Football Federation Australia have announced the launch of the National Premier Leagues (NPL) for the semi-professional state-based competitions in Australian football.

Each state and territory will still run their NPL competition - but the winter season will culminate in a national play-off.

"The semi-pro state league clubs have long been the engine room of Australia’s player development system and have always provided a local focus of football passion across the nation," Gallop said.

"Today’s launch of the National Premier Leagues model gives the state-based competitions the status and organisational structure they deserve.

"This model is the product of National Competitions Review (NCR), a hugely important piece of policy development over the past two years.

"I commend our Member Federations, the constituent clubs and the FFA staff for their commitment to the cause. This work will shape football across the nation for years to come."

There are significant changes to the current model, which will help both players and clubs. Each club will have a qualified technical director, while there will be consistent pathways for players to develop - with adequate compensation for those clubs who produce A-League players.

The phased national roll out of the NCR recommendations will see 70 clubs across Queensland, NSW, South Australia, ACT and Tasmania implement changes this year.

In 2014, Victoria, Northern NSW and Western Australia propose to roll out the NCR changes. Due to its smaller scale, Northern Territory will adopt a partial model.

"The NCR is a key outcome of our strategic plan which has the objective to better connect community football to the professional tier,” said Gallop.

"The National Premier Leagues model is a vital conduit from the grassroots to the Hyundai A-League. The strategy is sound, but now all parties need to redouble their efforts to ensure the implementation brings the desired results.

"In short, our aim is to see highly qualified coaches employed by stable and well-run NPL clubs producing better Australian players from under 12 to under 18, then under 20s and finally to senior ranks."