The Australian Powerchair Football Club Championships take place each year and bring together the best powerchair footballers from across Australia and New Zealand. The 2022 tournament took place at the Hall of Legends in Sydney Olympic Park’s Quaycentre.
Congratulations to Hills United, the 2023 APFA Club Champions! Hills defeated Melbourne City in the final, winning 2-1 via penalties after an intense and nail-biting conclusion to the event.
About the APFA Club Championships
The Club Championships came about as a way to bring the best athletes from across the nation together each year. Initially the tournament took place in addition to annual national titles, however it is now the premier national tournament.
Taking place over a week, the Club Championships see teams battle through either a round robin or group stage format, before a knockout format sees the week’s best two teams meet in the final.
The 2019 and 2020 titles featured matches being decided via a penalty shoot-out, including both semi finals in the 2020 event. The standard of play continues to improve each year, and the 2022 even saw Canberra United competing for the first time!
History
The inaugural APFA Club Championships were held in January 2016 at Sydney’s Kevin Betts Stadium in Mt Druitt. The event featured 6 teams, with Brisbane Roar and Melbourne City coming from interstate. The final took place at Sydney Olympic Park’s QuayCentre as part of the annual Australian futsal national titles, with Brisbane Roar winning in front of a healthy crowd.
The field expanded to 7 teams in 2017, before 8 teams participated in the 2018 edition, its final appearance at Kevin Betts Stadium. The 2019 APFA Club Championships saw all matches played in the Hall of Legends at the QuayCentre for the first time, with a bumper field of 12 teams taking part, with 11 teams featuring in 2020. The 2022 tournament took place in April, shifting from the traditional January or October time slots.
NSWPFA teams have been incredibly successful throughout the tournament’s history, with a NSWPFA team either winning the championship or being named runners-up in every edition of the tournament. The most successful team in APFA Club Championship history is the Newcastle Jets, with 3 titles. Of the 14 finalists, 10 teams have been from the NSWPFA, while 3 different NSWPFA clubs have now won titles following Hills United’s 2023 triumph.
APFA Club Championship Results
| Year | Champions | Runners-up | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 |  | Hills United |  | Melbourne City |
| 2022 |  | Newcastle Jets | | Hills United |
| 2020 | | Newcastle Jets |  | Central Coast Mariners |
| 2019 |  | Sydney FC | | Central Coast Mariners |
| 2018 |  | Brisbane Roar |  | Western Sydney Wanderers |
| 2017 | | Newcastle Jets | | Brisbane Roar |
| 2016 | | Brisbane Roar | | Central Coast Mariners |