The National Soccer League (NSL) was the former top level soccer league in Australia, run by Soccer Australia and later the Australian Soccer Association. The NSL spanned 28 seasons from its inception in 1977, until its demise in 2004, when it was succeeded by the A-League competition, run by Football Federation Australia, the successor to the Australian Soccer Association. During the history of the NSL the league was contested by a total of 42 teams; 41 based in Australia and one based in New Zealand. Seasons initially ran during the winter seasons, until 1989 when this was changed to the summer season. In 1984, the league was split into two conferences (Northern and Southern), so to introduced more teams in the competition; was later reverted with the return to a single division in 1987. The competition was also known by various names through sponsorships; these names including the Philips Soccer League, Olympic Airways Soccer League, Coca-Cola Soccer League, the Ericsson Cup and the A-League.