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Over my lifetime, football has been, at times, its own worst enemy. Factions are many, varied, and often opposed. All see themselves as the true centre or true home of football in Australia.
There’s the Eurosnobs, who ensure the EPL rates roughly 100,000 viewers better than the SBS Friday night A-League broadcast.
Then there’s NSL bitters, NSL Haters, Association rep sides vs NSL sides, NSL ethnic sides vs NSL non-ethnic sides, Home ends, non-Home Ends, casuals… the list goes on.
Then there is our beloved football media, with SBS believing it’s the true home of football and for maybe 35 years now has bagged out various management teams and heads of the NSL, Soccer Australia, and now Football Federation Australia.
Pay TV and FoxSports is starting to follow SBS – please Fox, listen more to Simon Hill.
Then of course there is the PFA and the A-League owners who all have their issues. State association, district associations, heartland clubs, all-age clubs, over-35s, the list goes on.
At the centre of most issues is revenue or lack of revenue.
My understanding is we have a 50 million dollar a season media deal, rising to 57 million and up to 63 million when the extra two sides are added. Digital streaming rights and overseas broadcast rights are still to come.
If some rumours are true, free-to-air revenue will be topped up with a percentage of revenue from advertisers.
However few of the factions trust any or most management these days. It’s always their fault – whoever they may be.
Many headlines insinuate non-trust in the FFA.
Yet out of all this chaos if reports are correct, the FFA have secured what was unthinkable even weeks ago.
The A-League will be broadcast by Network Ten on their primary channel, with revenue in part emulating from the ratings.
Ten will also have one and more than likely two A-League shows on the One channel.
However anyone feels, many of the issues and challenges football has are revenue driven. Creating a much bigger market place for football with revenue driven by higher ratings is in everyone’s interest.
To me, this says that for once we should come together, at least for this bit. It’s time we united and moved on.
That our preferred issue has been ignored, over looked or whatever needs to be argued but within the context of common sense.
The FFA are in the middle of arguably two of the biggest decisions they will make for six years forward and arguably four years back. The FTA broadcast deal to grow football and the realignment of who and how the FFA board will be chosen and the relationship between FFA and the A-League are more than important.
Serious questions pertaining to directions, power, and revenue sharing are at play and decisions made will be felt for many years to come.
Maybe the biggest issue is ensuring what we finish up with something better than we have and a lot better than what we have today.
Central to getting the FIFA changes made in the best possible way will be a strong FTA presence, and with it revenue and development of market share, hopefully enabling other aspects such as 16 teams, a second division, promotion and relegation, and so on.
Maybe, just maybe, it’s time to unite to get best media deal we can and develop a workable and sustainable transition process.
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