What A-League doom and gloom?

We are now a third through the sixth installment of the A-League season. After an initial bright start to the innovative transition to football in this country, it seems things have gone somewhat sour over the past 12 months for the domestic competition.

Yet not all is lost.

With crowds falling like wounded soldiers on a battlefield, owners boycotting their investments in clubs and the general interest for the national competition on a spiral downwards, it may seem to many pundits that the evolution to new football is on its way back to the old soccer days of the NSL era.

If you had been out of the country for the past year or have been living under a rock and just elapsed into the football world then these are the sorts of issues that you will be hearing about constantly like a stick relentlessly hitting a drum set in your ears.

Yes, there have been some issues regarding the game in this country over the past year or so, no one is denying the facts.

However, doom and gloom? I beg to differ.

There are many positives to come out of the game in our recent football history. We only need to date back to the inaugural A-League Melbourne Derby on October 8th.

This was a special night for new football in this country. Yes, we have witnessed many great derby games dating back to the NSL period, where teams like South Melbourne and Melbourne Knights battled it out for Grand Finals and marking their stance on the pride of Melbourne. Our past is still well respected by many in the football fraternity.

Nevertheless, this new rivalry generated by the Melbourne Victory and Heart faithful was something exceptional. A packed out AAMI Park with both sets of active areas cheering their team for the full 90 minutes was definitely a special feeling for anyone who was able witness the contest live.

It embarked on a new era for the game in this country, a new rivalry where fans now have a choice on what team to support in their geographical area. Not only was the atmosphere a buzz for anyone in the stadium, the game wasn’t too bad itself with end to end football and an excitement factor which can only confirm how much the standard of play has improved since the inaugural season of the A-League back in 2005.

Other codes like the AFL can boast about their exceptional crowd numbers or the amount of capital investment inherited towards their game. Conversely our football is a unique portrayal of what true passion and local rivalry is about. This is what makes our game unique!

There may be little history between the two rival Melbourne teams, with some question marks on what the basis is of such hatred between the clubs. Although, over time the rivalry will only become more meaningful, passionate and in turn will be a battle embraced by many Melbournians.

Bragging rights over the city is to never be undermined. The Melbourne derby has depicted why football is known as the beautiful game.

There is another small factor on December 2nd which may or may not dictate just how fast the game may grow within this country. This little factor is known as the bidding for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. If Australia is able to gain 13 out of the 24 votes from the FIFA executive committee then the 2022 World Cup will be heading down under.

This is such an exciting time for the game in this country, the biggest event on Earth could be coming to our shores for a month of party filled World Cup mayhem. This will not only be a enormous positive for football in this nation, it will undoubtedly put Australia on the world stage and help the nation in many other ways.

As a result, boost our GDP remarkably, tourism, upgrading of our current stadiums/development of new stadiums and training facilities (not only for football) and many other factors. It will create a legacy for Australians in years to come.

Now for football itself, there would be an unprecedented amount of positives to come out of this scenario. The media coverage for the game over the next 12-13 years would be fantastic for the games development; it will be a form of advertising in itself for the code. The amount of sponsorship dollars endorsed towards the FFA will receive a major boost, which will in turn be of great assistance to the A-League clubs and will put the league in a much stronger financial status and gain respectability from the general sports fan.

Another massive bonus for the code will be the new television rights deal which is due to come into fruition in June 2013 with Premier Media Group. The current 7 year, $120 million deal with Fox Sports was a great initial investment for the code in this country. It is much inferior to the likes of the AFL, whom have a current television deal of $780 million over a five year period.

However, it gave football a new lease of life in this country. Having guaranteed coverage of every game in the A-League was a big coupe for Mr Frank Lowy. It put the sport in the mainstream sporting landscape. The amount of income and exposure for our home grown product has been a massive bonus for the game.

There have been rumours suggesting that the FFA new television rights deal is to be somewhere around the amount of $300 million (approximately $60 million per year). If we were able to secure the World Cup in 2022, then this could only help the cause of the FFA for demanding a higher pay package for the next television rights deal.

Not only will this benefit the FFA, it will be a massive financial gain for the A-League clubs and would guarantee financial contingency within the market. This would also allow the FFA to spend millions in grass roots development, coaching courses, facility upgrades and many other football related projects.

If we were able to secure the 2022 World Cup here in our homeland, then the benefits for football will be a cornerstone for many generations to come. Let’s pray and hope!

One of the major criticisms about our local game at the moment is the slight decline in crowd numbers throughout the first two months of the A-League season. Is it a worry?

Well of course it is, although many have jumped to conclusions in a farcical manner. It is evident the novelty factor of the A-League has worn off since its inception, but this is to be expected for a new product on the market after its initial boom.

Instead of pundits in the media criticising, why haven’t we tried to create some solutions to improve these factors? There are two main criteria that will help this issue, advertising in the mainstream media and strong community engagement.

Advertising this season has been quite poor from the FFA. It’s all good advertising on Fox all day long, however they are advertising to a market that has already experienced A-League football. These people watching the advertisements are most likely already fans of the game. Also, the reach is very minimal when advertising on Pay TV.

Why not advertise on free to air? Sure, it may be a bit more expensive, but with the option of ONE HD, a 24 hour sport station, there is a target market just waiting to be captured. This may not be the total solution to the dilemmas surrounding the FFA, but it won’t hurt giving it a shot.

The other issue, which is an extremely important factor to the development of these franchises, is community engagement. A fan who has an emotional attachment to a football club and feels part of the furniture is one that will become loyal.

How do we do this? Well, community engagement would be a start. Just have a look at what Nathan Tinkler, the new owner of the Newcastle Jets is doing for the club.

He has proposed to win back the community of Newcastle by giving incentives for children 15 years and under free admission for the remainder of the season. Mr Tinkler also cut general admission prices to $10 (previously $19), cut back family prices and is also giving free admission to the first 10,000 supporters who register on the club website for the home game on October 31.

This is how you run a football club, unlike the arrogant Clive Palmer from Gold Coast United whose animosity has derailed the fans from Skilled Park. People love a club that shows affection and loyalty towards its fans. If all A-League clubs can take a leaf out of Nathan Tinkler’s teachings, in turn it will help the our domestic game produce a product made for the fans of our beautiful game.

The A-League has been a great introduction to the sporting landscape of Australia since its inception in 2005. It is evident that there have been some issues lately regarding our domestic league. However, we must all be realistic and realise that this is a new product in an extremely competitive market run by the heavy weights of AFL, NRL and Rugby Union.

It was never going to be an easy task, nor should it be. If we’re able to have a look back only a few years ago, Australia didn’t even have a national domestic league running in the 2004-05 season.

What we have achieved to this day is remarkable; we must be content on how far football has progressed on and off the pitch. Australia qualifying for two consecutive World Cups has been a massive achievement and should never be undermined. This in turn has assisted the Socceroos to become a household brand name, many Australians young or old regardless of their homeland heritage, now have a fond emotional attachment towards arguably our nation’s most well respected International sporting team.

Should we be happy about where football is at the moment? All signs are pointing to yes.