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Coming up to its fifth birthday, the A-League is a young, vibrant, growing child that has its fair share of stumbling blocks that is part and parcel of a football leagues’ life journey.
What could this child-league look like when it comes of age in its 21st season?
Looming large for the A-League is the godparent-figure in the AFC.
With the President Mohamed bin Hammam stating his preference for the final career path of the A-League to be a promotion-relegation system, does the FFA have much of an alternative choice?
The simple answer is ‘Yes.’
I believe that a promotion-relegation system may be in place in the far future, but that would be in an Australian football landscape unrecognisable to what we have today – one in which football is the dominant sport of the country, almost at the expense of all others.
In time, there will be more clubs, a greater fan-base, and huge advertising investment in the sport.
With the big carrot for the FFA being those precious ACL spots, and assuming the FFA puts on a brave face and stands up to its adopted parent, this is a possible future I can see the A-League growing into for it’s 21st birthday.
A-League Version 21 – 2026/2027
There are 24 teams in the A-League.
The FFA has the maximum fours spots in the ACL competition.
The pre-season competition has taken on greater significance.
With Australian sporting culture desiring a finals series between the best of the best, there is no first-past-the-post winner for A-League version 21.
The 24 teams are split, by a televised yearly draw, into two conferences each named by a sponsor which pays handsomely into the FFA coffers for the naming rights privilege.
Any team can appear in any conference from year to year.
For the ‘preseason’ competition, which is now called the (another named sponsor) FFA Cup, the two 12-team conferences (A & B) are now split in half (1 & 2), with the two 6-team groups of Conference A playing the two groups from Conference B once, i.e. A1 plays B2 once, and so on.
The top of each of the 4 FFA Cup groups play in the semi-finals, winners of which play in the FFA Cup final – these three games are played early in the A-League season as mid week games.
The FFA Cup winner gets one of the coveted ACL spots.
The A-League season lasts 33 weeks, not including the Finals Series. Each team plays the other teams in its conference three times.
At the end of the season, the two teams that finish as ‘winners’ of their conference, get an ACL spot each.
The Finals Series is played between the top three teams of each conference.
Conference A 3rd plays Conference B 3rd to have the right of playing the winner of A2nd vs B2nd – 2nd and 3rd conference losers are eliminated. A1st vs B1st plays for a direct spot into the A-League Champions Final. Loser 1st plays winner of (Winner 2nd vs Winner 3rd) in the A-League Play-off Final.
The A-League Champions Final is huge, played in any one of the football-only mega stadiums left over from the Australian hosted World Cup of 2022, neither of which is the home ground of the finalists.
It is a celebration of football, both for Australia and the two teams involved.
The game is sold out on the day the tickets go out, with fans of both clubs always wanting more seats.
Corporations from Australia, Asia and the world are scrambling for exposure, paying the FFA (and broadcast holders) through the nose for the privilege, being as the game is broadcast live around the world.
Those crowned the 2027 A-League Champions also fought for the final ACL spot, if they don’t already have one.
All ACL spot winners for 2026/2027 A-League season play in the 2028 ACL competition.
41 weeks of competition games and just over 11 weeks for the off-season.
Plenty of scope for growth which could eventually, if necessary, morph into a tiered league.
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