The MCC controls the MCG – but the AFL have complete rights during the winter months.

All international cricket will only be played in Indian friendly time zones by then and state cricket can easily be played at surburban ovals.

This is Australia we are talking about not some country of worry warts.

AFL and NRLwill make a few noises (although I think the NRL has already give their ok) but with a bit of an early and later season they will be allright. The NRL uses a lot of Surburban grounds so can probably do a number of split rounds to get through that period.

I can imagine the AFL causing a stink, becasue quite frankly “the great Austrlaian game” has a very un australian attitude.

In return they get upgraded stadiums all over the place and would they really want to be still playing why the world cup is going on?

It’s a bit like asking Myers to shut up shop in the period leading up to Christmas.

To be honest – it looks impossible – and considering the AFL has first dibs on both the MCG and Dome (which they will almost own outright by then) – a two month recess looks like a major, major stumbling block.

FIFA has rules about shutting out all major sporting events – but surely that would not extend to a little ol’ suburban competition that no one in the world has ever heard of? Will hockey, lacrosse and korfball also be shut down for two months? What about little athletics??

1. viewing numbers on Fox; and
2. the fact that two 45 minute halves aren’t conducive to the manner in which a commercial FTA generally runs things and earn money.

Highlights show – that’s ok.
Even replays – that’s ok.
But live games – not attractive to commercial FTAs.

SBS, ABC, HD channels – that’s a good fit – but not big bucks.

“The AFL and NRL will have to take mid-season breaks of up to eight weeks should Australia host the soccer World Cup in 2018 or 2022 ”

http://news.brisbanetimes.com.au/breaking-news-sport/world-cup-would-mean-midseason-shutdown-20091022-hb0b.html

That way if a big team did have a bad year they wouldn’t have to lose all their players. And Ambitious teams aren’t held back from having a real go at promotion and succeding in the top division.

Say if we had 20 clubs (10 clubs in each league) A-League today has a salary cap of around $2.5M per team and you would envisage A-League2 say around $1M per team. I think it could work down the track provided TV money is available from the FFA.

I think Fox could get the cross promotional package.

Some of the ratings for the HAL games are very low and only make the Top 50 because the AFL and NRL seasons are over.

To be honest I havent done a week to week analysis so you maybe right but intuitively it seems incorrect.

Redb

Games not involving the Australian teams….well ASTRA only show the top 50 so I have never seen one.

Not that it says alot about the strength of Football….just how bad Rugby is doing more likely.

of course uni funding is terrible – but thats for books and not sport, and if they are serious about wanting to have an australian of the year in the alumini….=)

how about a combined forces team? “barrack the team from the barracks”. they’d probably play a physical game mind you but wld be a good clash against the uni team ( i assume who wld play an SBS approved game).

P & R is a tough sell in a country with a small population and a massive geographic area, and even more so when the teams do not enjoy the longevity of support in say England.

Say for instance Perth Glory got relegated to B-League? Would that mean their would be no top class futbol in WA?

The US does not have P & R and MLS does very well. Brazil didnt have a truly national competition until comparatively recently. I think the one country which we could learn from may be Russia, as it a massive country with P & R. My knowledge on Russian futbol is pretty limited, but I know that at one stage Vladivostok had a team in the Premier League and it caused a few issues for other sides, who thought they should be playing in the Japanese competition.

1. using your example, two annual airfares for Darwin vs Hobart would be enough to break the bank; and

2. it occurs to me that as teams go broke (as will often happen in new competitions), the sorts of teams that may have once upon a time been earmarked to start a second division will increasingly be used to plug the holes in the A-League proper.

Redb

Having a 2nd division (A-League2) would be very interesting as there is no such thing here with other codes. Unless a massive TV deal comes through in future I can’t see it happening in the short term. The 2nd division should include teams like Canberra, Wollongong, Geelong, Hobart, Darwin and maybe another team from NZ etc rather than more teams from Sydney and Melbourne.

I see Lowy saying all the right things like “I think we have grown up by now, that both the commercial free-to-air and the pay TV (operators) will realise that we are a growing sport, a very popular sport, and we are going places, so we will not be penalised financially.”

and yet, the primary vehicle domestically – the HAL, is not showing this. Lowy says one thing, and the reality is doing other things. (proof – To end round 11, 54 games vs 44 games and the HAL V5 has attracted 51,000 people less than the heady days of V3 for 10 less games.) That’s not a sign of a ‘growing/popular’ sporting product that you are trying to sell to FTA broadcasters – - esp given that inserting ads is the constant conundrum of FTA coverage of soccer.

(The cold harsh facts of rnds 8 and 11 have drawn just 31K and 34K to 5 games each!!, that’ll scare broadcasters off – especially now post NRL/AFL seasons. That puts the game in ABC afternoon territory.).

(note – this is on the basis of separating the ‘product’ = the HAL ; from the ‘game’ = soccer)

Lowy is working the hustings, doing the salesman job and trying to talk it all up. In my humble opinion, he needs a bit more support just at the minute. But, perhaps best not from Clive Palmer!!! However, the light at the end of the tunnel……post the 2006 FIFA WC, and MVFC success in V3 of HAL, people getting ‘caught up’ in the positive glow saw the Vic Govt build a $300 million stadium. Perhaps, just perhaps, 2011, in the afterglow of 2010 FIFA WC is the perfect time to draw cash from what otherwise might be broadcasting stones.