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So the A-League finals kicked off on the weekend with a modest mixture of improved crowds and exciting football. As I walked through Gosford towards Bluetongue Stadium on Saturday evening, I was struck by something I hadn’t seen in my other trips to the Central Coast Mariners’ home this season: other people.
While the overall crowd figure of a little over 10,000 was somewhat disappointing, it was still a much-improved number on the crowds in Gosford throughout the regular season.
After watching an exciting game of football between the two best teams this season, I left Bluetongue keenly aware that the concept of finals football resonates with the Australian public in a significant way, even if it leaves many within the football community feeling cold.
Having said that, I disagree with my colleague Adrian Musolino who, writing for au.fourfourtwo.com last week, argued that the finals are necessary for the A-League, “’Cause we’re Australian, and grand finals is what we do”.
Just because it’s “Australian” doesn’t mean the finals are a pre-requisite for the game here.
Instead, what is important is that the finals are what football folk in Australia do. From your local 5-a-side competition through to the old NSL, the game has a long-standing history with the concept.
So in a global game that’s dominated by a champion being decided through the long hard slog of a season, and a country with a strong rapport with finals football, the key for FFA is not getting their message mixed about what the different competitions are about.
As manager of this season’s premiers, Ange Postecoglou, succinctly said this week when talking about the finals, “Yeah, it is a different competition.”
For now the finals are a money spinner and, as the soon to be introduced FFA Cup, which will run from March to January, isn’t going to clash directly with the competition, they aren’t going to be going anywhere for the time being.
If FFA can get a clear message out to the general public of what each individual tournament is about, then there’s a place for the finals in Australian football, though that remains a big “if”.
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