The short answer: the 2026-27 A-League Men season starts on Friday 16 October with the Sydney Derby. Talk about every round with other fans in the Soccer Australia Crowd on Brane: open the link, tap Join Group Chat, sign in with an email code and you are in, straight from your browser.
brane.im/c/soccer-australia
Join the Soccer Australia chatFor the first time, the Sydney Derby opens the season: Sydney FC host the Western Sydney Wanderers at Allianz Stadium on Friday 16 October. Twelve clubs play 26 rounds, with the grand final scheduled for the weekend of 5 and 6 June 2027.
That is eight months of derbies, upsets, VAR calls and transfer talk. Here is where to talk about all of it.
What is the Soccer Australia Crowd?
A Crowd is Brane's group chat. The Soccer Australia Crowd is a public one for anyone who follows Australian football: the A-Leagues, the NPL, the Socceroos and the Matildas. Whoever you support, you are welcome, and the banter is half the fun.
The same chat, inside the Soccer Australia app
Soccer Australia is an all-in-one app for Australian football, with A-Leagues, NPL, Socceroos and Matildas news, videos, results and live scores in one place. Get it on the App Store or Google Play.
Its fan chat is powered by Brane. It is the very same Soccer Australia Crowd, running right inside the app, so a message sent from the app reaches fans on Brane and on the web, and the other way round. Check the score, then jump straight into the conversation without switching apps.
It is the same chat that any website can carry with Brane's embed, built into an app instead. More on that on our community as a service page.
Join in your browser, no app needed
1. Open the link. Go to brane.im/c/soccer-australia on your phone or computer.
2. Tap Join Group Chat. The chat opens right there on the page.
3. Sign in with an email code. Type your email, enter the six digit code, set up a quick profile and say hello. No phone number, ever.
Find football fans near you
Get Brane free at get.brane.app, or open it in any browser at brane.chat.
Add your interests. Add football or soccer, or your club as one word, in the You tab.
Search it. Type the interest into People, Crowds or Explore. Fans who picked it come up nearest first, so you can find people from your end of the ground, or someone to go to the next home game with.
Organise a match day
Create a Crowd for your pub screening or your group's trip to the derby, and turn on Is this an event? with the kick-off time. It shows in Events Near You for anyone within 100km, with Add to Calendar and a chat that keeps going after full time. See Brane for sport for more ideas.
Run a club or fan site?
Put the conversation on your own website with one line of code, so your visitors can join in without leaving the page. See how embedding works.
Common questions
When does the 2026-27 A-League season start?
Friday 16 October 2026, with Sydney FC against the Western Sydney Wanderers at Allianz Stadium. The grand final is scheduled for the weekend of 5 and 6 June 2027.
Where can I chat with other A-League fans?
In the Soccer Australia Crowd on Brane, at brane.im/c/soccer-australia, or in the fan chat inside the Soccer Australia app. It is the same conversation.
Do I need to download an app?
No. Open the link, tap Join Group Chat and sign in with an email code. The Brane and Soccer Australia apps add push notifications if you want them.
Is it free?
Yes. Joining the Crowd, chatting and finding fans near you on Brane are all free.
How do I find other fans of my club near me?
Add your club or football as an interest on Brane, then search it. Fans who share it are listed nearest first.
Season dates: Flashscore and Auckland FC, on the 2026-27 A-League Men fixtures. Check the official fixture list before match day.
Kick-off is Friday. Join the Soccer Australia Crowd, or download the Soccer Australia app and chat from there.