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I live in Sydney, am a true sports fan and hold a membership to Penrith Panthers, Sydney Swans and Western Sydney Wanderers. It’s this last club and sport I want to discuss though, because I love the A-League and want to see it flourish.
There is no doubt the league is growing and season 2012/3 was the best one yet. However, I want to address a number of key obstacle the league faces.
One of the issues the FFA faces is attracting football fans to follow football in this country. Sounds silly, but let me explain.
There are plenty of football fans in this country, it’s participated in large numbers, and European teams are very popular – evidenced by the fact Manchester United and Liverpool have sold out an 80 and 100 thousand seat stadium respectively.
But it is many of these football fans who refuse to follow the A-League. You may refer to them as Eurosnobs.
Sure you might not like it, but it’s a reality and we have to think of how to solve it. And the simple fact is: you can’t in the short term.
Sure you can attract marquees, but that can only do so much. It’s going to take time for the standard to improve and until it does, people won’t follow.
It’s common sense you can’t expect the A-League to be at the same level as the English Premier League and Serie A. But unfortunately, this is the very reason why many don’t follow the league.
If I had a dollar for every time I heard a football fan say the A-League is ‘amateur’, ‘mediocre,’ and a ‘useless competition’ I would be a very rich man.
I and many others accept it for what it is – a growing league which has great potential, great live atmosphere and is very watchable. In fact it is very entertaining.
Of course, as in any sport, you get your average games, but all in all it is on the up.
Once again, it is no EPL, and this is the reason many won’t watch. But can we expect it to be an EPL? No!
What I’m trying to get at is there is only so much the league can grow until this barrier prevents it.
Australians have become too used to having the best leagues and players for the other football codes right at their doorstep.
If you go to the Sydney Football Stadium on a weekend wanting to watch the best rugby league competiiton in the world with the best players, you have it right there.
If you go the SCG or MCG, you can watch the best Australian rules players in the world in the best league.
If you want to watch the best rugby union in the world, you can go and watch the Super Rugby in which five Australian teams compete.
But if you want to watch the best footballers in the world you won’t find them in Australia, you will find them in Europe.
It’s a reality we have to deal with and accept as a challenge. Australians are used to having the best but if they want the best football they will stay up late and watch the Premier League as opposed to paying to see A-League.
Don’t get me wrong, I am excited by the A-League. I hate it when people bash it. But this is the reality. And it is the very reason why football fans in this country aren’t going to pay to watch football!
The league is growing and going strong. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. It is no where near the level of AFL and NRL in terms of support.
Sure we have attention, and sure we have the respect of the avid A-League fans, but when it comes to the Eurosnobs and the other codes, we do not!
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