- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
Someone recently posted on the Roar what I have believed to be true for a fair while now: football in Australia operates within the environment that we have in Australia, meaning a final series with a grand final.
But what is incredibly obvious to me, anyway, is the structure of the AFL and NRL, which nobody even tries to copy. Both the NRL and AFL have set areas where they have a large number of teams.
This has created, within itself, a water-cooler talk as everyone can have a local team.
It also helps fill the media pages, and assists secondary divisions with wannabes trying to make the big time.
Perhaps most important is the reduction in costs in not having every team having to fly every second weekend, meaning that travel and accommodation costs are reduced.
Also, stadium-hire in those key centres is normally reduced.
So the Australian model for sporting success is built with a very strong base, not a far-flung single city/regional centre team base.
In my opinion, this is the model the FFA should have always adopted.
If we need 14 teams, as I think we do, to become a truly credible league, then the following is where I think FFA should go.
The next four teams should be two Sydney teams, along with one from Wollongong, and another from Canberra.
This will mean that half the teams are within half a day’s bus trip.
Teams in these areas have a deep football tradition (except the Mariners) and a recent history of wanting to get involved, with rich local NSL histories without doubt, reducing costs for all teams.
Other benefits are the increased Asian spots and the building of an infrastructure capable of supporting two regional teams in the future.
Given Melbourne and Brisbane also have two teams, the New South Wales-based teams also need only have a short flight.
So expansion is still on the cards, but with the Australian model of success.
Are you the ultimate team manager? Pick your own superstar team and go head to head with other football fans for glory and cash prizes on Draftstars. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.