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I said it, you heard it. The A-League should introduce unlimited foreign imports in the A-League.
The current A-League model of five foreign imports per team is working, but could it be better?
I say it could be a lot better. Why just be content and coast along when you have an opportunity to make more money, and have a superior product?
The English Premier League in England is focused on producing the best club competition it possibly can. It’s not directly focused on the English national team, but indirectly brings in mass interest to football in England, and money into the game at the junior levels in England.
And don’t blame the EPL on England’s average national efforts. The long ball rubbish is the English national coach and junior culture, not the EPL coaches – many of whom are foreigners. And England is hopeless at penalty shootouts, so don’t blame the EPL for that.
The high playing standards are what make the EPL so much money. And they have unlimited foreign imports. I don’t think Chelsea or Manchester United fans would like to be capped on how many foreign imports they can have. They only care about how many EPL and Champions League titles their club wins.
But with unlimited foreign imports you’d get higher standard sides, sides that would be even more competitive in the Asian Champions League, and higher playing standards draw in the fans, regardless of whether the players are local or not. The same applies to Chelsea fans, and Manchester United fans.
And all the higher crowds, gate receipts, TV ratings, merchandise sales, from a higher standard and more popular A-League, so that money can filter down to the grassroots, and the National Premier Leagues sides. You can cap foreign imports in state leagues to two per team. So there are still plenty of chances for Aussies to get opportunities.
You could also ban the foreign players from playing in the National Youth League. So the Aussie youngsters will still be given plenty of opportunities. But more money coming into Australian football can only help the Socceroos, not harm them. And England, by the way, still qualified for every World Cup since the floodgates for foreigners opened.
Spain’s side is doing well, and look at Barcelona and Real Madrid, full of foreign players. And if a local is good, just like the big leagues of Europe they will still give locals a start. Just look at Wayne Rooney or Frank Lampard. They just pick the best players.
Clubs like the Central Coast Mariners and Newcastle Jets would get bigger crowds in higher playing standards. Big clubs like Sydney FC and Western Sydney could get bigger and grow their fan-base.
So there you have it, the reasons for opening the flood gates and allowing unlimited foreign imports into the A-League. It will make the product a higher standard and that equals more interest and money into Australian football. Which can only be a good thing.
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