No more draws! Australian second tier adopts Leagues Cup-style penalty shootouts to decide bonus points

The Australian Championship, which serves as the second tier of the nation's soccer league system, has officially confirmed the introduction of a 'penalty shootout bonus point model' for the upcoming campaign. Under these new regulations, any match that finishes level at the end of regular time will head directly to a spot-kick competition.

Under the new mechanism, a bonus point will be awarded to the team that wins the penalty shootout, securing two points overall from the fixture, while the defeated side will leave with just a single point. League officials have been vocal about the motivation behind the experimental change, emphasizing that it is designed to create 'genuine excitement, keeping supporters engaged to the final kick, and giving players rare high-pressure match experience.'

While the move might seem unorthodox to European football purists, it is not without precedent in the modern game. The format heavily mirrors the system used in the Leagues Cup, the annual tournament contested between clubs from Major League Soccer in the United States and Mexico's Liga MX.

Interestingly, this is not the first time Australian soccer has experimented with such a tie-breaking system. Australia's former top-level National Soccer League also used the penalty bonus-point format in the 1994-95 edition. By revisiting this historical quirk, Football Australia aims to modernize the second-tier experience while drawing inspiration from successful international models.

Unlike traditional league setups, the Australian Championship takes place annually following the conclusion of the third-tier National Premier Leagues (NPL) season. The competition features a distinct format, pitting its eight permanent member clubs against the eight NPL premiers in a 16-team group stage before advancing to an eight-team knockout phase.

During the group stage, the 16 teams are split into four groups of four, playing six fixtures each, with the top two sides from each group securing a spot in the knockout phase. The penalty bonus-point system will be used exclusively during this opening group phase, ensuring that standings remain tight and competitive until the final whistle of the group stage.

Despite the introduction of shootouts, the league confirmed that matches level after 90 minutes will still be officially recorded as draws. Extra time will not be played, with teams heading straight to spot kicks to decide who claims the additional bonus point.

Football Australia, the nation's governing body, reached the decision following consultations with member clubs and the Japanese Football Association (JFA). The JFA recently implemented a similar format for its interim J1 100 Year Vision League during the transition to an August-May calendar.