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Gold Coast United FC head coach and director of football, Miron Bleiberg (centre) celebrates with Football Federation Australia (FFA) CEO Ben Buckley and Gold Coast United CEO Clive Mensink at Skilled Park on the Gold Coast, Thursday, Aug. 28, 2008. AAP Image/Dave Hunt
FFA boss Ben Buckley insists an 11-team A-League would work if a twelfth franchise isn’t able to meet the financial criteria for next season. But rather than rushing a decision, the FFA needs to bite the bullet and accept an 11-team competition as the only option for next season.
With the leading West Sydney bid lead by businessman Joe Meissner withdrawing, and another bid from the region connected to murdered Sydney businessman Michael McGurk, the race for the twelfth franchise appears to be lead by Canberra.
But the insistence from the FFA that there is a “great opportunity” for a team in western Sydney suggests its preference for a franchise from the region.
West Sydney is going to be the next battleground between the codes, and perhaps the FFA feels it cannot afford to allow the AFL to get the jump on them in the region.
In terms of population base and potential crowd figures, West Sydney remains the best option.
While Canberra’s A-League bid insists it’s ready to go, the unimpressive crowd-figure last weekend was a major blow and casts further doubt about the cities’ ability to sustain a franchise.
Prior to the Central Coast-Perth clash at Canberra Stadium, A-League boss Archie Fraser insisted the FFA didn’t have a specific crowd target but would be disappointed if there were only 5,000 people.
Just 5,139 turned up.
There is a tremendous amount of work to do for the possible franchises, and their inability to meet the financial criteria at such a late stage of the bidding process suggests the decision needs to be delayed.
As we have seen with Gold Coast United, even having a cashed up owner and star players isn’t enough to guarantee a decent crowd. For upstart franchises, significant work needs to be done in the community to build interest and a following and this process cannot be rushed or overlooked.
While Buckley used the Wellington Phoenix as an example of how quickly an upstart franchise can get on its feet, this is different scenario.
The Phoenix exists in a much less competitive sporting market, while inheriting fans from the defunct New Zealand Knights.
The twelfth team also has the added competition from the confirmed eleventh franchise in Melbourne Heart, which is well advanced in appointing off field positions.
The twelfth team will be significantly hamstrung in competing for on and off-field talent by the Melbourne franchise. Considering the headstart they have had, it’s simply not fair for the twelfth franchise to start on such a back foot, especially if they’re struggling to meet the financial criteria for entry.
An 11-team competition next season won’t be disastrous.
If anything, working byes into the draw will give the FFA greater flexibility in scheduling, better enabling it to avoid clashes with other codes and events in certain markets.
And if the twelfth team decision is made in the not too distant future, the franchise could be given a spot in the National Youth League next season to develop young players and start building a fan base.
Considering the work that needs to be done, delaying for a season is the only option.