Championships are based in the capital city of South Tarawa, reuniting temporary council teams, with one council side on each island apart from the two on Tabiteuea and three on Tarawa. It is disputed every two years during Te Runga, which are the National Games of the country.

New Caledonia

Sitting at the top of a Football League pyramid that includes three other divisions, the New Caledonian Super League operates a system of promotion and relegation with the Promotion d’Honneur. It takes place as a double round-robin competition between the top four clubs from the Division Honneur of Grand Terre and the champions of the Îles.

Australia

The A-League Men was created in 2004 as a replacement for the National Soccer League, which itself dated back to 1977. In that way, it is not dissimilar to the Premier League’s relationship with the Football League in England. Sitting at the top of the Australian league system, it has a system of promotion and relegation with the National Premier Leagues and Football Northern Territory. There are 13 teams that play in a regular season from October to April before the top six clubs progress to the finals series.

New Zealand

It is fair to say that top-flight football has been played in New Zealand since before 2021, but that was the year in which things were streamlined to such an extant as is currently understood. The National Soccer League was the first division run on a national scale, but the nature of New Zealand is such that it went through many changes over the years. Nowadays it sees eight clubs compete with one another during the regular season, hoping to avoid relegation or make it to the play-offs depending on their ambition.

Papua New Guinea

The Papua New Guinea Premier Soccer League was formed in 2006 as a replacement for the Papa New Guinea National Club Championship, which itself had been created in 1976. That was an amateur league, with the aim being for the new division to be a step up in terms of quality. It has undergone numerous years of turmoil including a split, which was only rectified in 2019. Eight teams take part in the league season.

Samoa

Samoa as a country only hosts one league, which is the aptly named Samoa National League. There are 12 sides that play in it, all of which play their games at the Toleafoa JS Blatter Soccer Stadium, which has a capacity of 3,500.

Solomon Islands

The Solomon Islands S-League, usually referred to simply as the S-League, was originally called the Solomon Islands National Club Championship before a rebrand in 2010. The first tournament played in the country was the Interprovincial Tournament in 1977, but this ended in 1985 and has no real link to the current top-flight. It is a semi-professional league that has 12 teams in it, which compete in a round-robin tournament to decided upon the winners.

French Polynesia

Able to be dated back to 1948, the Tahitian Ligue 1 is the top league offered by the Fédération Tahitienne de Football. It is split into a regular season and the play-offs, with the ten teams that take part hoping to maker the play-offs and avoid relegation down to Ligue 2. The top six teams go into a play-off system at the end of the regular season to decide upon the winner. Interestingly, teams that win matches are awarded four points, whilst it is two points for a draw and one for a defeat. It was introduced, according to the President of the FTF, because ‘we don’t want anyone to be sad’.

Tonga

With just seven leagues competing in the Tonga Major League, it is perhaps not all that much of a surprise that the country has failed to see a huge number of players make it on the biggest stages of all. The league was formed in 1969 and sides that struggle get relegated down to the Tonga Division II. It won’t be all that much of a shock for you to learn that the league is only semi-professional.

Tuvalu Islands

The Tuvalu A-Division is the top-flight league for football on the Tuvalu Islands, with eight of the nine islands represented. Niulakita might well be, if not for the fact that it doesn’t have a football club. The matches are held at the only football field on the main island, which is the Tuvalu Sports Ground in Funafuti. Founded in 2001, there is a B-Division but that is mainly made up of reserve team squads.

Vanuatu

It is hardly outrageous to suggest that football in Vanuatu is a complicated thing. The Port Villa Football League is considered to be the top level of the game in the country, comprising of three competitions: the Port Villa Premier League, the Port Villa First Division and the Port Villa Second Division. At the end of the season the top four of the 27 competing teams go through to the Top Four Super League to decide the overall winner and to figure out which club will represent Vanuatu in the OFC Champions League.

Asia

It is perhaps not all that surprising that a continent the size of Asia is level only with Africa in terms of the number of different member associations and sub-regions that it offers. It is represented at FIFA by the Asian Football Confederation that, confusingly, Australia is actually a member of. For the purposes of ease we’ve included Australia in the Oceania conversation, but will look at the rest of the AFC countries here.

As with the AFC itself, we will break them down into their subsidiaries, which are Southeast Asia, Central Asia, East Asia, South Asia and Western Asia.

Southeast Asia

Brunei Darussalam

There has been some form of football competition played in Brunei Darussalam since 1985, but numerous issues with the county’s Football Association mean that the history of the Brunei Football League system was reorganised in 2012. That is when the Brunei Super League was established, with 16 teams competing in it. They are aiming to either win the title or else avoid relegation into one of the country’s regional leagues. Players over 35 have to produce a medical fitness certificate to take part, whilst each squad much have at least four under-21 players, with at least two such players in the starting 11.

Cambodia

The first top-flight football competition in Cambodia was established in 1982 during the People’s Republic of Kampuchea years. The Cambodian League came about in 2000, then in 2018 an attempt to modernise the game was brought about by confirmation that teams needed to have access to their own stadium. It has only been a professional league since 2005 and 11 teams compete for the title and to avoid relegation into the Cambodian League 2.

East Timor

The Liga Futebol Amadora Primeira Divisão was created in 2015 as a replacement for the Super Liga Timorense, which itself had been launched 11 years earlier. The fact that no football was played between 2007 and 2010 means that the two aren’t considered to be linked. As well as hoping to win the title, the eight teams that play in the league are also hoping to avoid relegation to the Segunda Divisão.

Indonesia

Created in 1994 as the Liga Indonesia Premier Division before being rebranded to become the Indonesia Super League in 2008, the division became Liga 1 in 2017 and has remained so since. There are 18 teams that compete in a system of relegation and promotion with Liga 2 and it has been professional since 2008. The teams play in a double round-robin system.

Laos

Composed of eight clubs that play one another in a triple round-robin format, the season in Laos runs from February to September. Teams aim to win the league or avoid relegation to the Lao League 2, depending on their ambitions.

Malaysia

Whilst there is a link between the Malaysia Super League and the Liga Perdana 1, which ran from 1998 to 2003, the current division was created after the privatisation of the league in 2004. At that point it became full professional, with many considering this to be the point that top-flight football really began in the country. It has undergone numerous format changes over the years, with the modern incarnation following the typical double round-robin format between February and July. A system of promotion and relegation is in place with the Malaysia A1 Semi-Pro League.

Myanmar

Prior to the launch of the Myanmar National League in 2009, professional football in the country had only existed in a limited form. There are 12 teams that compete, hoping to win the title or avoid relegation to the MNL-2.

Philippines

When the Philippines national team enjoyed success in the AFF Championship, there was a renewed interest in the sport in the country. There was no national football league at the time, resulting in the formation of the United Football League. This wasn’t at the standard required by FIFA, however, so the Philippines Football League was launched as its replacement in 2016. Featuring ten teams, the format has changed numerous times over the years.

Singapore

The top-flight in Singapore launched in 1996 as the S. League, then because the Singapore Premier League in 2018. It features eight clubs from Singapore and one from Brunei, which all compete for the title. There is no system of promotion and relegation in place, with teams instead being invited to take part in the competition by the Football Association of Singapore.

Thailand

The Thai League 1 was launched in 1996, although football has existed in the country since 1916. It was originally known as the Thailand Soccer League and featured ten to 12 clubs until it was expanded to 16 in 2007. It became known as the Thai Premier League in 2009, when numerous changes were brought it, then rebranded to the Thai League 1 in 2017. A system of promotion and relegation exists with the Thai League 2.

Vietnam

Although the Vietnamese Football League system was created in 1955, it wasn’t considered to be the league that it is nowadays until the unification of the country and the launch of the All Vietnam Football Championship in 1980. Nowadays, the V.League 1, which has been professional since 2000, starts in either February or Match. Featuring 14 teams, they play one another twice and there is a system of promotion and relegation in place with V.League 2.

Central Asia

Afghanistan

Top-flight football in Afghanistan began in 1946 with the league that was known as the Kabul City League and the Kabul Premier League at various times. It folded in 2013 and was replaced by the Afghan Premier League, which itself folded in 2020 when the country’s current competition, the Afghanistan Champions League, was launched. The current top-flight has 12 teams that compete for the title.

Islamic Republic of Iran

In the Islamic Republic of Iran, the top-flight is known as the Persian Gulf Pro League. Football began in the country in the 1970s, but numerous wars and issues in Iran meant that it didn’t really begin until the launch of the Azadegan League in 1991. That remains a division in the country but is the second tier, from which teams can be promoted in to the Pro League, which was launched in 2001. That boasts 16 teams that play one another twice between July and May.

Kyrgyz Republic

Better-known to most as Kyrgyzstan, the country that is now the Kyrgyz Republic has a top-flight known as the Kyrgyz Premier League. It launched in 1992 after the Soviet Union was dissolved and is made up of ten teams. It has boasted its current name since 2019, having been the Kyrgyzstan League initially.

Tajikistan

The Ligai Olii Tojikiston, known in English as the Tajikistan Higher League, was launched in 1992 when the country left the Soviet Union. There are ten clubs that compete, looking to win the title or avoid relegation into the Tajikistan First League.

Turkmenistan

As with many other former Soviet Union nations, Turkmenistan’s top-flight was launched in 1992 after the breakup of the bloc. Known as the Turkmenistan Higher League or the Türkmenistan Ýokary Liga in the native language, seasons run from April to November. Nine teams participate, with a system of relegation and promotion in place with the Turkmenistan First League.

Uzbekistan

With a system of promotion and relegation in place to the Uzbekistan Pro League, the Uzbekistan Super League boasts 14 clubs. It was launched in 1992 and is typically played between March and November. Originally known as the Uzbek League, it took on its current moniker in 2018.

East Asia

China

In China, the top-flight is the Chinese Super League. Top-flight football began in the country on an amateur level in 1987, turning professional in 1994. In 2004 the Jia-A League was rebranded, which resulted in the launch of the league that we know today. It initially saw 12 teams competing before an expansion to 16 sides. Generally beginning in February or March and running until November or December, the clubs play each other twice a season. There is a system of relegation and promotion in place with the China League One.

Chinese Taipei

A football league was launched in Taipei after the popularity of the 1982 world cup. This became the Intercity Football League in 2007 and then in 2017 the Taiwan Football Premier League was launched to replace it. Running from April until November, the eight teams that compete play each other in three round-robin tournaments of seven games each. When the 21-game schedule is over, the top team is crowned champions whilst the lower teams run the risk of relegation into the Taiwan Football Challenge League.

Democratic People’s Republic of Korea

Initially in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, sports were played on an amateur basis and competitions were called ‘Technical Innovation Contests’. The competition known as the DPR Korea Premier League was launched in 2017 and has 12 teams that compete in it. There is a system of promotion and relegation in place with the DPR Korea Football League 2.

Guam

Known as the G-League or the Guam Soccer League depending on whether or not you want to call it by the sponsored name, the top-flight in Guam is split into two divisions. There are 15 teams that compete. Previously, the league would be split into Spring and Fall seasons, with a one-off match played to decided upon the country’s overall winner on occasions when the same team didn’t win the two seasons.

Hong Kong

It goes without saying that the politics around Hong Kong is complicated, but the Hong Kong Premier League has been the top-flight for the region since its launch in 2014. It was previously the Hong Kong First Division, which was created in 1908, but the Premier League came about when football turned professional. There are nine teams that compete in the league, which sees teams relegated down to the Hong Kong First Division.

Japan

In 1965, an amateur division launched in Japan that was known as the Japan Soccer League. The J. League launched in 1992 as a professional division for the country, nowadays seeing 20 teams compete to win the title or avoid relegation down to the J2 League. It became the J. League in 1993, then in 1999 rebranded to the J. League Division 1 before taking on its current title in 2014. The 20 teams take part in a double round-robin format in order to become champions.

Korea Republic

In 1983 a new league for the five football clubs of South Korea was launched as the Korean Super League. It was renamed to become the Korean Professional Football League in 1987 and then the K League in 1998. There are 12 teams that compete in the top-flight, hoping to avoid being relegated to the K League 2 or go on to win the title. It generally runs from March until November, with both the number of teams in the league, the number of games played and even the format of the divisions varying through the years.

Macau

Previously known as the Campeonato da 1ª Divisão do Futebol, the Liga de Elite is the top-flight football division in Macau. It features both local players and foreign professionals, whilst the lack of fields to play on in the country mean that most matches take place at the Estádio Campo Desportivo. It is run separately from the league on mainland China and operates a system of relegation and promotion with the 2ª Divisão de Macau.

Mongolia

Launched in 1955 under a different title, the Mongolian Premier League sees ten teams competing for the chance to win the title or else be relegated down to the Mongolian First League.

Northern Mariana Islands

With just five teams competing, it is fair to say that the Marianas Soccer League 1 isn’t the most exciting of football leagues around the world. Even so, it is actually more competitive now than it used to be, given the fact that it grew to its current size in 2008. Although there is a Marianas Soccer League 2, there is no system of relegation and promotion in place between the two divisions.

South Asia

Bangladesh

Launched in 2007 as the first professional football league in the country, the Bangladesh top-flight was originally known as the B.League before being rebranded to become the Bangladesh League in 2009. The move to name it the Bangladesh Premier League took place in 2012. Having boasted 12 teams initially, it dropped to 11 for the 2023-2024 season and then ten from the following campaign. Seasons take place between December and July and work to the standard double round-robin format. There is a system of promotion and relegation in place with the Bangladesh Championship League.

Bhutan

Launching in 2012 as the National League, the Bhutan Premier League is the top-flight football league in the country. Football has been played at some level since 1986, but it was largely unorganised until the launch of the A-Division in 2001. It wasn’t until the launch of the Premier League that clubs outside of Thimphu began to play, with the current league seeing ten teams compete.

India

The Indian Super League is the senior division in India, which has had football played in to some level since 1888. In spite of this, it wasn’t until the launch of the semi-professional National Football League that a nationwide division was launched. That became the I-League in 2006 in an attempt to professionalise it, then the Indian Super League was launched in 2013. The regular season runs from September to April, after which the play-offs take place between the top six clubs to decide upon the winner of the ISL Cup.

Maldives

Top-flight football in the Maldives can be dated back to 1946, but the first time that any sort of real division was launched was in 2000 when the Dhivehi League was launched. That ended in 2015 when the Dhivehi Premier League came into existence, which is what the top-flight is known as nowadays. There are right teams that play 21 matches each, looking to win the title or avoid relegation down to the Second Division.

Nepal

The top-flight for football in Nepal launched in 1954 with the creation of the Kathmandu League Championship. Nowadays it is known as the Martyr’s Memorial A-Division League and sees 14 teams competing for the title and to try not to end up in the Martyr’s Memorial B-Division League.

Pakistan

Football began in Pakistan with the launch of the Pakistan National Football League, which became the National Football Championship. That was phased out and replaced by the National League Division A in 2004, then in 2006 that was renamed as the Pakistan Premier League. No football was played between 2015 and 2018, then the 2021-2022 season was cancelled when it was not recognised by FIFA. Quite whether there is actually a league operating in Pakistan now is unclear.

Sri Lanka

There is some debate about when top-flight football began in Sri Lanka, with the launch of a league in 1985. The fact that professionalism didn’t reach the country until 2018 is why the debate exists. Certainly we know that the Sri Lanka Super League didn’t launch until 2021. It is made up of ten teams, which compete with one another for the title in a double round-robin tournament. They also try to avoid being relegated into the Sri Lanka Champions League.

West Asia

Bahrain

The major football competition in the Kingdom of Bahrain is the Bahraini Premier League, which was first held in 1957. There are 12 teams that play one another in a double round-robin format, with almost all games taking place at the National Stadium. There is a system of relegation and promotion in place with the Bahraini Second Division.

Iraq

In Iraq, there are 20 teams that compete for the Iraqi Pro Stars League title and to avoid being relegated down into the Iraqi Premier Division League. Those teams play one another in a standard double round-robin system, with each club being allowed a maximum of six foreign outfield players, not including those from Yemen, and a maximum of one player from Syria. Only a maximum of six foreign players, which does include those from Yemen and Syria, can play at any given time.

Jordan

The Jordanian Pro League featured 12 teams until the 2025-2026 season, at which point it was reduced down to ten. Top-flight football in Jordan began in 1944, but matches haven’t been played in numerous years throughout the country’s history. It operates on a fall to spring calendar in line with the Asian championships, whilst a system of promotion and relegation with the Jordanian First Division occurs at the end of each season.

Kuwait

In Kuwait, top-flight football has been played since 1961 on an official level, with unofficial football taking place for eight years before that. Nowadays the Kuwait Premier League works alongside the Kuwait Division One for promotion and relegation, with ten teams playing in the top-flight.

Lebanon

Football in Lebanon sees 12 teams taking part in the Lebanese First Division, which is more commonly known as the Lebanese Premier League. As you might imagine, the system of promotion and relegation is in place with the Lebanese Second Division. There are 12 teams hoping to enjoy success and avoid failure, with football taking place in some variety in the country since 1934. There is a complicated format to the league, which was introduced ahead of the 2020-2021 season, which sees the league divided into two phases. Esch team plays each other once in the first phase before it is split into the top six nd bottom six.

Oman

The Oman Professional League was official created in 1976, with the move towards professionalism beginning in 2010. There are 14 teams that compete, looking to either win the title or avoid being relegated down to the Oman First Division League.

Palestine

Anyone who knows anything at all about Palestine won’t be all that surprised to learn that things are complex in the country. There are two leagues, the Gaza Strip Premier League, which has 12 teams and was launched in 1976, and the West Bank Premier League, which was launched in 1944 and also has 12 teams. They work differently from and independently to one another, with the political turmoil of the region often resulting in any number of issues for both of them.

Qatar

Top-flight football in Qatar began life in 1972. Nowadays known as the Qatar Stars League, teams that struggle face the possibility of relegation down to the Qatari Second Division. Previously known as the Q-League, the Stars League features 12 teams but has had numerous amounts of sides play in it over the years.

Saudi Arabia

Supporters of Premier League clubs mights well feel as though they know a bit about the Saudi Pro League, given that there have been attempts by its clubs to by the English top-flights biggest stars in recent times. Launched as the Categorization League in 1974 then rebranded as the Premier League in 1976, it became the Pro League in 2008 and has stuck with that name since. Featuring 18 club since the 2023-2024, there is a system of promotion and relegation in place with the FD League.

Syria

It is fair to say that the political disruption faced by Syria over the years means that the country’s top-flight league hasn’t always gone as smoothly as in other countries. Launched in 1966, it nowadays features 12 teams that look to avoid being relegated to the Syrian League 1st Division or even win the title. The season tends to run from August or September until May, with a double round-robin format.

United Arab Emirates

In the United Arab Emirates, the main league is the UAE Pro League. It boasts 14 teams, which look to try to win the title or, at the very least, not be relegated into the First Division League. Top-flight football first took place in the region in 1973 as the UAE Football League, boasting numerous different sponsored names in the years since.

Yemen

When North and South Yemen were unified in 1990, the Yemeni League was created as a result. There were 16 teams from each region that featured in it in that debut season, whereas nowadays just 14 teams compete. It tends to be run from early November until late June, with no competition taking place between 2014 and 2021 owing to the civil war in the country.