It’s one of the surest signs summer is over and winter sports are here to stay – welcome to the 2026 Albury Wodonga Football Association season.

The premier soccer competition in the region, the AWFA season pits clubs from Albury Wodonga, Wangaratta, Cobram and Myrtleford against each other, and the latest edition of the competition is sure to be as good as ever.

Wangaratta City FC will field 12 teams across the junior and senior grades, and will commence their season at home this weekend, taking on Albury City and Albury Hotspurs at South Wangaratta on Sunday.

Senior men’s coach Vitaly Leschen said the lead-up to the season had stretched on long enough, and the squad was ready to rip into the year.

“Preseason’s been long, so everyone’s excited, we should be in for a good year,” he said.

“We’ll see what happens on the pitch, but the atmosphere around the ground is good, so we’ll build on that.”

The Devils will head into the season with a mix of youth and experience, combining the developing talent coming through the under 18s and reserve squads with some players who have been around the competition for many years.

“In terms of players to watch, we have a full sweep of 10 or 12 players under 18 that have come through and are all very talented, exciting players,” Leschen said.

“There will be a couple in there to watch like Brodie Tyres, who played last year and is stepping up again next year.

“Ashley Primerano coming back from Murray should be in for a big year.

“Players that were part of that reserve squad, like Frazer d’Agostino, Jacob Saunders, Zack Boucher and Emilio [Miliankos-King], those talented young kids will be good to watch as they progress over the year.

“We’ve added in some more experience with Stoych [Stoycho Ivanov] coming back, Raul’s back fit, and getting Nathan Gleeson in goals will really help as well.

“He’s a very good goalkeeper, a good person, and will provide a lot of competition to Kadey [Kade Micheli], which will only benefit Kade as well.”

After a lacklustre few seasons, Leschen said the squad would be gunning to soar up the ladder.

“I would like to continue the momentum from last year, so I’m saying a top-four finish is where the boys should be aiming,” he said.

“I think with the talented young boys, the experienced boys, and the general atmosphere, top four should be seen as that next minimum step for the boys.

“I would have Albury City as a team that’s going to be up there this year, it’ll be a good test in round one.”

Matches at South Wangaratta Recreation this Sunday commence with the under 12 boys Red team, with the senior the senior Devils taking on Albury City from 3pm.