How do you pinpoint western Sydney? From the west of the central business district to beyond the Blue Mountains and everything in between, it seems.
That sprawling landmass, which continues to grow as Sydney overspills, is, based on recent trends, fertile land for Australian sporting codes.
Rugby league and round ball football’s supposed heartland, the region will welcome the AFL’s Greater Western Sydney Giants next season – what many describe as the final frontier for AFL expansion, in a region the NRL dominates.
As the two most popular codes go at it in a western shootout, round ball football is conspicuous by its absence.
But, according to Simon Hill over at Fox Sports, “Former Perth Glory owner Nick Tana and ex-Soccer Australia chairman Remo Nogarotto are being lined up for a sensational return to football as the front men for a new Western Sydney franchise.”
The “old soccer” stalwarts could be charged with doing what the failed Western Sydney Rovers bid never managed; give the A-League a presence in the game’s heartland and the league a justified second team in Sydney, based on population size. And, according to Hill, the project is being fast-tracked by the governing body.
But, as Hill points out and the Rovers discovered, talk is cheap and the reality is much more expensive.
“The sticking point – as is normally the case with football franchises in Australia – is where the rest of the money will come from,” Hill writes.
“Tana is understood to be willing to be a significant investor, but others will be required.”
A minimum of $6 million is allegedly required for an A-League license with much more needed to build a competitive club. And with the next big injection of funds, the next television deal, still to be figured out, how this new bid can squeeze enough money out of a still timid economy remains to be seen; particularly in a market that the AFL will ambush and the NRL will defend rigorously, when the A-League economic model is still yet to convince of its strength.
Tana and Nogarotto may have the personal fortunes to come up with the $6 million-plus, but as the A-League’s short history will attest, proper football clubs cannot be built on just one or two individuals.
The timing of all this is interesting. Only recently the Smith Review, which examined the state of the game, suggested no further expansion of the A-League beyond the current 10 teams until “the competition is financially strong, or a tangible financial benefit can be achieved by expansion”, while Frank Lowy recently said the league would not expand till 2015 at the earliest, unless finances can be found.
So what’s changed? Has the urgency to get into western Sydney before the AFL’s billions turns football’s heartland into a Kevin Sheedy-worshipping Aussie Rules love-in, finally spurred the FFA into action?
Perhaps it’s as simple as Tana and Nogarotto overcoming any anti-“new football” agendas and wanting back into the game, with the FFA marrying their renewed interest into its western Sydney goal.
Either way, there seems to be some positive momentum here.
Expansion may have failed in North Queensland and, to a certain extent, on the Gold Coast, but while the Smith Review talked it down, it also talked up connecting with the grassroots of the game, which, on sheer numbers, has no bigger home than western Sydney. Expansion could be seen as a necessity in western Sydney, not a luxury.
But the code cannot afford another Rovers-type failure to launch – not again. This new club, let’s call it Western Sydney FC, must not only navigate its way through the challenge of finding the necessary funds, but must also find an identity that resonates with western Sydney.
If western Sydney’s geographical sparseness tempts sporting codes in terms of numbers, it should also frighten with the difficulty of pinpointing an exact centre from where to base – Parramatta, Blacktown, Bankstown, Penrith or elsewhere?
As Sydney sporting crowd averages in all codes will prove, the cities sprawling ‘burbs and the resulting traffic nightmares does more to keep fans away than any other factor.
It’s too easy and simplistic to say, therefore, because there’s a football heritage and supporter base in the region, that the new club will immediately have a sustainable number of members and fans.
You see, in addition to those complications, western Sydney football fans are already catered for with football. Over 10,000 of them attended the NSW Premier League grand final between Sydney Olympic and Sydney United this year – more than Sydney FC’s crowd average last season.
The heartland of football is the heartland because of the strength of the clubs in the area, from Olympic and United to Marconi Stallions, West Sydney Berries, Bonnyrigg White Eagles, Blacktown City FC and more – with strong numbers of registered players, clubs with a direct connection to the grassroots, previous successes at national level, and, in most cases, sustainable operations that are run successfully.
As the A-League highlights, supporters of those clubs cannot be expected to shift their allegiances to a new, generic club, even if it represents their hometown – and that is complicated by the difficulty of pinpointing a western Sydney identity that resonates with all surrounding suburbs.
Tana and Nogarotto must find a way to connect their club with the clubs already operating in the region, for that is the heartland that is providing the impetus for Western Sydney FC. And it cannot be a token recognition. It needs to be real otherwise the new club will relinquish its strongest asset.
It’s fitting that the renewed talk of a western Sydney franchise should kick-off in derby week in Melbourne, where Melbourne Victory and Heart’s rivalry is thriving despite the lack of geographical differentiation. After all, it proves two clubs can work in places as big as Melbourne and Sydney.
Whereas Heart’s arrival cut out a chunk of the Victory’s supporter base, Western Sydney FC and Sydney FC can have different geographical bases, identities and personas. If Sydney FC represents “new football”, Western Sydney FC, if built properly, could represent the game’s heritage and the region’s current clubs.
Western Sydney FC could work for these reasons; it has the population and football heritage to build on.
But more than just the financial question mark is that same old dilemma; how to marry “old soccer” and “new football”, for an A-League club based in western Sydney cannot ignore the region’s “old soccer” roots.
Western Sydney FC, or whatever it’ll be called, needs to build on that heritage, rather than ignore it and build adjacent to it. That’s its greatest test.
maureen haig
Guest
i would like to help someone to become a football analyst, but don`t know where to start. could you please "steer" me in the right direction please?
PeterK
Guest
Hear! Hear! Chris. And even when we get to 2015, and look at expansion, perhaps the bottom two A-League clubs should be dropped to a second tier (played regionally to keep costs down, at least for the first half of any season) and all or most of the contenders for an A-League licence can play in that second tier -- probably best to call it the "Challenge League"!
PeterK
Guest
Sounds to me too, like a good model to copy, Ian.
PeterK
Guest
QSAF, nor can we have NO teams in a supposedly National competition coming from north of the Brisbane line of latitude.
PeterK
Guest
MelbCro, why can't any interested clubs become part-owners? If it's because of not enough money, then it seems to me as a long-distance observer, that you are right!
Football United
Guest
when was the last time you actually went to sydney? go there, try travel at 6pm on the freeway and you might actually understand.
joeb
Guest
"Over 10,000 of them attended the NSW Premier League grand final between Sydney Olympic and Sydney United this year – more than Sydney FC’s crowd average last season" that was just one game that attracted that crowd in the nswpl, how much does united, marconi, ilinden, blacktown or olympic attract on a regular occasion. a few hundred??
Macca
Guest
As long as the new franchise can generate lots of draws between them and other teams - I think they have a real future in Western Sydney. As the poster above states - participation numbers are great for soccer- so that should assist too. Either way, the more draws the better. that way no one wins...everyone walks away happy seeing a 0-0 game or a 1-1 game.
Danny Bhoy
Guest
As a melburnian i can confirm that your comment is true other than for the Southern and S.E suburbs which is a massive geographical sprawl whereby many further out do not go into the city. This is why IMO Heart should have represented the S.E which is Melb's largest (both in geography and population) as well as most segrated area.
Michael
Guest
Please FFA, no new franchises. Use the clubs that are out there. Sydney Olympic FC must be in the a-league
Australian Rules
Guest
JVGO Yes, the surburban strongholds of Melb clubs are not what they were 50 years ago, but try walking down the streets of Richmond, Hawthorn, Collingwood or Footscray and saying those team don't represent that district. Through its sheer size, there is a regional divide between East and West Sydney. I think most people would agree with that. You rightly say that NRL clubs "are synonymous with particular districts and play in them" (ok) but you then claim that the region of WS is broadly 'represented' by all clubs with a "Sydney" brand. This might be true, but in name only...as these clubs conduct almost no real activity in the WS region. The Swans train and play at the SCG (minus 1 or 2 ANZ games) and have the vast majority of their fanbase residing in East Sydney. Ditto the Waratahs - who played all but 2 games at SFS. Ditto Sydney FC. The Kings play out of the Syd Ent Centre near Darling Harbour. Establishing a team that lives, trains and plays in the West would give those who live in the region REAL access to their professional sports club.
Roger
Guest
Let me assure you that ease of transport in Melbourne adds support for locally based teams, and does not detract. And you are still yet to actually add any evidence. Anyway, surely the current Sydney FC fan base includes a fair % of fans from Western Sydney. Are you saying that those fans wouldn't switch their allegence, and that every fan for the Western Sydney team would be a new one? Please, be realistic.
JVGO
Guest
AR, western sydney is represented by the Waratahs, Sydney FC, Sydney Swans, Sydney Kings, 4 NRL district clubs, several state league socccer clubs, and provides the backbone of our international sporting sides including captains Michael Clarke, harry Kewell and Matt Nielson as well as Blues Paul Gallen. I can't understand how people talk about WS as if it is some sort of sporting wasteland. To say it is not represented by these teams and has no sporting diversity shows you simply have no idea of what representative means or how much sporting diversity already exists in Western Sydney. Sydney is already just about the most diverse and competitive sporting market in the world and kids in WS have the oppotunities to excel at an incredible range of sports, including Australian Rules funnily enough. It seems the current focus has arisen largely because the AFL has chosen to use its excess broadcast rights money to market its sport to the kids in WS through the establishment of GWS.
super G
Guest
No...not really. Next please!
Axelv
Guest
Spot on!
j binnie
Guest
Ben G - I made a mistake in entering the letter to Adrian so it consists of two parts. Don't know whether you read the other part which is contained about 9 comments down but I was not trying to compare the NSL with the HAL.They are as different as chalk and cheese.Anyhow you did, despite your words, respond & for that deserve an answer. Essentially my comment was about the constant releasing of news items claiming all sorts of wonderful things for the football fans of western Sydney.This latest effort got under my skin just a little for the general tone being projected is one of great promise but the discerning reader would question some of the claims being made.For instance,there has now been 3 "exclusive" newspaper & media releases & not once,despite mentioning the FFA many ,many times does it mention who , if anybody,was speaking for that august body. Strange is it not.? I have nothing against the two men mentioned as being interested in feeling out the area for investors, but I object to connecting them to having successful stints in the NSL. Nick & Remo did have stints in the NSL some 18 or 20 years after that competition had started,peaked,and was actually in decline when they entered.Their stints were projected as successful but a look at Wikipedia & both club histories, paints a different picture. Nick did spend millions of his money and you will remember the McMahon&Deane affairs,the vast array of coaches,and the endless purchase of what were deemed "great players" some of whom were "great" in a league that by that time didn't have too many. The blunt truth is Nick was badly advised. Remo,bouyed by Glory's "success" decided to do the same in Sydney.The club did make a big impact but after 5 years passed into oblivion. Now there is one inescapable fact that you cannot ignore Ben & that is in 7 years of operation not one successful franchise has appeared out of Western Sydney.Until that happens nothing will take place to ease the needs & wants of the fans. Cheers jb
Football United
Guest
Melbourne teams (and it's CBD) are all central. Every team plays in the cbd and every afl team is based close the cbd save for essendon. Because of Melbourne's geography, it is easy to get to games and thus fans of both teams playing will both go to games rather than just home fans like in Sydney. It is understated just how geographically split Sydney is. The bloody massive harbour has resulted in Sydney being split in a series of cities within a city. Parramatta, North Sydney and Sydney City are all effectively CBD's in their own right and travelling between such places is nightmarish. It is because of this split that West Sydney folk don't relate to Eastern Suburbs or north sydney don't to Blacktown It is also because of this split that you will find a teams supporter base generally only come from areas they are based in and will not travel across town to support a team from another region. This is in the complete opposite to melbourne afl where people could pick a team out of a hat and it wouldn't matter because the afl lets them all play at the MCG. Therefore saying west sydney is a mistake because sydney fc isn't doing as well with crowds as it should is flawed as a West Sydney team would not detract from current Sydney FC fans due to the targeted fan base of west sydney being mostly uninvolved with sydney fc anyway.
Joe
Guest
wasnt melbourne heart supposed to intice the 'old soccer' followers who had not jumped on an HAL team? then it ended up being a bunch of flogs and some indecisive victory supporters? (correct me if im wrong!)
Whites
Guest
It's a pity the team can't be called Sydney United.
Whites
Guest
The NHL's expansion into the sunbelt in the US is the closest to what the AFL is attempting in western Sydney.