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The sold out first Melbourne football derby between Melbourne Heart and Melbourne Victory has helped to keep the flames burning for the second Sydney A-League franchise.
It was recently reported that the successful bidders for the 12th A-League franchise license, the Sydney Rovers consortium, were having trouble getting the signatures on the dotted line to get the $6 million financial guarantees to kick off the club.
There was even talk of the group withdrawing their application for the franchise license altogether.
But one night at AAMI stadium seems to have changed that and not just for the investors, either.
Tim Cahill, Lucas Neill and Mark Schwartzer have made it known that they are very interested in investing some of their football earnings back into Australian football. Not just returning as players, they were very impressed with the way Melbourne Heart have made their mark on the A-League in such a short time and could well turn into another profitable A-League club.
Also, a decision on the 2022 World Cup bid is due in about seven weeks and many football pundits are seriously talking up the chances of Australia being the World Cup host nation in 2022.
Unexpected support is coming from the head of the South American Football Association and the Paraguay manager Gerardo Martino, in Sydney at the moment for the recent Socceroos friendly game.
Winning the bid would have a very positive effect on the game domestically and theoretically make the game more attractive and profitable in the lead up years to the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
The focus for the 12th A-League license still remains firmly on the Sydney Rovers. Will they or won’t they?
If they secure the financial backing, it’s theirs.
Don’t forget that the old National Soccer League (NSL) had, at one time or another, fourteen Sydney teams: APIA Leichardt [Leichardt Tigers], Blacktown City, Canterbury-Marrickville Olympic, Hakoah, Marconi Stallions, Northern Spirit, Parramatta Eagles, Parramatta Power, Penrith City, St George, Sydney City, Sydney Olympic, Sydney United and Western Suburbs.
Ten of those teams were in western Sydney or within about 15 kilometres of Parramatta Stadium. Even though they may have averaged only a couple of thousand home fans each, collectively that could add up to a large enough fan base to be a profitable franchise.
Some people argue that both Sydney AND Melbourne need a second A-League team, and when it happens, football will go closer to fully realising its potential in Australia.
SFC will only ever be significantly supported by the city people and the A-League has not captured the imagination of those people in Penrith, Blacktown, Campbelltown, Liverpool, Canterbury and Parramatta, where AFL and the NRL will happily try to run the neighbourhood.
Others will say that Sydney FC does not yet pull the consistently large crowds to warrant a second team for the city.
Large crowds show up for the big matches, and that’s about it. The support is there for the one club, however the culture of the city is to generally stay at home and watch the games on Fox if you’re not living close to the ground.
Some also said Melbourne didn’t need or want a second team.
I’m one who loves sport and loves a gamble and, of course, I urge the Sydney Rovers to go ahead with the second Sydney A-League team, take their chance with both hands and make a real go of it.
Don’t leave the door open now for the rival second Sydney bid consortium, the Wollongong/South Coast bid or the Canberra group to take it away from you.
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