Football fans need to really support A-League
Roar Guru By johnhunt92, 29 Jun 2012 johnhunt92 is a Roar Guru
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- A-League, A-League crowds, FFA, football, Football Federation Australia, Western Sydney Wanderers
Glory beckons as Perth make A-League Grand Final AAP Image/Paul Miller
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Over 1.8 million people play the world game in Australia, yet it seems the FFA has never been able to fully harness that support. Why is this the case?
It is question that needs to be answered quickly as the FFA and its revolution, which began in 2005, has reached a crossroad.
While TV ratings have increased, average attendances have declined to around 10,500, down around 2500 since the high was reached in 2007-2008.
Gold Coast United, which was launched with much fanfare, died a death marred by infighting and rivalries reminiscent of a medieval power grab, while other clubs sail perilously close to the financial abyss.
So what is the issue?
Firstly, I must disclose information for the betterment of the article: I am a huge AFL fan and love the sport dearly and regard it as the best run group in Australia, making the FFA look like a country sports league.
But my first sport was football; I still love football and I take great interest ensuring it is on a stable ground.
Back to the issue though; why can’t the FFA garner fan power like other sports?
It’s not lack of numbers as I pointed out, nor is it lack of heritage and history.
FFA management should shoulder some blame as it has made many mistakes in it management, but they are not the whole problem.
The major reason this game struggles is based on two issues in which fans are to blame.
Firstly, the snobbery and elitism of certain sections of football fans in this country is sickening.
They are the type that support a European club despite the distance yet loathe supporting A-League teams.
These fans yearn for the NSL days where we return to incompetent, divisive football system that lacked the ability to manage itself properly.
Time to move on guys; the administrators of that time had their chance and were responsible for malaise in football for years.
Secondly, football fans in this country are too micro focused and not focusing on the big picture.
There is too much nitpicking about minute details around clubs’ colours identity and stadiums.
Fans use flimsy excuses not to get behind the club by trolling websites (which I am likely to get on this article) with tripe and moaning.
Look at the announcement of the Western Sydney Wanderers and the details about the club.
Complaints ranged from the “Wanderers” identity being a media piñata when they lose, to rubbish strip colours and more dismally, a boring logo or the logo wasn’t “good enough”.
Despite the fact I liked most of the details and the fact fan forums strongly supported these details, does it really matter?
Seriously, in the grand context of football development, we need to move away as fans from the constant energy poured into pick holes in every little detail.
Western Sydney has yearned for a football club yet seems ungrateful for the opportunity it has got because the colours are awful or the nickname isn’t “football enough”.
Wayne Jackson once said the greatest threat to AFL was soccer if it harnessed its potential.
Trouble is fans seemed not to have heeded that challenge behaving more like the Labor party in panic mode.
Football fans probably won’t like the forcefulness of this article, but I feel it is a yucky medicine that needs to be swallowed.
June 29th 2012 @ 1:31am
Dinoweb said | June 29th 2012 @ 1:31am | Report comment
It has always been a mystery to me. Too many football players will not go and support the national league, be it either the NSL or the A-League. As a player, I always felt supporting the national league would benefit the sport as a whole, but obviously I am in the minority.
Personall, I thnk there is no culture for supporting football in Australia. During the A-League season, ask any number of people who is playing on a given weekend, and many will state that they didn’t even know the A-League was running at the time.
Ask the same people who is playing in the NRL or AFL and odds are at least half of them will have some idea. They will certainly all know that those codes are playing even if not which teams.
Come Monday morning then, soccer fans are unlikely to ever discuss the A-League, but will discuss the other codes with workmates.
In my opinon then, it is this in grained bias against even discussing football that must be overcome before the sport can truly succeed.
The fastest solution I can see is free to air coverage of any description on any of the major commercial networks, or even just adds for the game. People may not watch the games, but at least they are more likely to know that they are on. Fans then will be able to discuss the sport with others more regularly, increasing their own interest.
I have no doubt that the sport will continue to grow, and despite the all too regular setbacks it is growing. The only real question is how long will it take?
June 29th 2012 @ 12:16pm
Rangaraider said | June 29th 2012 @ 12:16pm | Report comment
Or we as football fans can go to the games and start the discussion with our workmates. I’ve been doing it since the inception of the league and My workmates know when the league starts, when my team is playing and some have even started going to the game of their own accord!
It’s called being proactive, being on FTA TV is not the panacea that football fans think it is, sure it would help but there are a lot of factors involved.
June 29th 2012 @ 2:11pm
Mahony said | June 29th 2012 @ 2:11pm | Report comment
Yep – I do the same. Ran a WC competition in the office, wear my MV shirt to work on matchdays and generaly encourage people to come along on my family ticket is a family member is unavailable. It is up to us.
June 29th 2012 @ 7:08am
MV Dave said | June 29th 2012 @ 7:08am | Report comment
Football in Oz had no national league 8 years ago…since season 1 of HAL attendances have grown 50% plus, tv viewership is up, there are 2 more teams, the Socceroos have reached the last 2 world Cups, more people play football in Oz than any other code, our teams play in the ACL and the league is about to sign a record tv deal. Are there issues? Absolutely, as there has always been, and hopefully some of these will be fixed in the coming years. However compared to the past we have never had it so good.
The HAL hasn’t even reached the end of its first decade and has been written off by critics and doomsayers plenty of times. Whilst its progress may not have been fast enough or big enough for some it is nevertheless growing and the on field product is better than ever.
Unfortunately your article is negative in tone and for an AFL fan I suppose that is to be expected. Perhaps an article on why their attendances have crashed by an average of over 5,000 per game in recent years is due?
BTW It was confirmed that viewership in the ACL was up by an ave of 46% this season so far and is measured in the hundreds of millions. None of the other codes have local clubs that play in a competition that is so widely watched. Eventually the ACL participation will reap huge rewards for our clubs and this is part of the bright future for football. Apologies to the naysayers for being so positive…
June 29th 2012 @ 12:51pm
Dave said | June 29th 2012 @ 12:51pm | Report comment
Cosidering the ‘true rate’ of inflation is closer to 10% per annum than it is to the ‘official rate’ of 2% that the Federal Government says that it is and has been so for most of the past 7 years of the existing tv agreement with FoxSports, what do you cosider will be the value of this ‘record tv deal” you gloat about?
Adjusted for a TRUE annual inflation rate of 10% since the signing of the last tv contract in 2006 with FoxSports, the REAL value of the existing tv contract, if calculated on the anniversary of the inking every year since, would approximately be as follows -
2006 – $17M per season (contract signing)
2007 – $18.7M per season (10% TRUE annual inflation)
2008 – $20.57M per season (10% TRUE annual inflation)
2009 – $22.63M per season (10% TRUE annual inflation)
2010 – $ 24.89M per season (10% TRUE annual inflation)
2011 – $27.37M per season (10% TRUE annual inflation)
2012 – $30.1M – per season (10% TRUE annual inflation)
2013 – $33.11M – per season (10% TRUE annual inflation)
As you can clearly see a tv contract signed for $17M per season in 2006 is the approximate equivilent to $33M per season in 2013 after adjusting for the REAL RATE of inflation and NOT using the super dodgy figures that the Government puts out in order to stifle annual wage claims.
So in conclusion, $33M is the figure that the negotiations have as their starting point, as this is what $17M in 2006 money is worth in today’s money.
June 29th 2012 @ 12:54pm
Jimmy said | June 29th 2012 @ 12:54pm | Report comment
Looks about right to me.
July 2nd 2012 @ 11:01pm
ian said | July 2nd 2012 @ 11:01pm | Report comment
Dave , who are you kidding. Your saying that since 2006 the price of things CPI has doubled. I am a teacher and in 2006 i was earning 60,000 in 2012 my salary is 83,000.
The average house price in SEQ was around $390,000 so in 2012 ( using your figures that avergae house price should be almost $800,000. In fact it is still around the $390,000 mark. So to put it simply Dave , your very very wrong.
June 29th 2012 @ 2:12pm
Mahony said | June 29th 2012 @ 2:12pm | Report comment
Your excused!
June 29th 2012 @ 8:58am
Bondy said | June 29th 2012 @ 8:58am | Report comment
Your first line indicates football is your third of fourth choice in sports you didnt need to announce your devotion to another sport.Your attendance figures are strange I notice a Roarer jb here posting we had 3,000 less people through the gate this year than the inception of the Hyundai A League I know which figures I trust the bloke who continually does each game and posts the crowds here,.
One has to pose the question why isnt the highest participated sport in the Country on F.T.A. there are over 500,000 that play Assoc Football in Victoria though you can catch the storm on F.T.A. that doesnt best represent what the people are actually participating in that state does it !,that also potentially the N.R.L could have a team up and running in Perth where in which the people who actually participate in the sport there is miniscule but could be on F.T.A before the Perth Glory “thats a genuine possiblity”.
Does anyone ever conceed that its strange at least to watch Freemantle vs Prt Adl on a F.T.A platform in the western subrbs of Sydney- Penrith where in which the A.F.L have conceeded that they want kids and parents out in the western subrbs of Syndey learning their sport and culture but they havent yet but its free to watch on tv. Has anyone ever asked themselves theres not really a great deal of differnce between Rugby union and League, its interseting to see the sports Census between those two sports they are identical in participation except one area 15-24 yrs is where league runs away from Union in participation because of F.T.A.$$ the participation rates after 25 goes back to almost even with those two sports.
Does anyone stop to think that we live of the back of Cricket globally but realistically 7 nations play cricket thats nothing, the fifa womens world cup has 16 nations involved thats the same size participation in Countries as the mens Rugby world cup.
Does anyone stop to think you can watch surf life saving, surfing,V8 supercars Golf, Afl, Nrl Cycling,thouroughbred racing,swimming,but no element of professional football in Australia on a F.T.A. platform,my only concern is that with the figures suggested 1.8 mill it will never be supassed .What all of that means to me is clearly that parents dont involve their children in sports that they actually watch and its never going to change.
June 29th 2012 @ 9:19am
Bondy said | June 29th 2012 @ 9:19am | Report comment
John, I may seem bias but I conceed A.F.L’s is run well.
June 29th 2012 @ 1:08pm
JamesP said | June 29th 2012 @ 1:08pm | Report comment
” 7 nations play cricket thats nothing”
You do realise that one of those countries in the 2nd biggest on earth with over 1.2b, and about 1.5b when you add the rest of the countries on the sub continent.
June 29th 2012 @ 3:26pm
Bondy said | June 29th 2012 @ 3:26pm | Report comment
And they all watch on smartphones dont they even the ones without limbs who live on the street..
June 29th 2012 @ 9:01am
Midfielder said | June 29th 2012 @ 9:01am | Report comment
John
Good article and well done in your AFL statement as well..
I agree with you on the AFL management… however the job of running the AFL is far less complex than running Football… Football has nine international teams, over 200 players overseas, whereas AFL has four states and is trying to expand in two more.. If I add to this the past and present media space then FFA management are at a disadvantage..
I write none of the above as an excuse as one day these will become an advantage…
My overall summary of FFA is some things they have done well and some things poorly .. A-League management from Hal 4 to Hal 6 was poor and the expansion into North Qld & the Gold Coast was the worst…
But back to the thrust of your article that fans should take on more…
The connection between the player base, TV rating and crowds is / has been vesting question for years… my personal opinion is things are ever so slowly turning around… people who never talked about the A-League nor would consider watching it on TV are starting to won over by the improved quality of play .. Ange and Arnold have a lot to do with this so does FFA for increasing coaching standards.
A lot more needs to be done two things would help … an increase in media space, within this a better media [i.e. one that can balance the negative articles with the positives ones] .. second money for promotion …
The crowds are not that bad all things considered take the RL crowds from 1980 to 2002 … even today they are only 16.5K
http://stats.rleague.com/rl/crowds/summary.html
Year… Mths… TL Crowd .. Average
2002… 180… 2355184… 13084
2001… 182… 2412528… 13256
2000… 182… 2614665… 14366
1999… 204… 2843065… 13937
1998… 240… 2624359… 10935
1997… 132… 1308824… 9915
1997SL. 90…. 1111189… 12347
1996… 214… 2452029… 11458
1995… 220… 3061893… 13918
1994… 176… 2501806… 14215
1993… 176… 2403179… 13654
1992… 176… 2066983… 11744
1991… 176… 2183804… 12408
1990… 176… 1994956… 11335
1989… 176… 1851351… 10519
1988… 176… 1772455… 10071
1987… 156… 1482234… 9502
1986… 156… 1514480… 9708
1984… 156… 1181792… 7576
1983… 182… 1268401… 6969
1982… 182… 1542640… 8476
1981… 132… 1141461… 8647
1980… 132… 1304323… 9881
The A-League total crowds in last year were 1,536,231 [average 10,819] in 135 games which when you look at the RL table above IMO puts a better balance than looking at AFL crowds… and if you take the Gold Coast out of the above average the new average is 12, 236 http://www.ultimatealeague.com/records.php?type=att&season=2011-12 Taking this one step further as footballs media expands so will these figures with little media and no FTA exposure the crowds and rating are encouraging …
However more does need to be done but Rome was not build in a day in time the NSL bitters will turn around and the snobs will come around … time, exposure and money will help…
June 29th 2012 @ 9:32am
Bondy said | June 29th 2012 @ 9:32am | Report comment
Uno Mid I get accused here of having the persecuted complex some times with football, I can name 23,000 reasons why this sport shoulnt be professional in this country, heres a few that you’ve even heard surely,the standards not up to European so theres their first excuse,you cant get paid in Australia like you can in Europe or Asia, the game ended 1-1, but you riot you people dont you,.
I’ve not found one person nor one comment anywhere ever that says football / soccer is not beneficial as a recreational sport in this country though.
June 29th 2012 @ 9:22am
Punter said | June 29th 2012 @ 9:22am | Report comment
I don’t know who Wayne Jackson but he is right. The AFL has longed looked at Football as they greatest threat. This is the reason why they went to Western Sydney, not to combat Rugby League but to combat Football. This is also why they were not actually jumping thru hoops to have the World cup in Australia, they know the potential to the game what the football World cup would do in this country.
The AFL are easily the best run competition in this country & backed by fanitical supporters in their heartland equal to any support of any sport anywhere in the world, makes them a formitable code in this country.
As MVDave says, football has not taken off as quickly as some would like, but…..
There are many football fans who have their O/S teams, follow the Socceroos but are also massive Carlton or St George fans & this is ingrained in them for a long time. I know I have had very little time following Rugby League ever since the A-League came into being (never been an AFL fan), but I know many in my football club who still has their passion for their RL clubs & no doubt likewise in AFL heartland for AFL clubs.
However, the longer the HAL goes the younger generation will grow up following Carlton, St George & Central Coast Marniers & as they get older will pick & choose where to spend their hard earned monies on attending games, merchandise, so you will see more & more of those who are involved in football clubs also actively following the local national competition.
June 29th 2012 @ 12:29pm
Australian Rules said | June 29th 2012 @ 12:29pm | Report comment
Punter
Wayne Jackson was Andrew Demetriou’s predecessor. He was CEO of the AFL from 1996 – 2003.
June 29th 2012 @ 1:09pm
JamesP said | June 29th 2012 @ 1:09pm | Report comment
Wayne Jackson was the AFL CEO prior to Andrew Demetriou
June 29th 2012 @ 9:37am
Midfielder said | June 29th 2012 @ 9:37am | Report comment
John
The question of connecting football to its player base has been around for years and although a tad dated this is an excellent read http://vulgar.com.au/libero/002/giant.html
Quoting from article [the giant refers to the player base].. The writer is referring to FFA
“”" Football has, if nothing else, achieved a mainstream legitimacy unthinkable only a few years ago. But the Socceroos’ results and the quality of the A-League are not the key indicators of the Giant’s future health. It is the infrastructure being laid now, the investment in the future, like small sided games for kids (to oblige them to learn better technical skills and have a better understanding of team shape) plus the genuine professional pathways opening up for elite athletes. In the past, most of the better players would get to 13 or 14, realise there was no professional pathway in Australia and switch to another code where they might make a career. Those kids will be less likely to be lost to football now that there is a mainstream professional league which is (of course) also a stepping stone to the big money overseas.””’
The key point in this is people will develop a greater understanding of football … when they better understand it they will watch and go to in greater numbers … this learning process takes a long time… and is what FFA need to do and are doing…
Bold prediction Crowds will be up by 25% this year …. TV rating by more…
June 29th 2012 @ 9:50am
striker said | June 29th 2012 @ 9:50am | Report comment
Great article you hit the nail on the head, to many football people and there is millions out there will never accept the league here from the old NSL followers who blame the A-League for the demise of there league to the people who follow the English and European leagues and who think the A-leagues is second rate which it is not, Harry Kewell summed it up only a few weeks ago that the league is much tougher than what people said to him, its common among football people to bag the league even as the standard has never been better, the other codes have the mainstream media tv,papers,radio all behind them and most hate our game with a passion, i was watching the back page the other day and when they mentoned the new team the west wanderers they the panel you can tell they absolutely hate our code its show on the faces they were joking about the name,the colours that it was rushed blah blah, if we are united we can definately be in the top three codes.
June 29th 2012 @ 9:56am
Tigranes said | June 29th 2012 @ 9:56am | Report comment
Soccer needs more clubs in bigger cities, which is why Heart and Wanderers are good moves. Whilst Im sure Mariners fans love seeing their team do well, they represent a fairly small area population wise.
Australia only has 20M people, and the HAL averages 10-12K per game. Not too many soccer leagues globally average more than 20K, France has 60M people, yet their top national league averages about 20K. South African Premier Soccer League averages well below the HAL, yet South Africa has over 45M people and ticket prices are a fraction of what they are
When you consider the amount of professional sports in Australia, the HAL is doing very welL.
June 29th 2012 @ 10:37am
Bondy said | June 29th 2012 @ 10:37am | Report comment
Tigranes.
You suggest football is a small sport on the Central Coast but thats where the afl are trying to establish themselves.
June 29th 2012 @ 10:49am
Tigranes said | June 29th 2012 @ 10:49am | Report comment
Bondy
that is not what I suggested. The Central Coast is in reality a provincial type team, the population would be maybe 500K tops?
Perhaps a UK equivalent would be a side like Burnley when they were in PL?
Western Sydney has over 2M residents and close to 15% of those are registered soccer players. The potential for Western Sydney is far more than what Central Coast could ever achieve.
I think Mariners have done very well to date, smart move to put a team in an area neglected by the NRL with a fantastic stadium, developing relationships with overseas sides and their centre of excellence, making several HAL finals.
June 29th 2012 @ 4:08pm
Bondy said | June 29th 2012 @ 4:08pm | Report comment
Tigranes,
My apoligies if i’ve misread the situation sorry.
June 29th 2012 @ 11:17am
nordster said | June 29th 2012 @ 11:17am | Report comment
We need more of both …larger centres and distinct parochial regional areas ..with a second division. The issues with sporting leagues here is the assumption that all clubs should be of a similar level, contrived via a salary cap. So it locks out many parts of the country from national sporting leagues for the most part. Football has the chance to fill this gap as the sport has a history of pro/rel. But only if it lets clubs operate closer to their true means so they are more financially viable.
June 29th 2012 @ 11:12am
nordster said | June 29th 2012 @ 11:12am | Report comment
Not all the eurosnob types yearn for the nsl,i find it more the epl fans than anything.
Having australian identities in the league is the first step to having something local to follow for some of these fans. Its a long process building this support thats genuine. FFA have done some good things to make the football here look like football …a knockout post season cup is another small thing. Longer seasons should be next on the cred checklist imo.
June 29th 2012 @ 11:38am
JonD said | June 29th 2012 @ 11:38am | Report comment
The truth in Australian sport is that it is such a competitive market that if you are not on FTA TV then it is as if you don’t exist. Out of sight, out of mind. If the FFA want to build support for the A-league then more important than marquee signings is getting onto FTA TV.