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There have been a lot of comparisons made between USA and Australian soccer in recent weeks, but it feels like the only ones not picking up on them are the FFA.
Right now, the MLS is a fish swimming in the ocean full of sharks that is the US sporting landscape, but doing surprisingly well.
Since 2015, the MLS has announced the six expansion teams: New York FC and Orlando City entered the league in 2015, Minnesota and Atlanta will join later this year, and Miami and a second Los Angeles team are slated in the future.
The expansions plan now sees teams dotting the nation, including some smaller markets.
Contrast that to the FFA, who have been twiddling their thumbs about expansion since 2012.
Whether or not they are gun shy after their first expansion bids failed is a question for another day, but we must ask ourselves if ‘expanding’ into places that already have two teams that aren’t all selling out stadiums is even a good idea.
Two of the most recent and loud applications have been the south of Sydney, fronted by football media powerhouses Les Murray and Craig Foster, and South Melbourne, an iconic NSL club with a cult following.
The south of Sydney is a footballing heartland and South Melbourne is one of the strongest non-A-League clubs, with a rich history. They both merit consideration for expansion.
Just not right now.
Australian football is at a crossroads. The Asian Cup victory by the Socceroos and the Asian Champions League win by Western Sydney were squandered and we now see two cities who already have two teams jumping up and down, demanding a third.
But football in this nation won’t thrive if we try to force two more teams into areas where football participation is high. Does the FFA really want to further dilute some of the nation’s biggest markets by ramming two more teams down our throats?
There are so many markets available where teams would not just thrive, they could be the biggest show in town.
Canberra, who already has a women’s team, could easily set up a male side with help from a state-of-the-art training facility known as the AIS. Or the FFA could beat the AFL into its own heartland by setting up a team in Tasmania.
Even if the FFA want A-League teams near Sydney or Melbourne, there are better options.
Geelong could get their own team and open up a large portion of regional Victoria to a much better option for professional soccer than elongated road trips to games.
And in New South Wales, the Wollongong Wolves would give the south coast back its own footballing identity, rather than hoping they jump onboard the south Sydney bandwagon.
Yes, the proposed southern Sydney franchise has said they would possibly play out of WIN Stadium at Wollongong while a purpose built stadium is constructed, but it is still Sydney.
There are cities and organisations pleading with the FFA to bring the beautiful game to their towns, but cutting your current teams off at the knees to introduce new franchises into already crowded sporting markets is economic suicide.
The A-League needs new markets to survive, not trying to salvage every last scrap from this nation’s two biggest cities.
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