Australia has found the A-League, but FFA must capitalise
Columnist 
Former NRL Chief Executive David Gallop. AAP Image/Paul Miller
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Amid the euphoria of what been a quite remarkable season in terms of attendance, TV viewership, awareness and fan engagement, the A-League and its administrators must continue to make sound decisions, keeping its fans at the core.
David Gallop says the league is currently in an execution phase, and there’s no doubt the success of the arrival or Alessandro Del Piero and the Western Sydney Wanderers has given the FFA a massive leg-up on the road to sustainability.
But it’s a road likely to be full of obstacles, and Gallop and his team must continue to watch their speed and execute well.
The five months between May and October this year will be critical, and the FFA will do well not to get too far ahead of itself.
12 months ago all the focus was on the issues surrounding the likes of Clive Palmer, Nathan Tinkler and quite a few more.
Disgruntled stakeholders across club-land, struggling to see any light, were lining up to take pot shots at then-CEO Ben Buckley and his team.
After the failed push into Queensland, the sense of distrust between head office and the game’s stakeholders could be felt across the country.
Such was the tension after Gold Coast United were axed that Frank Lowy was moved to set up a joint A-League strategic committee (JALSC) to give club owners a greater voice and stake in the strategic direction of the game.
It’s now history that the Wanderers were born out of the shipwreck that was Clive Palmer’s A-League toy, while the mining magnate moved on to start building a real-life Titanic.
Neither the FFA nor Palmer will want their new toys to sink.
Certainly, in order to capitalise on the success that has been the Wanderers’ inaugural season, the FFA will need to ensure it continues to look after the growing band of fans that have instantly identified with the club.
It’s as engaged an audience as you will find anywhere, but it remains a young one, and the FFA should never take their engagement for granted.
If they can learn anything from the history of their cross town rivals, Sydney FC, they should go back to the end of season one, where fans suffered due to the debt the club had racked up in the opening season, as well as the boardroom rumblings.
Up went the ticket prices, in came a manager, in Terry Butcher, from a bygone era, and out went the bling, as well as much of the interest.
It’s only this season, with Del Piero in town, and the Wanderers flying out west, that Sydney, the city, has rediscovered the A-League.
But bubbling away under the surface remain a number of key issues that need to be given the appropriate due diligence ahead of next season.
Primarily they come back to two key objectives, ensuring the sustainability of each competing club and finding the right balance on their relations with fans.
Only yesterday there was another report from The Australian’s football scribe Ray Gatt about the Central Coast Mariners missing their fortnightly player and staff payments last week.
Elsewhere, there remain a couple of issues between club owners and the tax office, as well as the need to find more investment at a number of clubs.
On the fan engagement front, the FFA have come a long way since the feisty days of the fan-led forums, but there remains a level of distrust between the active support groups and the FFA’s security consultant, Hatamoto.
The FFA has to find the right balance between giving fans enough rope to generate the wonderful active support that has turned heads and won hearts across the country, and ensuring this active support doesn’t spill over into anything sinister.
Certainly, the experience that the league’s new head of operations, Russell Sargent, had in America with the MLS over the past decade should help on this front.
It’s all a fine balancing act, but if the FFA had done anything right over the past 12 or so month, it has been to engage its fans and stakeholders, and, more importantly, listen.
This is where the upcoming off-season remains crucial to the execution of its long term strategy.
With free-to-air TV likely to expose the A-League to even more people next season, it’s important any lingering issues are confronted and addressed, and their ‘product’ showcases well.
What the FFA can’t afford to do is turn a blind eye to any issue.
Other codes across Australia are discovering this eventually catches up with you.
Certainly the extra dollars from the new TV deal will help, but they must be invested wisely to ensure the game is in a position to capitalise in three or four years, at the point of the next TV deal.
For example, on the field the FFA must continue to build upon the marquee impact of this season, constantly striving for improvement in playing and coaching standards.
For all the outstanding success of season eight, this is a time for the FFA not to pat itself on the back, but to recognise the hard work has only just begun.
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March 19th 2013 @ 7:11am
MV Dave said | March 19th 2013 @ 7:11am | Report comment
Agree with all you have said here Tony…we don’t have to go back too far to see what happens when the powers that be take their eyes off the ball…so to speak. In seasons 2-3 the league was booming but some poor decisions were made eg which clubs were brought into the league and how expansion was handled. These poor decisions led to reductions in attendance and TV viewership.
There is little doubt the quality of play on the field has increased significantly since season 1. There are. Now 2 wonderful Derbys in Melbourne and Sydenee which the fans have embraced.
It is vital that the FFA continue to work with all its stakeholders, including most importantly the fans, to ensure the successes over the last 2 seasons aren’t wasted but rather built on. The success of WSW is testament to how the FFA have listened to fans and the game has prospered.
The crowd issues, whilst no doubt overblown by the mainstream media, need to be monitored and any troublemakers banned from grounds. The atmosphere at Football games is unique amongst all the sports and we want this to prosper in the A League.
Great gains in 2011-2013 but Football must be wary of recent history which shows more work to be done to keep the World Game on track in Oz…we have a real opportunity to make our game even bigger.
As an 8 year MV member l look forward to the future of Football in Oz with greater optimism than ever before.
March 19th 2013 @ 8:10am
Kasey said | March 19th 2013 @ 8:10am | Report comment
Many things are contributing to Australians ‘finding’ the A-League…the standard has improved out of sight from the inaugural season, helped by importing some quality pros to teach the youngsters what it means to be a full time pro footballer. SBS are finally ‘on board’ and supporting the game as they always have rather than pining over the lost NSL Tjis has improved the mood of the game from grassroots and ‘old-soccer’ through to the newer fans who have sampled the local game after playing FIFA on their consoles or watching EPL highlights on tele. The true believers have developed serious ties to their teams in only 8 years (contrast with the BBL) demonstrating some of the passionate crowd scenes the world game is famous for and because this is Australia, thankfully very few of the scenes football is infamous for.
The quality of football is light years ahead of season 1 but the refereeing is still NSL standard or worse:( Needs to be fixed ASAP if the game is to continue to improve. Damien de Bohun has already announced a couple of the 1%-ers that will be ‘fixed’for next season..extended bench of 5 – giving a greater tactical flexibility to the managers to influence the game mid stream. that extended bench will be housed on proper benches rather than the Bunnings outdoor furniture display we currently have , improving the aesthetic of game day. I expect WSW to go on to bigger and better things both on & off the field.
March 19th 2013 @ 10:41am
fadida said | March 19th 2013 @ 10:41am | Report comment
Well said Kasey
March 19th 2013 @ 7:13am
Kasey said | March 19th 2013 @ 7:13am | Report comment
I think FFA has the right man (finally) in charge. Gallop’s safety first conservative personality evident during his reign as NRL CEO should serve football well during this delicate phase. Nothing too whizz-bang, just consolidate the gains made in the last 12 months and prepare the 10 clubs for the increase in distribution from HQ when the new TV deal comes on line in a month or two. Steady as she goes for the next 3-5 years please(a continuation of the slow but steady growth would serve football well.) Nothing attracts investors & sponsors like a sure thing. Stability in the game will reap rewards.
As for the Mariners, we all know they run close to the bone for 8 years now so the football season isn’t the football season without a “Mariners miss player payment!” ‘scoop’ from Ray ‘the muckraker’ Gatt. The game is in rude health and the Mariners will be fine.
Nothing to see here; certainly nothing like the controversies of the past..I’m particularly thinking of Clive and his über ego ruining GCU then Tinks spitting the dummy with Buckley & his Jets etc.
It’s a good time to be a football fan:)
March 19th 2013 @ 4:20pm
Redb said | March 19th 2013 @ 4:20pm | Report comment
Ray Gatt is a good journo who tells it how it is. You should not doubt his affections are anything but for soccer.
March 22nd 2013 @ 6:54am
Kasey said | March 22nd 2013 @ 6:54am | Report comment
I refer to Gatt as Mr Negative.
He always takes a football story and finds a way to spin it to the “sky is falling” crowd. However given the prevalence of Chicken Little’s in the fans of the game, perhaps he just knows his audience? I am yet to read a glowingly positive article from him despite the enormous strides the game has made in the last 10 years.
March 19th 2013 @ 9:02am
striker said | March 19th 2013 @ 9:02am | Report comment
Agree with all your points Tony there is still alot of work to be done but in gallop i think he is the right man for the job, he has given us respect here in sydney with all the major networks on board, i still think crowds need to improvewith all teams bar WSW,MV,SYDNEY FC who are driving majority of the crowd improvements.
March 19th 2013 @ 9:09am
c said | March 19th 2013 @ 9:09am | Report comment
Do not ever take your eyes off the ball we are still very much in the embryonic stage
March 19th 2013 @ 9:43am
Jukes said | March 19th 2013 @ 9:43am | Report comment
It definitely feels like a break out year. Still a long way to go though. There are lots of things driving the A-league most notably has been the standard of the league. Its has definitely improved over the years and is one of the many reasons fans have been flocking to the game. The competition is very even, the games for the most part have been very enjoyable to watch. Obviously the signing of Del Piero, Ono and Heskey have been big contributors to the A-leagues success this year. Lets hope that the FFA continues to engage the clubs and especially the fans for next year. This cant stop and needs to be an ongoing process.
Key issues that need to be addressed and this is where the FFA can seek input from the clubs and the fans and where they will get a lot of Kudos if they do get right.
1. Standards of refereering need to improve, which they have identified. The refs do a reasonable job with the training and resources available.
2. Transfer windows – there was some noise about this in the season. If there is an issue sit down with the clubs explain the issues or get their feedback on how this can be improved upon. If they are unhappy then let them make some positive suggestions and improvements.
3. Fan engagement and crowd security – You have had 3-4 fan protests this year, most notably from MV, WSW and A Utd supporters. Your fans are your biggest asset, dont turn your back on them. We all want the game to get bigger and better. We know what we want from the fan experience.
4. Let their be a review process including the guy who king hit one of our WSW supporters. They will review it, find him guilty with proper evidence. He will go through the review process, then they can evict him and then he can be someones b*tch in gaol.
5. Defend the league at every opportunity. There are a lot of people with vested interests who want to make sure that football is not successful in this country. Whether thats a media outlet who has spent millions on securing the rights to broadcast to a newspaper who is looking to sell papers. Its not a case of me being paranoid or insecure either, this is something that has been targeted in the past. Remember the channel 7 incident when they bought the rights purely to assist the AFL. Then showed football at some ungodly hour and then not at all. I wont ever forget or forgive channel 7 for that.
6. Engage stakeholders to help improve the game. Classic recent example is the live site not going ahead for the Sydney derby game. Surely Fox sports could see the long term benefits of growing this fixture with something like a live site. If they are worried about the commercial impact of losing subscribers or viewer numbers I dont think they should be worrying. This would have translated amazingly well on their broadcast. Its was a silly short sighted decision in my opinion.
Lots to look forward to in the coming months, We have finals, WC qualifiers, The A-league all stars match, Free to air tv deal for next season. Big opportunities for the FFA and football. Its critical they get this right. I feel they definitely have the right personnel in place at the FFA to finally unlock the potential of football. Its been a brilliant season and long may it continue. Keep your eyes on the ball because we cant let this opportunity slip past us again.
March 19th 2013 @ 4:09pm
Ben said | March 19th 2013 @ 4:09pm | Report comment
Very well said. +1
March 19th 2013 @ 9:50am
tk said | March 19th 2013 @ 9:50am | Report comment
Lets not get too carried away on the fan engagement. The ffa have engaged with SOME of the fans – those in sydney and melbourne. The irony being that none of the clubs from these cities won premierships or contested the grand final in the last two seasons. I would have expected the ffa to put effort in across the board espeicially when the clubs outside of sydbourne had a platform of successful performance that could have been further tended to and built upon to solidify the gains made from club success. Brisbane in paticular has been left in the cold after two seasons of making serious in-roads in a community which is dominated by league. I’ll expect the ffa to look up from the ball and see what is going on across the whole field in the coming year to use the lessons from this year to deliver fan engagement beyond their current focus.
March 20th 2013 @ 1:53pm
phutbol said | March 20th 2013 @ 1:53pm | Report comment
No responsibility on the clubs themselves to engage with their own fans then tk? Classic example AU with their fans upset about stadium treatment. i dont know the ins and outs of the specific issues but if there hardcore/main supporters are staging protests one would think relations between club and fans/community could be handled a little better perhaps…
I dont think the FFA’s job should be to engage a clubs support base on its behalf. Assist with ideas, and non-cash resources for sure, but its in the clubs commercial interests to do these things as well, and it should be a given.
March 19th 2013 @ 10:06am
nordster said | March 19th 2013 @ 10:06am | Report comment
This league has three or four exceptional clubs with potential to be some of the biggest in Asia and by extension …over the coming decades …the entire world.
But yet we have a mentality in Oz sport that no clubs should jump too far ahead of the pack. So the a-league has so far been designed with an attempt at contrived equality in mind. This has a number of negative effects imo…restraining ambition and excellence in a sport with global benchmarks is just one.
Another danger in the attempt to share success around is that the ones that actually do well off their own steam get less success than otherwise. So for the likes of MV, it means their culture can never truly embrace ‘super club’ status as the system is designed to restrain it. This over time could frustrate these clubs and fans… ending up mediocritising (lol) the very clubs that are the shining lights of australian club football.
So in order to capitalise the success of this league…it is indeed time to remove the shackles both at the top of the league and the bottom. Allow clubs to expand and contract to meet what are the realities of their particular market and situation. For starters ditch the salary cap/floor and collective wage agreements. Then keep shredding regulations from there….:)
March 19th 2013 @ 12:50pm
fadida said | March 19th 2013 @ 12:50pm | Report comment
I kind of agree now. An even comp is great, but will there come a time when the salary cap will hold us back in terms of recruiting quality players (who aren’t marquees), and retaining players who will otherwise disappear into the “not in the match day squad” abyss of Aussies Abroad eg Troisi, Ruka, Valeri, Devere, Langerak, Amini etc? We have a host of players who would massively improve the league but won’t/can’t return due to financial incentives elsewhere, see also 15 internationals in the middle east. Bigger crowds and media interests would then follow
Imagine MV v MH, SFC v WSW with a free market?
Counter argument is how would PG v Nix look in comparison?
March 19th 2013 @ 2:30pm
King Robbo said | March 19th 2013 @ 2:30pm | Report comment
Disagree Perth would be a basketcase in a free market.
WA’s afl teams are the most secure financially, while the wildcats and force historically have always forked out large money for good players. Glory in the nsl were like real madrid, bought all the good players from other teams. There are a lot of rich mining men/woman over here, you would just need a gina rinehart (pigs may fly) or someone like that to get on board.
Obviously teams like central coast would not be as competitive in a free market, but other eastern state teams would suffer as well. One of the main reasons glory have not done well in the a-league is due to the salary cap, good players generally come from the east coast and under the salary cap are not getting paid more to re-locate to places like perth (as was the case in the nsl days when they got paid twice as much to move to Glory and shares in chicken treat).
March 19th 2013 @ 2:45pm
nordster said | March 19th 2013 @ 2:45pm | Report comment
In the case of WA more business people may get on board with a freer market approach as it is more in line with how they operate their broader businesses…assuming they are still entrepreneurs and not full fledged crony corporatists haha…
The advantage for small clubs is that they still retain their ability to be youth developing clubs…in catchments like the Central Coast this is arguably easier than Sydney as it is narrower and less complex to roll out…many layers of development and complication in bigger markets.
But the main thing for them is Viability…their future is not needing to be constantly assured by central intervention or held back by a recurring crisis mentality. Ultimately it is about clubs adapting to their actual realities rather than living in equalisation fairy land…lalalala….this will never result in truly self sustaining clubs.
March 19th 2013 @ 7:02pm
albatross said | March 19th 2013 @ 7:02pm | Report comment
You like most Australians don’t have a clue about the huge subsidies that the mining industry receives from all levels of government despite that fact that the overall contribution to our trillion + dollar economy is somewhat under 5%.
March 19th 2013 @ 7:05pm
nordster said | March 19th 2013 @ 7:05pm | Report comment
tbf I did say “assuming” they are entrepreneurs
also i hope u are not counting tax concessions as subsidies lol…
and yes they do trail our over leveraged banking sector by some way…even still without mining we would be somewhere like the rest of the western world…if our banks go, we’ll see that…
March 19th 2013 @ 2:51pm
nordster said | March 19th 2013 @ 2:51pm | Report comment
How would PG v WP look in comparison? They would be engaged in an annual and dare i say riveting battle for a place in Aleague division 1 …unless of course they shape up and push on to compete with the top clubs. This is the nature of True Competition as opposed to the contrived ‘level playing field’ approach of Strayan sporting orthodoxy.
What i am suggesting is really only viable across a two division A-league, as u need the dynamism of pro/rel to keep the league interesting up and down the table. And also to embrace a more scaleable approach to clubs in the league and rewriting the whole idea of “expansion”. It becomes competitively based and built into the system…rather than board or strategically defined.
March 19th 2013 @ 3:29pm
King Robbo said | March 19th 2013 @ 3:29pm | Report comment
The best approach is the ffa to force the clubs to be financially responsible, so there is no cap on spending but you must prove to the FFA that wage bills can be paid over a period of 2 or 3 years.
Its too early for the competition to have two divisions, when trying to increase those interested in the game across the country. Imagine if sydney were relegated and gold coast united got promoted or both teams from Victoria relegated. Seeing 20k in a stadium rather than 1500 does make most games seem more appealing. The unique atmosphere at football games is what attracts a lot of new followers. As someone said before, there are 3 well supported clubs in oz, victory, sydney and WSW without any of these teams in the top flight or a melbourne derby the a-league would be poorer and lose any momentum gained over the last season.
PS. I still think Perth would dominate like they did in the nsl days without a salary cap. The manchester united rather than the stoke city of the a-league.
March 19th 2013 @ 3:43pm
fadida said | March 19th 2013 @ 3:43pm | Report comment
Given that marquees can be paid whatever, I’m interested to find out the reasons why PG haven’t filled those slots if they have the financial muscle suggested here. 2 big marquees would get the crowds back would they not?
March 19th 2013 @ 3:58pm
King Robbo said | March 19th 2013 @ 3:58pm | Report comment
Smeltzy is our marquee, not sure who the australian marquee is though Burns (was sterjoski)? The problem is Perth is not an internationally reknown city. So a Del Piero or beckham would always prefer playing for a Sydney or Melbourne team.
However in terms of oz products if you offered someone twice the money to live in Perth then they would. For instance – Perth in the day of the nsl prob would of got an equivalent of archie thomson and smeltz up front together (mori and despotovski) and maybe a rojas and broich in midfield to back up a garcia and miller.
March 19th 2013 @ 3:59pm
kellett_1992 said | March 19th 2013 @ 3:59pm | Report comment
Fafida,
Tony Sage has regularly pointed out the costs associated with owning Perth Glory and the fact he continues to lose money. Next year such costs will be alleviated and thus creating potential room to afford one of these marquees. As noted before me Smeltz is the current marquee. There was talk of stints from Kewell and Owen to the club throughout this season as well.
March 20th 2013 @ 2:01pm
phutbol said | March 20th 2013 @ 2:01pm | Report comment
You can have a bet each-way Nordster. Turnover style caps that restrict a clubs abliiltiy to spend itself into oblivion while still allowing bigger clubs to reach their full potential. lImit the biggest spenders to say 2x or 3x the alloted salary funding provided by FFA/TV rights (eg $2.5m x 3), in order to give the smaller teams some hope of competing, provided it doesnt exceed a certain amount of club revenue or turnover.
Yes, there is a risk of one or 2 clubs domninatiing but as seem with CCM its possible to outperform with less money and good scouting and coaching.
A completely cap-free system would be a disaster though.
March 19th 2013 @ 10:20am
Towser said | March 19th 2013 @ 10:20am | Report comment
The saying “A fish rots from the head down” as in all walks of life applies to the A-League.
So what is the head. IMO you can segregate it into 2 distinct parts the FFA & the clubs themselves.
Without prattling on for hours the FFA administration needed to understand what are the nuts & bolts of any succesful domestic League.
Frank Lowy found out the hard way that putting the roof on the house(WC bid) without ordering the bricks is not the way to guarantee success,his foreman just followed orders.
I believe the new foreman not only is quicker on the football uptake than the last ,but he has 2 piles of plans in front of him.
One pile called cock ups & the second called what we learned from the cock ups & the proper way to move ahead.
As for the clubs,still a long way to go IMO. Whilst everybody’s been slamming Heart’s crowd recently ,Perth & Adelaide are not pulling their weight for capital cities. The Mariners also cop it from time to time in this regard yet drew as many as areas(Perth & Adelaide) four times their size. Across the ditch the sheep is at times lost on the top of Mt Cook in a blizzard,whilst the shepherd sits in a room overlooking a sunny Sydney harbour. In Brisbane the Roar can do much more in relation to advertising themselves & upcoming matches.
What is encouraging though is that the head of the fish Sydney & Melbourne(Victory at least) has a bit of a glint in its eyes. Get these 2 cities right & the rest will follow. Its the way it is in Australia & indeed the rest of the world.
March 19th 2013 @ 10:20am
Midfielder said | March 19th 2013 @ 10:20am | Report comment
I think steady as she grows get the crowds up to around 14K and a Fox rating average of around 100K if we get to these figures … if we can lift to here then DG will have set us up nicely for the next media deal and expansion..
March 19th 2013 @ 10:39am
fadida said | March 19th 2013 @ 10:39am | Report comment