What is a Homegrown Player, and how many must a club have?
Rule- Australia
- Football Australia
- NPL
- Men's first team
- 2026
- Players
- Semi-professional
An NPL club must have at least three Homegrown Players on its NPL first team roster. A Homegrown Player is a player who, between the ages of 12 and 21, was registered with that NPL club for three entire seasons or 36 months in total.
The periods are added together and do not need to be continuous. For example, a player registered with the club for their Under 12, Under 16 and Under 20 teams qualifies, even if they were with another club for their Under 13, Under 14 and Under 18 seasons.
Visa Players and AFC/OFC Visa Players do not qualify as Homegrown Players in the roster principles' example roster.
Source: NPL Player Roster Principles 2026.
Added 24 Oct 2026