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Expansion in New Zealand makes more sense

Roar Guru
29th October, 2015
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The Wellington Phoenix take on Sydney FC at Allianz. (AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts)
Roar Guru
29th October, 2015
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The hot topic in Australian football this week is undoubtedly the Wellington Phoenix, and about whether they should stay or go.

David Gallop cited their lack of crowds, poor TV ratings and low membership as considerations in determining their place in the future of the A-League, but that only begs the question, just what is the future of the competition?

There is little doubt expansion will happen at some point, so then the first point becomes what will that expansion look like?

For me, the perfect league size is 16 teams. This has several benefits.

This equates to 30 games played on a straight home-and-away basis. The length of the season is increased from the current 27-game regular season, though not so much that it creates major scheduling issues.

Playing each team at home only once each season hopefully increases the motivation to attend each game.

This week, many have argued that a third Sydney team would dilute the appeal of the derby games, increasing the number to nine games, a point I agree with. Having a home-and-away competition would mean only six Sydney derbies, and playing the other Sydney teams only twice each would help to maintain the rarity value of each of those events.

Assuming 16 teams then is the ideal goal, where do the extra six teams come from?

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Only five cities in Australia have a population above one million, after that there is the Gold Coast with 590,000, and Newcastle and Canberra with around 410,000 as per the ABS statistics of 2012. The rest have less than 300,000.

Given that Gallop has indicated a preference for new clubs to have a population base of millions, not thousands, there is obviously limited opportunity in Australia to field six more teams, and removing Wellington would only make that harder.

On the other hand, a nearby city of that size already exists with no A-League team, Auckland.

I realise that the Knights came and went in ignominy, but the league has learnt a lot since then about what is required to set up and run a sustainable club. It should be possible to once again field a team in that city.

What value would an Auckland versus Wellington derby give to both clubs and the league in general? Surely at a time when the FFA and media seem focused on derbies as promotional vehicles for the game, this is an obvious rivalry, currently untapped in our game.

There would be minimal extra travel for Australian clubs. They already travel to New Zealand three times every two years. With a home-and-away competition, this only increases to four every two.

There is little doubt that the metrics cited by Gallop reflect poorly on the Kiwi team, but given the turmoil at the Jets, the inability of the FFA to sell that club, the ongoing financial concerns at the Mariners, and the failure of the Roar to pay staff and creditors in recent months, it makes you wonder why the Phoenix are being edged out.

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Could it be that the real reason is that continuing pressure from the AFC is finally starting to tell, and the FFA are using statistics as an excuse to save face?

The Phoenix have struggled financially in the past, and they may well do again in the future, but at the moment there are other clubs more deserving of having their licenses revoked than the Phoenix.

Without other reasons becoming evident, I believe removing the Nix would be a short-sighted policy that will reduce future opportunities for the A-League.

Save the Nix!

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