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Is Australia’s sporting landscape too overcrowded?

22nd August, 2009
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22nd August, 2009
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A Brisbane supporter celebrates after the AFL Round 21 match between the Brisbane Lions and Port Adelaide Power

A Brisbane supporter celebrates after the AFL Round 21 match between the Brisbane Lions and Port Adelaide Power

The depth and breadth of our sporting landscape never ceases to amaze me. On Saturday alone you could have watched Ashes cricket, NRL, AFL, A-League, Tri-Nations, V8 Supercars and the like on the box. With codes undertaking one of the most aggressive expansion phases in Australian sporting history, can this be sustained?

It is a fascinating time to watch the relative fortunes of the codes in what could prove to be a decisive phase of our sporting history, and it says a lot about the importance of sport to Australia’s makeup that we are able to sustain such a variety of codes and leagues in a country with a modest population of just over 21 million.

Compare that to countries with a similar variety in sporting tastes and breadth, the USA with around 300 million and the UK with 61 million, and you can’t help but be impressed.

But the acid test will be in the next decade and you have to wonder how the codes are going to fund their expansions.

Australia’s population growth rate is just over 1%, migration rates aren’t overwhelming, and economic growth, GDP rate, is a modest 2.5%

Considering this expansion phase is seeing codes move into regions in which they don’t have a substantial supporter base already, how are the codes, already suffering from the effects of the global financial crisis, going to cope with this challenge?

They have been forced to follow one another into the same expansion strategies so as not to miss out in the long-term, yet all the indicators show that codes struggle mightily in foreign territories.

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Even the strongest, most economically sound code in the AFL took years to establish their franchises in Sydney and Brisbane.

In an interview with The Sydney Morning Herald, Frank Lowy reiterated the need for the FFA to continue down the path of expansion and the need for a promotion and relegation system.

But in this highly competitive and fierce market, promotion and relegation would be the death of the A-League.

Imagine Gold Coast United relegated to a lower division, let’s say the B-League.

Without the substantial, hardcore football supporter base on the Coast, punters can simply switch memberships and season tickets to the Titans or the AFL team.

There is too much variety in the sporting landscape for the A-League to weaken franchises in such ways.

The crowds for Gold Coast United and North Queensland Fury have been woeful, AFL crowd figures and television ratings in Sydney still fluctuate, Super Rugby will struggle to field deep, competitive squads once Melbourne joins Super 15 and the NRL has few possible expansion options.

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All the codes are in for a rough patch in this expansion era and they need to be on their game to minimize the losses.

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