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The Association of Australian Football Clubs (AAFC) has put forward a blueprint for a national second-tier competition dubbed ‘The Championship’ that would begin in 2019 with an eye to eventually introducing a promotion and relegation system in partnership with the A-League.
They have not put forward a specific plan for the introduction of promotion and relegation but instead say: “Our intention is to discuss this matter further with the A-League clubs and FFA with a view to implementation of full promotion and relegation by 2024.”
The AAFC will open a bidding process in December which will close in May next year, and bids will be independently assessed before the successful teams are announced in October next year.
The Championship would launch in line with the A-League’s 2019-2020 season and feature between 12-16 teams with a vision towards introducing additional teams to a total of 20 by 2024, however this would be dependent on there being clubs that meet the criteria.
Clubs need to have access to a stadium with at least 3000 seats and must commit to fielding both a men’s and women’s team. Financially they need the capacity to meet an annual budget of at least $2.5 million, including a $150,000 annual license fee.
The competition would have a significant focus on developing young Australian talent with 20 player squad sizes required to have at least half of the listed players 25 or younger, and a maximum of two visa players and three former A-League and W-League players.
The AAFC will also apply to the AFC Champions League for a spot to be available to the winner of The Championship.
AAF Chairman Rabieh Krayem said there were three reason why Australian football needs the introduction of a second-tier competition.
“First, we need it from a football perspective. The best way to improve the quality of football and our international competitiveness is to give young players more, and higher standard, game time.
“Second, as a football nation, we’re not fulfilling the membership requirements of either FIFA or the Asian Football Confederation by not having promotion and relegation in place. A national second division is a pre-requisite of that.
“Third, we believe it’s necessary to have this extra level of national competition in place to help bring life back into the football ‘market’, increase interest and attract investment.”
More information on the proposal can be found at The Championship’s website.