Many have described the 2012-13 A-League as the best season to date. Marquee signings aside, a large part of this success has been down to new club Western Sydney Wanderers.
After a number of unsuccessful expansion attempts, the FFA proved with the Wanderers they could (finally) get it right.
Although further expansion may be a while away, here is my look at possibilities for new A-League clubs.
Canberra
There are a number of states and territories without a team, the ACT being one of them. It seems ridiculous the national football league has no representative from the nation’s capital.
Canberra has proven themselves capable of managing a successful sports team – The W-league Canberra United has been successful in recent seasons and the ACT Brumbies had a good season last year, and are looking even more impressive in 2013.
An unsuccessful A-League bid was previously put forward for Canberra. The team was backed by TransACT CEO Ivan Slavich and was supported by current Socceroo Carl Valeri and former Socceroo Ned Zelic.
Only a short time ago the Canberra Times reported that David Gallop, FFA Chief Executive, said Canberra deserves a team in the A-League, and they should receive one before long.
Tasmania
Another state without a team is Tasmania. The island may not have a team in the NRL or AFL, but the Tasmanian Tigers Cricket team have proven to be competitive in national competitions.
Like Canberra, Tasmania has also made an unsuccessful A-League bid. Should Tasmania be awarded a team, the A-League would become more national than both the NRL and AFL, whose majority of teams are based in Sydney and Melbourne respectively.
South Melbourne
Currently playing in the Victorian State League, South Melbourne FC was one of the most successful clubs from the NSL days.
Fans and players will undoubtedly feel hard-done by they were not rewarded the position of becoming the second Melbourne A-League team, the position instead being filled by newly formed Melbourne Heart.
After their failed bid the club has made clear their aspirations of purchasing an A-League club and moving them to South Melbourne. Recent news reports claimed Heart and Mariners have both rejected bids from South Melbourne.
It would need to be asked if another A-League team can fit into Melbourne, and if another city should be awarded a team first.
But if Melbourne is to receive a third club, South Melbourne FC should be considered with their impressive history and culture.
Geelong
If the state of Victoria is to receive a third A-League team, perhaps the FFA should look at placing them outside of Melbourne.
Geelong is the largest regional city in Victoria, a similar size to Newcastle, and should not be ignored for a possible A-League team.
The city has previously made an unsuccessful bid. They claim to have a number of talented players currently in the Victorian State League who could make up a team.
Victorian Goldfields
Melbourne and Geelong aside, most cities in Victoria would be too small to support an A-League club. Perhaps a club could belong to a region or a group of cities.
The Goldfield Region of Victoria holds the major cities of Ballarat and Bendigo, and would be one possibility for a regional Victorian A-League club.
Third Sydney team
We now draw our attention to NSW, the first logical location to focus on is Sydney.
With the Wanderers located out in Western Sydney, and Sydney FC in the East, geographically a third Sydney team could be placed north in the Northern Beaches area, or south in the Sutherland Shire.
With the success of the Wanderers, a third club could be placed out west, in the Penrith or Blue Mountains region.
But perhaps another NSW team should be located outside of Sydney.
Wollongong/South Coast
With the first (Sydney) and second (Newcastle) largest cities in NSW already with A-League clubs, the third largest (Wollongong) may be in place for their own team.
Critics may say the city is too small to host a club, in which case the team could be located in the South Coast region, of which the ‘Gong is a part.
The South Coast is another region which has put forward an unsuccessful bid in the past. The bid received backing from current Socceroo Tim Cahill.
The South Coast region has also had an impressive number of footballing talent, the likes of Johnny Warren, Luke Wilkshire and Scott Chipperfield originating from there.
Second Brisbane team
Brisbane Roar have been highly successful in recent seasons, but this doesn’t mean the city deserves a second A-League team.
With only one NRL and one AFL club, I’m not sure if Brisbane can manage a second A-League club.
Perhaps if Queensland was to be awarded a second club it should be placed outside Brisbane.
Sunshine Coast
With failed A-League teams from North Queensland and the Gold Coast, the FFA will be weary of attempting a new club in Queensland.
However, unlike with their previous attempts, the Sunshine Coast Football Club already exists and currently plays in the Queensland State League.
Perhaps this will be a better way for the A-League to introduce new teams, with clubs that already exist with their own players, coaches and staff that can be built upon.
This raises an interesting point of potentially combining the A-League with local state leagues in a possible FFA Cup or some sort of relegation/promotion system.
The A-League is not quite ready for immediate expansion, but if the 2012-13 season is anything to go by, it will not be far away.
Killahventure
Guest
Western Sydney is probably the most multicultural area in Aus ( I'm not extremely knowledgable on NZ) and as the civilians there are from many European countries football is their main sport so when a Local team is Having great success they will cherish it. The main problem I see is the level of skills displayed by the HAL oppose to the EPL or LA LIGA is very poor, I didn't watch much of the previous seasons simply because of that factor but with the three marquee signings it got me very interested. so if a new team can bring forth great skill, large publicity and success they will be fine. My money of a new team in order Canberra United Auckland City FC Greater Geelong Galaxy Illawarra City FC Northern Fury Goldfield Revolution
Ian Whitchurch
Guest
Charles, An important point is that North playing in Bellereive isnt a Tasmanian thing - its a Hobart thing. Likewise, Hawthorn playing at York Park is a Launceston thing. The history of sports in Tasmania is that, eventually, every "Tasmanian" team gets seen as either Hobart- or Launceston-based ... so you might as well accept that from day one. One of the keys to the suiccess of WSW is they *arent* Wanderers - they have a home ground at Parramatta, and they stick to it. I dont think splitting games between Hobart and Launceston has ever worked, and I dont think it will ever work, so any Hobart or Launcestion side will need to figure how to get ~8k crowds by itself.
Post_hoc
Guest
I think you are 100% correct with regards to Canberra being the next and the only sure bet. I Think you fail on the other option bit, I think Geelong might be the next best. No to 3rd Sydney no to 3rd Melbourne, but Geelong might provide driving distance especially for Victory supporters who show they will travel. It might be like CCMvWSW type or CCMvJets. This does not need to be rushed, 10 is fine, 12 is better but not for next 4 to 5 years. The unknown is Auckland. Yes they could financially support a team, population size is there, the NZ World Cup run could be a catalyst like 2006 was for us. If NZ joins Asia, or the other option Asia splits east/west with Oceania being swallowed by East Asia. Then there is no impediment for the A League taking in NZ.
gawa
Guest
Gold Coast was a good away day for the 3-6 thousand Brisbane fans that made the trips, but in return as a whole Gold Coast Utd brought nothing but negative publicity. Infact on several occasions the Fury brought more away fans to Suncorp than GCU which is remarkable given the distance is well over 1000k'ms. In their first season Fury averaged over 7000, while run on a shoestring with negative publicity from a hostile local press. IF and that's a big IF the next media is significantly improved I would love to see a North Qld team return and be properly financially supported. Other regions need to be assessed and appraised by those in a more knowledgeable position. But as mentioned above we must be absolutely certain before expanding that the clubs will meet certain criteria. They must first and foremost be football clubs, run by football people and represent their communities. They must have targets, systems and the finances to properly engage with their communities They must have suitably sized stadiums They must respect and include the previous generations of football people from their catchment area. The days of scandalously unplanned expansion gambles must never be allowed to happen again.
Charles
Guest
1. Yes it is a challenge. I guess if you are looking for any excuse to give up, you can use this as one. 2. You want the stats? Sure. Results of a poll conducted by EMRS in January 2010: http://www.tasmaniaunited.com.au/news/post/survey-report-released/ Note the number of people who would be "very likely" to become a member? 5% of respondents. Extrapolated out to Tasmania's adult population, this is around 18,000 people. Personally I'd only expect (and still be very happy with) even half that number. 3. The AFL doesn't want a team that is viable from day one. The AFL wants a team in areas which will grow the game - even if it costs them money in the short term. Putting a team in the state that already has the highest proportion of AFL support - even more than Victoria - is not going to grow their game. 4. The attendance in Canberra is entirely relevant, considering that they are constantly harped on as the "obvious" next team location. Why is 6k in Canberra fine, but 6k in Launceston a disaster? 5. Yes, Tasmania is suffering economic problems. Yet somehow, three sponsors (all Tasmanian-based companies) popped up out of the woodwork when the AFL North Melbourne deal raised its head last year). You may not be aware of the several niche industries which are booming in Tassie at the moment (tourism, gourmet food and wine/spirits, Asian fruit exports, Antarctic research, a growing arts/festival industry, renewable energy, potentially NBN related advantages too). Of course, we are required to be sponsored only by companies based in Tasmania - just like that Melbourne-based Adecco, or that Wellington based corporation Sony, or my favourite, the Gosford based "Tibet 5100 Spring Water". I realise that you have bailed on Tasmania and you feel the need to justify your decision. Fair enough. But please do a little bit of research before posting next time.
Paul
Guest
No second team in SEQ until BR starts averaging 20,000 to home games.
thinker
Guest
how about: 1 - NPL National champion 2 - NPL National runner-up single season license each
Sky Blue
Guest
I've lived in Wollongong, it has a community similar to western Sydney and I can imagine success on the pitch would bring the same type of fans that the Wanderers attract. I even watched the A-League grand final between Sydney FC and Melbourne Victory in a packed Steelers club (Yes you read that right, home club of the St George Illawarra Dragons) many of them were cheering on Sydney FC as they were the closest team around. If Gosford can manage a stable team I have no doubt Wollongong can.
Victer
Guest
Couldn't agree more
Stevo
Guest
Agree jb. People are putting the cart before the horse - all because we've had a good season after a few relatively lean ones. Finding 46 players and funding of each team to the tune of around $5-7 M per year will come from where? Let's not rush in just like we fell over ourselves to put in a WC bid when we clearly were not ready - add Fury and GCU to the litany of mistakes. Let's just bed down and grow what we have first.
bp2
Guest
The FFA have to learn from the debacles of the Fury and Gold Coast and look to what they did right with the Wanderers. That is taking the game to areas that have proven in the NSL days to actually have a solid core football backbone. That would automatically rule Wollongong and Canberra in. Forums should again be conducted to get the community onside and immediately feeling a part of the new club. That would rule out the Geelongs and Tasmanias but give a hope to the South Melbournes. Interesting point a possible Dandenong area team. I admit to not knowing about the logistics of Melbourne but I have heard it is a growing economic and industrial area with what I believe to be a highly multicultural base. Sort of sounds like Western Sydney? Can any Mexicans help me out?
Midfielder
Guest
Out of left field ... these are my two... Wollongong and .... Singapore ...
dazman
Guest
The FFA should set up a proposal in, say, Canberra, Auckland, Wollongong and Townsville, and say to each city "if you want an A-league team, you need 7000 foundation members". Price the memberships at a similar level to other club memberships, and for the cities that fall short, refund them. For the cities that reach, or get close to 7000, proceed just like WSW with fan forums and such. This takes the guesswork and luck out of expansion, and practically guarantees a good crowd, cash source, and success. I don't see any other way that's better
Michael Wison
Guest
True, but I wonder if the Malaysian FA and Indonesian FA would see it an advantage of having a team in higher level football to improve their competiveness and develop their International Teams. NZ has its own local teams but Phoenix offers higher level football. Might be that these two countries can provide the funds needed to keep two more team through their FA Associations. Its a long way for NZ and Sydney teams but almost a derby for Perth compared to their trip to NZ.
Griffo
Roar Guru
If getting to 12 teams seems 'easy', getting to 14 seems a bit of a stretch. But 16+? As the A-League grows, less likely they will be new teams. I think this will be where NPL will begin to feed teams into the HAL, with ticks on and off the park - winning your NPL won't guarantee entry to HAL. FFA wil need to have a long term plan, understanding where funding will come from, and how more teams (and a longer season) is going to fit and what that might mean for infrastructure, and what youth development is in place to grow the pool of available talent to fill all the youth/senior teams.
Michael Wison
Guest
Money changes everything as the Cindy Lauper song goes. NQL were many peoples 2nd favourite team, that's why I was sad to see them go. They could always be marketed as the underdog but this was not done enough. How many of us was pleased to see Wigan with the FA cup? The real problem with Auckland is that RL and RU are so strong. I guess marketing might overcome the problem but it will be hard. Christchurch may only have 1/3d of the population but no real RL competition. The population is not so important if the fans will watch it on TV, and to improve the atmosphere some also turn up at the game and thus increase the TV audience and the TV contract.
Griffo
Roar Guru
Wondered this as well. With there being at least 12 clubs in AFC Member Assiciations as part of the ACL checklist, there is the risk that with two NZ teams your count will be lower than the 12 required. Also similar thought is that of NPL teams winning the FFA Cup and qualifying for ACL - the requirements on infrastructure, coaching levels, and being a team under the premiere league of the MA all might disqualify the team from ACL (as well a cost of participating...)
fadida
Guest
It's not just the ability to provide a team though. They need to be competitive. An issue for NQ and the previous NZ side were once they weren't competitive the crowds fell away badly. A Tasmanian team would be comprised entirely of non-Tasmanians initially (apart from the great Todd Hingston) and I doubt there'd be an ability to have any marquees due to lack of financial muscle. Subsequently if (likely when ) the team struggled on field crowd support and therefore financial backing would be problematic. I'd love to see it but we need to be realistic Charles, and we know southerners won't travel north as 2 hours is too far, and Hobart doesn't have an appropriate venue (cricket at Bellreive), so crowds will be 6k. Not enough to support a club as MH are aware. Hobart is the logical football centre and it's where the passion really lies (although not the talent necessarily)but has no venue, therefore we are a good few years away
jack@hotmail.com
Guest
I remember reading an interview with Gallop and he mentioned that a third team in Melbourne is not part of FFA expansion policy, this is when they where asked about Central coast re loacting. I think Canberra is pretty much a LOCK for the 11th liecence. Average crowds of 6-7 in first couple years would be sustainable until they get there roots in community(hopefully long term 8-10 average then bigger when Sydney play them). We need 12 as we dont want our teams missing matches on bye weekends. No shortage of options but none are "SAFE BETS" like Canberra. 1.Auckland (have tried and failed before but they never had a derby or NZ world cup success or the right loaction.)' Auckland and Wellington are both North Island right??? So fans could drive to derbies easily ? 2.South Coast (Possibly, Central Coast has been a success however need committed investors, will run at a loss but with Salary cap being covered shouldn't be huge) 3. Tassie (probalby not yet not a massive market) 4. Gold Coast (have tired and failed before but was terribly run, its a massive growth spot and is a key geograhic region, fast growing population plus a derby for Roar. MASSIVE risk but we need a club there long term and if people from Gold coast grow up with a club then they will care about it... this willl not have overnight so will need committed smart investors). 5. FFA has already stated they will not bring in a 3rd Sydney or Melbourne team next. I cant see any other realistic options at this stage??
John
Guest
Fair call. I can't say I really thought that through that well. Still, the idea of a team in Coffs Harbour is really appealing to me. I can't figure out why though.....