- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
On Sunday, Wellington Phoenix jumped to first place in the A-League with a 2-1 victory over Perth Glory. It has been an astonishing rise for a club that was on its knees in 2011 when former owner Terry Serepisos declared bankruptcy.
Earlier this month, Michael Cockerill penned an article suggesting that Phoenix lifting the toilet seat may be close to a nightmare for Australian football fans.
But is that even the case? Would many fans really care if a Kiwi team won the league?
Would Melbourne Victory fans prefer to see Sydney FC or Wellington lift the title? Would a Newcastle Jets fans prefer to see the Mariners claim glory, however fanciful that scenario appears?
I would suggest that there is next to no rivalry with New Zealand when it comes to football, and that should change.
Since Australia left the Oceania Football Confederation, our nations have clashed just three times. I can’t remember there being much of a build-up before the ties, or all that much excitement.
Of course, there used to be a rivalry. Not in the proportions seen in other sports, but still, it was a rivalry. Australia and New Zealand would meet regularly in the Trans-Tasman Cup, and it was the equivalent to the Bledisloe Cup.
But that’s long gone, and a large section of football fans in this country could be classed as ‘new’ fans, either too young to remember anything other than the A-League, or only joining the party following World Cup qualification.
They would be hard pressed to argue that there is any sort of sporting animosity between Australia and New Zealand when it comes to football. If would even be hard for the old boys to deny that the flame has died.
So when it comes to the Wellington Phoenix, I would love to see them win some silverware this season. With my hometown club well out of the running, and with no real preference for any other club apart from Adelaide United, I think it would be fantastic to see the Kiwis triumph, or to see the long suffering Perth Glory fans finally rewarded.
It would be far from a nightmare if the Kiwis prevailed. Everyone loves a rivalry, but there is little point fabricating one that does not exist. So, we should be trying to build one.
Similarly to Cockerill, who has questioned Wellington’s viability previously, Michael Lynch also recently wrote a piece arguing that having a Kiwi team actually doesn’t do anything for Australian football, citing player development and television ratings specifically.
Yet it is arguable that some of our Australian clubs are also failing to add anything to Australian football, at least in some categories. I would argue that Melbourne City, Central Coast and the Jets are all failing in some aspect or another. Similarly Western Sydney Wanderers, as this astute piece from Scott McIntyre points out.
A strong Phoenix will strengthen the New Zealand national side, the All Whites, and perhaps give us some worthy opposition to play against. If the All Whites were to eventually enter the Asian Football Confederation, that would be fantastic for football in Australia.
Why? It would give us a chance to develop a proper rivalry, and that should be seen as a positive. The increased competition should also be seen as promising, after all we joined the AFC in a quest to play against higher calibre opposition.
Having New Zealand as an added threat to World Cup qualification should not be seen in a negative light, as it will push us to higher levels.
Increasing the popularity of football in a neighbouring country can only be good for the game, which is still holding onto a small market compared to other sports codes. The FFA have to work with Wellington to increase their pull in New Zealand, and the only way to do that is through long-term assurances.
I do no see why Wellington do not deserve to be awarded a new license, and one to match the long-term 20-year deals handed out to the Australian clubs last season.
If 20 years is too much for the FFA to commit, then a minimum of five years has to be agreed in order for investors to have any hope of success. No business can truly succeed with such stringent time limitations and lack of certainty. Even five years is borderline ridiculous.
Fans and administrators need to forget prejudice of the past, forget the Auckland Kingz and New Zealand Knights. This Kiwi side is well backed financially, with owners willing to splash the cash, they have a growing membership – the club reached 4000 for the first time earlier this month – and they are attracting decent crowd figures.
They have also introduced a youth side in the New Zealand national league, the ASB Premiership, for the first time and are continuing with their development in the academy.
Strong Kiwi players may strengthen the national side (although that should not be seen as a negative) but they also strengthen the A-League. Think of Marco Rojas, Shane Smeltz and Andrew Durante, who were instrumental for Australian clubs at one stage in their careers.
Without the Phoenix, Nathan Burns may never have been given the platform to reignite his Socceroos career.
A boutique stadium would be also fantastic, the games at Hutt Recreation Ground have shown how the spectacle is on television is much more attractive when three-quarters of the stadium isn’t deserted. Such a project is not viable with current license arrangements.
That leads into the current broadcast arrangements, which many have blamed Phoenix management for. For those that still are not aware, the FFA negotiates the television deal in New Zealand, just like they negotiate the deal in Australia.
So that paltry $200,000 per annum coming in is a product of the FFA’s dealings. At such a miserly sum, it seems appropriate to, as I’ve suggested previously, give the rights to free-to-air and watch interest grow. With all other codes on pay television, it appears to be a massive opportunity.
The impressive figures will continue in Wellington, especially if they are successful this season. I don’t see the sense in arguments that we should not be helping to grow the game across the ditch. More competition and increased interest is only good for our game at this stage.
And it may result in a true rivalry developing. We all know there is nothing like a rivalry to help generate interest. Just look at the huge crowds that have attended derbies this year.
At the end of the 2015-16 campaign, Wellington’s license expires. It is clear the FFA will renew the deal, manager Ernie Merrick re-signing until 2018 is some indication of that, but they need to go further than just another stop-gap contract. Give the Phoenix a 10-year deal, they’ve earned it.
Are you the ultimate team manager? Pick your own superstar team and go head to head with other football fans for glory and cash prizes on Draftstars. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.