A-League needs to make its summer count

 

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Sydney FC'S Mark Rudan (centre) competes for the ball with Saso Ognenovski (left) and Reinaldo da Costa of the Queensland Roar during their A-League clash at Aussie Stadium, Sydney, Sunday, Oct. 8, 2006. The match ended in a 1-1 draw. AAP Image/Jenny Evans

Sydney FC'S Mark Rudan (centre) competes for the ball with Saso Ognenovski (left) and Reinaldo da Costa of the Queensland Roar during their A-League clash at Aussie Stadium, Sydney, Sunday, Oct. 8, 2006. The match ended in a 1-1 draw. AAP Image/Jenny Evans

If you take away Tiger Woods’ visit down under and the fortnight of tennis in January we are left with a pretty barren Australian summer of sport, particularly for those who don’t care for cricket.

And with Tiger leaving town, a weak West Indies arriving for a series of meaningless Tests following a year in which cricket has been overexposed, and the A-League failing to engage with fans, it’s not looking like a particularly tempting summer of sport.

If the early arrival of the heat across the country is any indication, we’ll all be at the beach over the next few months rather than at stadiums.

Summer seems to be a bit of a wasteland for Australian sport.

For codes that exist in this period they are afforded more media coverage away from the AFL and NRL spotlight while playing during the extended school-summer holidays.

And there is certainly little opposition with only one genuine force during the weeks leading up to Christmas and New Year.

Away from the Australian cricket team, crowds for domestic cricket competitions, particularly for the Sheffield Shield but also the Ford Ranger Cup, are dire.

Twenty20’s popularity was meant to sweep through the domestic scene but the KFC Big Bash has failed to cause much of a dent in the sporting landscape – maybe because it’s called the KFC Big Bash! And, like the A-League, being hidden away on Fox Sports does little to reach the masses.

Cricket’s popularity isn’t as all encompassing, as is believed, witnessed by the lacklustre support for the domestic game. Yet it appears so popular because it has the summer to itself.

The fact is the Australian sporting summer is built around Australia’s cricket team. But against a weak West Indies, following a year in which the Australian team hasn’t stopped playing since the Ashes, in addition to the little impact the domestic competitions have, there is an opening here.

It’s in this barren period that football needs to assert itself as a genuine force of the Australian summer – an alternative to cricket.

The FFA knows this and the floating Round 19 – all games played in midweek over the course of six weeks in December and January – should help the league’s impact in summer, in addition to being a real litmus test for the success of midweek matches.

But better fixtures needs to be implemented in the future for this summer period of the A-League to really galvanise the public.

For example, Central Coast will host a match in their now traditional New Year’s Eve slot while the Melbourne Victory’s Round 19 midweek fixture falls on Australia Day.

The team they are both playing on those days? The Wellington Phoenix, typically one of the lowest drawcards across the league.

Finding better matches to maximise this summer period, and creating traditional fixtures around these key dates, is essential so the A-League stands out in the summer months

Despite all the protestations of a lacklustre summer of cricket, the fact remains the MCG will still be packed on Boxing Day because it matters to Australia. It’s tradition.

What Australian cricket also does so well is cater for the season. The crowds at the Test matches are there for the raucous fun of a day soaking in the sun with a stocked esky.

It’s these traditions and attributes that make Australian cricket what it is.

The A-League needs to learn from this example if it is truly going to be a summer sport.

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