The writer of these lines is a big fan of football in general. Like any good self-respecting Argentine I follow with interest several leagues abroad, especially leagues where my compatriots perform successfully.
The arrival of Marcelo Carrusca to Adelaide United three years ago awakened my interest in the A-League and eventually I became a regular follower of it.
One of the things that caught my attention in Australian football is the organisation of it, which I see (from my point of view) very similar in some features to Major League Soccer.
Unlike what happens in my country, where the clubs are non-profit corporations, and sports achievements are those that allow teams to move up in the pyramid of Argentine football (from the lowest category to the first division), here the teams are handled differently, taking into account business criteria.
If a team fails to settle in a city, if it fails to awaken a real interest in the public, the franchise will soon be history.
With this I am not saying that the Argentine championship is better than the Australian model, I’m just stating a point that awakened my interest. A year ago, when the agreement between Manchester City and Melbourne Heart was announced – creating Melbourne City FC – an idea popped into my mind: why don’t South American clubs try to do the same?
Why not try to introduce a franchise on Australian soil knowing that the benefits could be many and for both sides? The answer emerged as fast as the question: money. Affording an organisation of this size on Australian soil would be very difficult for most South American teams, which must sell their great figures in order to keep functioning. But leaving aside the cruel reality, I’m going to allow myself to dream a little.
Let’s put ourselves in 2020. The Football Federation of Australia has announced the creation of a new team in partnership with the South American giant Boca Juniors. This new franchise, which will be located in Darwin, will be known as the Boca AUS and will be the beginning of an extensive cooperation between the A-League and the Argentine multi-champion.
This association will allow young Australian players to have the opportunity to gain experience in youth football at Boca Juniors. In turn, the Argentine club agrees to send their best prospects, which are in the last stage of their football development, on loan for an entire season, so that these future stars begin to play official matches.
The home of Boca AUS will be the Darwin Football Stadium, located in the Marrara Sporting Complex, whose capacity has been expanded in order to receive approximately 15,000 spectators. The opening game of the franchise will be a friendly between the sibling teams, which also serve to introduce the head coach of Boca AUS, the former world football star Diego Armando Maradona, and some of the new figures of the nascent club, including former Manchester United and Boca Juniors, Carlos Tevez.
‘Carlitos’, who is next to turn 35 years old, will be the franchise player and the leader of a young squad, eager to produce a revolution in Australian football, and will be accompanied by two great glories of the Argentine team such as Fernando Gago and defender Juan Manuel Insaurralde.
The new company will bring not only benefits to the Australian team but the Boca Juniors may introduce their brand, already known worldwide, throughout the Pacific area, generating economic benefits. The Argentine team will also have the first option to buy any young player from the Australian side who has demonstrated sufficient skills to work in the difficult Argentine football environment.
After this walk through a probable future, lets go back to reality immediately.
As I said in previous lines, the economic factor is key in an operation of such magnitude but I firmly believe that, if the conditions are right, a society like the one I described above will be a great success in Australian lands and will contribute to increasing the presence of football, a sport that is in constant expansion.
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