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A-League head boss Lyall Gorman is calling for the scrapping of mid-week fixtures in the A-League after the current domestic season has concluded describing them as “a financial disaster for the clubs”. Once again, have the FFA thought about the processes put into place before coming out with outlandish remarks?
It is well known that the A-league crowds thus far this season have been on a slender decline from previous seasons. There have been many reasons put forth by the fans.
The lack of community engagement by the clubs, disheartening marketing campaigns, ticket prices not meeting consumer demands, rival football code competition and many other reasons have been discussed.
This all coming during a season that has demonstrated the highest technical standard of football and arguably the most exciting brand put forth since the inception of the A-League five years ago.
Can mid-week football become a part of the football culture in Australia like our counter-parts throughout Europe and around the world? Of course it can.
Thus far, we have witnessed eleven mid-week fixtures in this current A-League campaign. The highest crowd came between Melbourne Victory vs. Wellington Phoenix, drawing a crowd of 11,513, while the lowest crowd saw the incompetent Gold Coast United against the Central Coast Mariners draw just 2,091.
From these mid-week fixtures the crowd average has so far been placed at 6,761. Does this crowd average seem a touch concerning? Certainly, however it is not all doom and gloom.
If we compare these mid-week crowd averages to the regular season attendance figures there is not too much of a differentiation.
The A-League crowd purely for the regular weekend fixtures receives an average of 8,769 supporters from 65
matches. Thus, the standard weekend fixtures are only averaging 2,008 more fans than the mid-week games.
So those 2,008 extra fans are causing a financial disaster for clubs holding mid-week fixtures Mr Gorman? It really doesn’t say much for the A-League attendances during the more traditional time-slots on the weekend. Aren’t they also a financial disaster in addition to the mid-week fixtures going by the marginal differences in crowd numbers?
I’m not denying that the mid-week crowd numbers are below par thus far, however to come out and say they are a financial disaster when the crowd averages for the weekend games are only a couple thousand more seems a tad ludicrous to me. It doesn’t say much for the brand nor the image of the game when statements like that are made after only 11 mid-week fixtures have been played during the evident off-peak division of the season (in reference to mid-week games).
Obviously mid-week fixtures are more family friendly during the summer interval (school holiday period) being the December-February period as opposed to the earlier months of the season. Therefore, before we create accusations and call for the death of mid-week football in Australia let us play out the season. We will then have a greater understanding and have a much better analytical view of what can be improved and what works better for the A-League.
I believe mid-week football can be a part of the football culture here in Australia. It may take some time to get accustomed to; however it is a great avenue for football to become apart of the national sporting coverage on a more regular basis.
It’s not only in football that we see mid-week fixtures being played. In the USA for instance, NBA, NHL, MLB and NFL are major affiliates of mid-week fixtures. It is apart of their sporting culture which has become a great success for many years.
I believe persistence is the key to our success in Australia. Yes, there needs to some changes implemented to cater for our market, however there is definitely room for mid-week football to become apart of our sporting culture.
Mr Gorman should insist on having less mid-week fixtures during the school time period of the season and consequently boast an influx of games during the summer months. This would be the logical resolution to the problems being faced. It is important for football to have as much coverage as possible. Give it time, and the trademark will eventually grow.
The FFA don’t want to extend the season by a month or so, hence the reasoning behind mid-week football. If I’m not attending, I enjoy sitting on the couch during the week to watch an A-League contest. I’m sure for many sport fans it’s a great way to watch football on a regular basis.
With the introduction of the proposed FFA Cup next season, the continuous amount of Socceroo mid-week fixtures domestically and abroad, and the on-going Asian Champion League campaigns it is evident that mid-week football has a place for the Australian football culture.
It will take some time to get familiar with and most likely never be the drawer for gate receipts in comparison to the more fashioned weekend fixtures. Nonetheless, the additional football on display can have many positive implications for the game in Australia.
If implemented in the correct manner with a logistical approach to our market place, there is no reason why mid-week football cannot thrive to new heights.
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