Want to know how to beat your competitors? Buy them, buy all of them, if you can pull it off without over-extending yourself. That’s been the strategy of successful global corporations for decades, and it’s worked brilliantly during recessions and slow economic times.
Why doesn’t the AFL just buy out the FFA?
Football has always been the so called “sleeping giant” of Australian sport. It has by far the most number of registered players and has the most potential to increase its market share and income growth.
1.6 million football participants in 2009 according to the ERASS Survey and Commonwealth Bureau of Statistics figures – that’s nearly one in ten Australians that play football.
Add to that the mums and dads and others that go along to watch them play, and then add the referees, linesman, officials and club staff that put in the work to make the competitions and the clubs function. It’s probably over two million Australians that are involved in football every week during a season.
The FFA is still not capable of turning that tremendous involvement in the game into paying customers. They lack the finances, the marketing and promotional clout and a greater media presence to be able to achieve that in the short term.
That’s where the AFL could come in – they certainly have the cash reserves, marketing strength and media control that would be able to turn the A-League and Socceroos into very profitable businesses.
The football and AFL seasons could complement each other and not destroy each other.
The AFL is played from March to September and the A-League could be played from September to March each year. This could be done with some clever scheduling and throw in the occasional midweek or double header round so that both competitions could be played all year round.
On top of your existing AFL or A-League memberships, throw in some package deals and bundled memberships. For example, buy an AFL/A-League combined membership. Your Swans or Western Sydney membership includes a membership for Sydney FC or Sydney Rovers – take your choice.
A membership for any Melbourne AFL team includes a combined membership with either the Victory or Melbourne Heart.
There would be no squabbles about the use of grounds or scheduling games that clash with the other code. The marketing and promotion would be geared to promote both codes to get the most number of spectators to each game.
Imagine the benefits to the AFL of staging a FIFA World Cup in Australia if it controlled football in this country. No need for arguing over the grounds or what improvements would be made to the venues.
No doubt about the economic benefits of staging a World Cup in Australia or where most of the profits would go. A combined effort with the AFL administration pulling in the same direction as the football administration would give our World Cup hosting bid a positive impetus and greater profits.
The international nature of the Socceroos and the competitions they play in could be utilised by the AFL to increase the profile of Aussie Rules overseas: combined international tours and AFL exhibition games played immediately before the Socceroos games; reduced competition for junior AFL or football payers – the joint development of junior players could avoid a lot of duplication and wasteful spending and advertising by both codes.
The AFL could then streamline the junior football development and handpick those players that were best suited to AFL and those that are best suited to football. Over time, this would lead to a much higher quality of AFL and A-League players and competitions.
The FFA and the huge potential of the Australian football market are prime takeover targets for the AFL.
Jeff
Guest
lol Have you been to Carins? It's rugby league territory all the way!
beaver fever
Guest
Your maths is indeed correct, but what you fail to state in your "propoganda" is the context of the numbers. There is no doubt that hundreds of thousands of people play soccer, but when adding up indoor and outdoor there would be a huge crossover,.......... but fair enough, most people would realise this. But the area that you really fail in, is adding in, up to 520,00 people who play in non-organised comps and may kick a soccer ball just ONCE a year............... that statistic BTW would include me. Your cheerleaders may love you, but dont be expected to be taken seriously, untill you provide some semblance of balance. You should be able to write a legitimate positive article using the figures in the correct context, but ........ !!!!.
ren
Guest
this term I have been studying finance and project management at uni. I have applied what i have learnt to this, lets call it a case study. My conclusion is that purchasing the a league is a -ve NPV project for the AFL. They should not buy the a-league.
jimbo
Roar Guru
You Aussie Rules supporters are like mongrel dogs stubbornly holding on to the postman's trouser leg. Lazy too . . I have to spoon feed you the information again - page 62 of this report. http://www.ausport.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/377069/ERASS_Report_2009.pdf Let me do the maths for you too: Football (indoor) 372,800 + Football (outdoor) 879,800 = 1,252,600 Australians who played football in 2009. Lights out Beaver - good night little fella.
beaver fever
Guest
I guess that confirms my suspicion, that you just plucked that number (1.252) million out of thin air, nowhere in that link is that figure nominated, you have added some figures together, what are they and why are you so hesitant to post them ?.
beaver fever
Guest
Give me a breakdown of how you got 1.252 million soccer players, thats all i have asked for, there is no erass number that states 1.252 million in that survey. What numbers did you add up, to get to that amount ???. Its not hard to answer, you must know how you go to that amount, give it up !!.
jimbo
Roar Guru
I sometimes wonder if you are fair dinkum Beaver. If you add the results of the 2009 ERASS survey for over 15 year olds (1,252,600) to the Bureau of Statistics 2009 survey for sport and recreation for under 15s (437,300), you will get a total football participation for all Australians of approximately 1,689,900 players.
beaver fever
Guest
I have gone through the article and found the survey, but i am still none the wiser about how you got 1.689 million people. How about providing the proper breakdown you used to make your claim, you must know it and have it !!. Surely if your claim is fair dinkum ( you do understand that word, i hope), then you will have no problem doing so.
jimbo
Roar Guru
There are links in the blog to where the figures come from. Take the time to check out the figures for yourself.
jimbo
Roar Guru
2009 A-League Avge - 9,5K 2010 A-League average to date - 10.7K Where are you getting your figures from - Andrew Demetriou?
beaver fever
Guest
What a surprise!!, soon as you are pulled up for baiting code wars, you backtrack faster than the first explorers. If you have yet to see any of the above mentioned games live, you should really get out a bit more, perhaps a bit more diversity, would be a good thing. PS, you attempt at humour, does not even remotely cover your statement, that flares are OK at soccer games.
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
bf I have never watched a basketball, cricket, Union or League match LIVE at the stadium and, in my opinion, unless you watch the game LIVE at the stadium - with real aficionados of a particular sport - it is impossible to gain a true appreciation for what excites the fans. I watched AFL matches LIVE - home & away matches, one brilliant State of Origin match in 1989 and numerous finals & GFs - over a 20+ year period so I reckon I know what excites Aussie Rules fans. And, in my opinion, the things that excite the majority - not all, the majority - of Aussie Rules fans is quite different to what excites Football fans. PS: The ability of humans to "control fire" is often cited as the major turning point in our cultural evolution and Football fans like to celebrate this at every opportunity! ;-)
beaver fever
Guest
Fussball ist unser leben said if football attracted the majority of the “AFL demographic” since, from my observations, the majority – not all, the majority – of the AFL fan base would not have the cerebral capacity or patience to appreciate the subtle nuances that make Football the “Beautiful Game. What about basketball fans, are they OK, what about cricket - do they fit in !!, what about rugby x 2, are they intelligent and patient enough for Australian soccer. Reading your posts makes me think that the "beautiful game" attracts the opposite. I guess you can go back to lighting flares, you seem to to think that doing that is OK at a soccer game, i wonder how much cerebal capacity that takes.
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
Redb You are absolutely right and I'm sorry if I gave the impression that I think AFL fans will flock to Football. I certainly do NOT expect that to happen and, in fact, I'd be extremely disappointed ("upset" is probably too strong!) if football attracted the majority of the "AFL demographic" since, from my observations, the majority - not all, the majority - of the AFL fan base would not have the cerebral capacity or patience to appreciate the subtle nuances that make Football the "Beautiful Game". My comment about the 2022 WC is solely directed at: a) sponsorship dollars b) broadcast rights I would expect local print media coverage of AFL & NRL (in their respective markets) to always exceed Football coverage but, as we all know, print media is almost dead! E-media (I include tv in this market) is king and if/when we get the 2022 FIFA WC hosting rights e-media coverage for football will grow exponentially and far exceed any other sporting code. Compared to 2005, the sporting landscape has, indeed, changed dramatically. I'm surprised you haven't noticed?!! For one thing, we wouldn't have been having this conversation pre-2005! Whilst I played football and religiously followed my English football team, our National Team, WC football and European football, pre-2005, I certainly didn't have any passion or even interest in any Australian club football team in the old NSL. Also, msot weeks we now have more hours on FTA TV devoted to football - live matches, delayed coverage, analysis and reviews - than any other sport.
BigAl
Guest
Can not see why this comment should be . . . 'deemed poor' ! Fits in perfectly with the author's line of arguement. . . .
Redb
Roar Guru
I suggest that view maybe a tad extreme. The popularity of the AFL and its club membership/fans wont evaporate on December 4. Sponsors are involved with AFL clubs due to the 5X membership/fan based culture of AFL clubs which in truth is five times the size of the average A League clubs. it is ludicrous to suggest that in the intervening 12 years fans will flock to the A League due to a special event in 2022. I have no doubt there wll be a sponsorship drain in 2022, just as the Olympics sucked dollars out of the general sporting system in 2000. The problem is the popularity of the local product year in year out, sponsors aren't stupid. I realise this won't even dent your concsiousness. "The Australian sporting landscape will irreversibly change" - this same statement was made in October 2005. Hasn't helped the A League.
beaver fever
Guest
The link is to your article, still none the wiser about how you got 1.6 million (actually closer to 1.7, according to you). How about you link to the proper stats, and then show us how you got 1,689 million ?. That is what someone who wishes to be taken seriously would do, people want honesty, on what is a semi-serious/serious sports discussion site.
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
Realist In my former life, I was involved with IPOs and private capital raisings for many start-up companies. All such companies find their growth is stifled by lack of capital - hence the need for an IPO or private capital injections. Of course, even with appropriate capitalsation, not all start-ups realise their potential, but, from my observations in the field, the common traits for future success of a start-up include: a) appropriate capitalisation for the business to grow b) good business managers in charge of the operations c) a quality product that can be marketed globally and, hence, not be restricted by low consumer demand in Australia Some of the Australia's most successful businessmen are so confident about the success of Football they have been willing to put their hands in their pockets to assist the development of the Game and HAL v6 is a product that - in my opinion - is equivalent to the lesser European leagues. HAL clubs are simply "start-up businesses" and even the corner shop owner knows the early years are the hardest - particularly if the business is under-capitalised. The final piece of the puzzle for HAL success is access to capital and this will occur with the next tv broadcast rights, which should increase annual revenue to the FFA & market awareness for the FFA's products by over 500%.
Realist
Guest
ah Fussball, I'll have to give you credit, you do make me laugh. You remind me of the captain of the Titanic, stoically saluting the moon whilst the ship sinks under the water. Maybe ASIO could employ you in the Ministry for Information. Rather than relying on irrational and unfounded optimism to get us through, how do we get the A-League off life-support? It is in a perilous state. I am a sokkah fan btw.
Redb
Roar Guru
I think we'll leave this FFA Camelot it is a silly place.