Canberra and community owners are the next A-League steps

Actually - latest report is that the FFA have told Canberra to forget about a licence for at least 5 years. This is just confirmation of what we all know - the FFA is going after a 2nd Sydney team, by hook or by crook - but it does also show what a sham the original bid process was - wasting the time, effort and money of people from Canberra, the gong and Tassie, with all three bids actually being better advanced than the Sydney Rovers bid, which had nothing but the name going for it.

The transient population thing is very real, but not as bad as it was a few years back when there was 20% population turnover every summer. Its also real on the Gold Coast, though not as much as it was in the 80s and 90s (that is one reason why I worry about the AFL Suns, will those who signed up as members last year sign up in five years time if their real ties are to Essendon or Adelaide and they start going to only 2 or 3 games a year - will enough locals pick up the slack : that is also an issue for the A-League though not to the same degree, and to a lesser extent again in the NRL as the born and bred locals are largely RL followers). One problem both places have is that people tend to bring their original sports following with them. In my case, I do not have a previous A-League team (being originally from Tasmania and not getting hooked on the Victory when living in Melbourne when the A-League started). so I would probably go to games and I know a few others wo would because they are Association Football nuts who would go to games a neutral or are from overseas and have no A-League team at present. And if Tasmania ever got a genuine statewide club, not just a Hobart one, I would probably switch allegiances - but that is highly unlikely to happen in my lifetime.

Are you old enough to remember the Cosmos? Sure, the Arrows went alright from my perspective as a very young child, but I do remember 900 turning up to the Cosmos. They had a theme song though! "Nothing drastic, just fantastic...". I swear that was one of the lyrics. As with Tom though, I would buy a membership right away.

What Clive has done is shake the tree - as well as pretty much go overboard on some matters and is set to unleash his favorite form of "persuasion" - the law. As unwelcome as this may be it was probably going to happen at some point when you have a bunch of self-made millionaires all believing that they have the solution to the inevitable growing pains of the FFA. What happens next may dictate the shape of professional football for some years to come. Will Frank Lowy relinquish some control of FFA and allow an increased say in the running of the FFA by club owners? What will Clive's Football Australia achieve or morph in to? Is Clive simply engaging in an ego driven show of strength with a fellow gazzillionaire or does Clive really believe in a brighter future for the "world game" in Oz if it was run his way?

Back in the 1970s and early 80s Australianfootball was the biggest game in Canberra, but then came the Raiders, soccer, and union. The English codes won out against the Australian game. The media in Canberra prefer the games invented in England and I would think they would give good support to a soccer team there as well. It could be a success, as for the most part the Raiders and the other rugby team has been a success...so why not soccer as well.

I'd love to see it, but won't hold my breath for it to happen anytime soon. Watching Clive's interview right now, it looks like he could do a Rupert Murdoch and launch Super League Football.

I would of thought Canberra would work well with a sproting vacuum between October-January. A lot of public servants don't work over xmas but the October 1-Dec 15 is pretty sports free in Canberra at the moment Would be wise to get in before a BBL team I would think

I heard on the news this a.m. that Canberra have Buckleys and None of getting the next A league gig and that Western Sydney are a shoe in.

@ Brendo Current shortfall of $2m per year is nothing really. In his speech to MHT's luncheon, Frank Lowy affirmed the FFA's intention to pay each club the full salary cap when they sign the new broadcast deal. This puts an extra $1.2m into the HAL clubs. The $2m shortfall becomes $0.8m shortfall and, I reckon, if you can afford to own an HAL club you can afford to spend $800k each year - regardless of whether your HAL ownership is a hobby, a passion, or an ego boost.

Cattery you've identified half of the problem. You've identified the starting capital required but as many clubs are losing several million dollars a year this would require at least the same amount injected by members every year. At this point most club members start running! Barca can do it as they spread the cost over a membership the size of Canberra's population. This then is the problem, I'd favour the club - membership ownership model from a football point of view and I think that in the end it's provides more stability but we need a lot more HAL supporters for it to work so I don't think that it's a startup model for us. Down the track when development clubs like Heart, Roar and CCM are producing a conveyer belt of young talent that they can sell and TV rights are bigger, we may be in a situation for the clubs to be self-funding, this is when we should look at a community ownership model.

The progress of the J-League, and the game generally in Japan, is quite remarkable. It's only 20 years ago that their NT was absolutely hopeless. Whatever the J-League managed to do from season 8 onwards is certainly worth studying very carefully.

It has been hinted at over the years, but it is increasingly uncanny the similarities between the early years of the J-League and the A-League. Around the 8th season mark, the Japan Football Association realised national corporate sponsorship alone wasn't going to work and the writing was on the wall as to the sustainability of the J-League. The JFA could see something needed to be done and made a plan accordingly. They encouraged clubs to connect more with their local communities; to connect to the grassroots, local governments, local businesses and especially local citizens with sport and non-sporting related activities in the community. Whether solely because of this plan or other factors combining, the J-League is a success today. The Gold Coast United crisis sounds like the catalyst that tips the current model of the A-League, in particular her clubs, to the point where the FFA needs to come up with a plan, if they have not already got one (and in terms of owners having more say, the FFA was already mid-draft). My hope is that, like their JFA counterparts, the FFA swallows some pride and see that a longer term vision is needed, that alternatives to the current club model need to be encouraged. A plan that envisions a longer term sustainability for clubs, that does not solely rely on major individual ownership. I don't see initially that community memberships alone will create and sustain a club, but local businesses, government if necessary, in conjunction with major businesses or individuals all chipping in might give a firmer foundation for a new club to survive on. Unfortunately timing is of the essence for A-League season 8 as the next media deal looms and a 9-team competition is seen to detract from the FFA's negotiation power to earn a good outcome. A solid, long term plan put forward into the media negotiation process would go a long way to strengthening bargaining power for the FFA. So too would a club, supported by a JFA/FFA community model with a few seasons under it's belt, re-enforce the FFA's bargaining power. Which is why it is a pity the North Queensland Fury were not given chance to try their community model of ownership. The FFA has a lot to do to draft a plan with plenty of distractions to interrupt that process, notably the GCU crisis and looming court appearances. Canberra could be a carrot dangling all too easily within reach of a quick fix for a 10-team competition for next season. To me it seems that it is a 'quick fix' solution that is a season too soon. A West Sydney franchise would be even worse so.

Whilst a Canberra A-league team would have the Canberra sporting market to itself over the summer months, it shoud be noted, as TomC points out, that many Canberra residents desert the town over the Summer holidays. Further, Canberra has a very transient population, with public servants (remember that the government is by far the biggest employer) moving in and out of the place all the time.

Wow - that was a quick turnaround! The Canberra bid at least gives the FFA some insurance at staying at 10 teams, which is crucial for the next TV rights deal. But it's pretty clear that Lowy and Buckley are going to bend over backwards to rush in a 2nd Sydney license.

Great idea in theory, but who's going to stump up the cash to start up the club and fund any losses? Until the FFA is prepared to fork out millions, then the idea of community ownership remains a pipedream and private owners with their egos will be around for a while.

Brendo Agree Aways going to be difficult setting up a community club per se. Secret is getting the right rich people to invest in the game long term. Need long pockets & deep interest for the club to hold on until hopefully community engagement kicks in. CCM have sort of done it the other way round,but will still need a rich backer if they want to keep up the forward momentum.

I hope Canberra gets in but I think Lowy is set on getting a Sydney derby up and running first

Community model will not work in the A-league at this time. Are people forgetting that just about every club is losing like $2,000,000 a year. That kind of bleeding will just send a community club broke within 1-2 seasons. We need private ownership with people willing to invest in the game. Once the revenue reaches a level that would see the majority of clubs break even a community model could be implmented for new clubs until than lets accept that we need the millionaires.

Because there's not a lot of confidence in Canberra's ability to support a third professional football team. Particularly in the summer months, when so many potential fans would be headed down the coast for weekends. I wonder if the A-league might be better off with a Wollongong team that plays a couple of games in Canberra, a la the Giants. That said, I'd love to have a Canberra team. I'd buy a membership and go every week.

Canberra-Queanbeyan is bigger than NQld and Central Coast and Wellington. Why did those places get a team before us?