Australia’s revamped domestic competition has encompassed some turbulent times in its short history, however there’s an overwhelming feeling of excitement and optimism among A-League clubs and the football community in recent times.
The product on the pitch is seemingly improving each season; crowds and television rating continue to escalate, while the new $160 million, four-year deal with Fox Sports and SBS will aid the game’s growth and underpin football into its next stage of development.
While football is continuing to make inroads, the structure of the A-League has always polarised opinion among fans of the code. The on-going debate lingers – should a nationwide FFA Cup replace the A-League finals series?
Many fans argue that a first past the post structure is the best and fairest way to determine the league champion, as opposed to a knockout based system – where luck can play its part in a one-off fixture.
This method of determining the league winner can be seen invariably around the globe, where the domestic league and cup are habitually separate, creating two unique competitions.
It is true; Australia is one of the very few nations in the world, in conjunction with the America’s Major League Soccer competition, to have a post-season play-off system. In football terms, it may not be the rational way to determine the nation’s champion; however it is a sporting tradition that is unique to these particular nations.
What works abroad doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the best method over here. For instance, promotion and relegation go hand-in-hand in Europe; it is part and parcel of football’s ethos. In Australia, however, this system simply wouldn’t be financially viable, despite what the Asian Football Confederation believes.
Relegated clubs would struggle to stay afloat, and more often than not die a painful death. The fiscal demands would be far too difficult for club’s to handle, while the demand for a countrywide second-tier sport in Australia just isn’t there for elite competition. Despite an enhanced media deal, football doesn’t have the luxury of a $1 billion windfall.
When we analyse the Australian sporting market, a post-season finals series fits like a glove. It keeps interest high during the regular campaign, and importantly provides a major boost in TV ratings, crowd numbers, and provides the governing body with an increase in financial support.
Without the play-off series, interest will dwindle considerably when clubs are seemingly out of contention for the championship, or Asian Champions League positions. The average football fan, let alone sporting enthusiast, wouldn’t be interested in seeing their club finish mid-table without the opportunity of post-season glory.
Like it or not, the finals series is part of Australia’s DNA, and it won’t be altered any time soon. The notion of let’s replace the finals with a cup competition wouldn’t capture the excitement, nor the imagination of the Australian sporting landscape.
The sentiment of having a nationwide cup competition, along with a finals series is the best solution. The A-League will still have its usual post-season appeal, while the cup competition will be a fantastic opportunity to link the grassroots of the code with the elite clubs around the country.
Watching some of the renowned clubs from the now-defunct National Soccer League lock horns with the likes of Brisbane Roar and Melbourne Victory would be a sight worth seeing.
Let’s not forget, clubs in the vein of South Melbourne, Sydney United and Melbourne Knights produced a crop of brilliant footballers, many whom were part of the Socceroos’ golden generation from the 2006 and 2010 World Cup campaigns. These clubs may not be on the national stage anymore but they are still playing an integral part in developing and nurturing the next generation of young players.
An FFA Cup would be a worthwhile spectacle, but it would also be a chance for the football community to pay their respects to the clubs that help cultivate and grow football, at a time when the code had very little support in the mainstream sporting market.
An FFA Cup competition may be on standby for the moment, but its imminent introduction will expand football’s reach throughout the local communities, and bring a different dimension which is currently lacking in the code.
The cup, in tandem with the finals series, would both play a significant role within the sport, in spite of what some supporters may think. A business model cannot simply be mirrored on what works overseas; each market has its own unique characteristics and elements to success.
The finals series is here to stay. It’s in Australia’s blood – akin to our American neighbours – and a ritual that has featured heavily at the elite level of our major sporting codes.
– Courtesy of Goal Weekly. Follow Robbie on Twiiter @RobertDiFabio
BB
Guest
It's simple really. You win the League, you are Premiers, you win the Grand Final, you are Champions. what's so hard about that?
BB
Guest
First past the post league format only works if you play each team home and away once. So therefore in the A-League it does not work. But, in saying that, you are still right.
mahonjt
Guest
Lets just call the finals series the League Cup - because despite only having one division it is exactly what it is. Then you have the FFA Cup running as well and the APL slotting in to bridge the gap, unite the family and improve the player development pathway. You win the domestic treble if you win the League, League Cup and FFA Cup. Easy. P/R is 20 years away at best.
Ian Whitchurch
Guest
Brian, They are going to sell to everyone in Australia who currently subscribes to Fox Sports to watch Australian Rules ...
thinker
Guest
How can anybody call themselves "traditionalists" and in the same breath want to scrap 25+ years of tradition?
Brian
Guest
And go on-line and SELL to whom exactly???????????? You're the one with wishful thinking buddy, your sport has gone as far as it can go. Nobody in Asia OR the rest of the World wants to know you - let alone pay to watch your rubbish!
Football United
Guest
I'm all for every senior registered team able to participate but i would be more than happy with that if it meant it started sooner!
TC
Guest
Sounds like wishful thinking Brian. The AFL media unit already employs 150, and they'll go online themselves if need be, don't worry about it. Perversely, that very threat will cause broadcasters to throw even more money at the game. TC
Brian
Guest
Football in Australia needs to abandon Foxsports as soon as the next contract is due for re-negotiation and sign up with Al Jazeera which is going to become the biggest and most powerful player in the on-line sports market. This news is of little comfort to the local handball games as their negotiating position is extremely poor as they have zero potential for growth into the booming Asian or World markets as their sports are about as internationally popular as HIV.
Mantis
Roar Guru
Whether they end up jumping on board or not, it is still getting people interested in the game who otherwise may not be. Over time they may end up getting more involved because of finals. Imagine if there was another grand final thriller at Suncorp in the near future. Between that and the CCM 2011 GF, there would have to be some people in Brissy who would start following the roar who previously werent. This wouldnt happen with a first past the post system.
ChrisW
Guest
We need more "local clubs" which target the whole community.
dasilva
Guest
I believe the premiers and champions are equal I think the premiers should get more respect than they already do They should get prizemoney equal to the A-league champions and when they win they become premiers they should be a trophy presentation celebrating that fact and it should be acknowledge as a great achievement However I still think the post season playoff has some merits and I dislike the idea to get rid of it or replace with the FFA Cup competiion. After all what's wrong with having two cup competition, a post season playoff and a FFA cup. Is it the marks of the best team to be consistent or to seize the opportunity and win the match that matters. to rise to the occasion and win the important match. To me both are important and both are important to be a great team. Let's remember that there is no international league and there's no continental league. There's no league to determine who is the best team in Europe or Asia. There's no league to determine which country is the best in the world. The best team in the world is determine by teams that perform on the day and rise to the important occasions and win the final of a competition I mean the most consistent team of the 1954 world cup was hungary but they failed at the big stage against East Germany. Sim ilar with Cruijff's Netherlands or the Zico's Brazil in 1982 I'm pretty certain that if a league system was developed to determine who is the greatest country in the world, those sides would have won it but they didn't win the matches that matter and they weren't the best team int he world because of that. However I don't hear anyone complain that the cup format diminish the world cup or anyone bemoan the fact that there's no such thing as an international league. When people wanted to incorporate a European Super League, where all the great clubs in Europe play in one league. A lot of purist screamed blasphemy and would destroy the romance of the game Sure this isn't like what they decide in Europe but who cares, there's nothing wrong with getting the emotions and romance of the cup final from knock out competition like the FA cup, champions league and world cup and incorporate that with the general seasons. To me mark of the great team isn't just consistency but winning the moment. A person could break the world record in the heats but if they screw up in the finals they don't win. when people asked which one is more important, it should be an ambiguous answer where people debate who is the best team. I like the fact that Australia has a bet each way and recognised both competition (however I believe they should do more by awarding equal prize money to the premiers)
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
@mwm I'm sure you'll find that I've been consistent since Day 1 on The Roar .. .. I do NOT ask for, nor do I want, AUS football to change anything to get accepted by the non-football fraternity. There are enough people who understand the culture, the laws & the technical/tactical requirements of football in AUS that we do not need to the begrudging support from fickle fans of other sports. In the same way, I do not expect NRL, AFL, cricket, RU to alter their culture or laws to try to win me over. Either I accept these sports as they are or I should move on. I choose to "move on". I wish non-football fans would do the same. PS: I'm not saying because it's foreign it's better than the Australian way. I prefer the "first past the post system" because it makes sense if you analyse the issue rationally. Finals competition is knock-out competition. It's totally different style of football to the league format.
mwm
Roar Pro
Then isn't what you are saying the same thing? except its like a kind of a reverse cultural cringe?? where everything 'Strayan' is to be mocked and only the Euro model of football should operate? I find it funny that some football fans practically beg the public to notice and watch the Ad League (even those who naturally follow football) and call those who don't Euro snobs, yet want a European model place onto the A League. Example; most 'active' fans chant versions English songs at games, names like 'United this ' or simply 'name of city FC' or 'Wanderers', promotion/relegation, a Cup comp involving all football teams. To want a sport that relates to how we see football is not insular. If football wants to be accepted by mainstream Australia (for that i mean the HAL with viewing figures, attendance, tv money etc not participation) it has to be made Aussie! .
vinie
Guest
im with you Fussy, good on ya mate!. we are too Americanised over here, we need the climax of finals otherwise we lose interest with our short attention span's, so psoilt for choice we'll just jump band wagons over to the footy and arial ping pong.
Ian Whitchurch
Guest
Pete4, Thats not their budget. Thats their travel budget. The important cost for running a full time sports comp in Australia isnt the travel budget, it's the paying players more than they could earn doing something else. At a theoretical $500k travel budget for each of 10 teams in the B-league, we could expand the A-League by 2 clubs, allowing more national coverage and more content to feed into Fox Sports and SBS. You're also going to have an awful problem with promotion relegation of explaining to Fox Sports that its entirely possible there will be no teams in Sydney or Melbourne during some of the contract.
pete4
Guest
Ian - I don't think the costs need to be the same. I don't anticipate these APL sides would become costly to run until they become fully professional. You mention $500K for an Aussie rules side playing in some state comp so I think costs would probably be compatible. The idea of this comp would bridge the gap between A-League and State leagues initially.
Ian Whitchurch
Guest
Pete4, That money is also the same money that needs to go to supporting the A-League so we dont get the Newcastle Jets failing again, to supporting the various national teams and to building some long term infrastructure, like equity in grounds.
Damiano
Guest
The finals exist as a substitue to a cup competition, and to try to attract the interest of Australians not used to a typical league approach, who want to see Football emulate the approach in sports they are more used to (basically to try to engage the TCs & Ian's of the world). There is no first past the post and then a finals series for either the Champions League or World Cup, there are qualifying groups, then knock out rounds. All this said, I probably should have taken Striker's advice, and not wasted my time writing this.
pete4
Guest
Timmuh - the APL model could very quick to start-up assuming FFA makes some $ available to assist clubs. Look at the clubs we have in state leagues now could easily move up on to national stage. Not saying this should be final but here's 10 potential APL clubs: Brisbane City West Adelaide Canberra United Wollongong Wolves Northern Fury Macarthur Rams Manly United Dandenong Thunder Green Gully Perth SC