Another big-name European club will head to Australia for an exhibition match against the A-League All Stars next year, FFA chief executive David Gallop has confirmed.
A year to the day since Gallop began his tenure at the governing body, he recalls the debut of the All Star concept last July as one of the highlights of his first 12 months on the job.
A capacity ANZ Stadium crowd of more than 83,000 turned up to watch the A-League’s finest take on Manchester United in July.
Four days later, an even bigger crowd poured into the MCG to witness fellow English Premier League giants Liverpool play Melbourne Victory.
On the back of such success, Gallop confirmed the All-Star event would return next year with an opponent of a similar calibre.
Gallop would not confirm which club the FFA was already negotiating with but Alessandro Del Piero’s former Italian club Juventus is reported to be the frontrunner.
“One of the highlights of this last year was the visits of those two big clubs and the creation of the All Stars – that’s something that we see as an important new initiative,” he told AAP on Tuesday.
“We’re currently looking at locking down a good opponent that will excite fans for next year.
“We’re looking at a big European club and it would happen after the World Cup.”
Gallop said he was delighted with the growth he had witnessed in the A-League during the past 12 months and said the FFA Cup, due to kick off next year, would give the league another boost.
He cited record crowds and TV ratings as a clear indication the competition was on track, but ruled out any plans for expansion any time soon.
“We don’t see expansion on the agenda in the short to medium term,” he said.
“Huge investments have been made by individuals into A-League clubs and we need to protect those investments and make sure that the competition is in the best shape possible before we consider expanding it.
“The good news is that off the back of a number of commercial deals, the financial picture of the A-League is much, much healthier than it ever has been but we need to continue to protect the investment that our current owners have made.”
Twice, a second team in Queensland has failed with North Queensland Fury and Gold Coast folding.
And while Canberra has been thrown up as an option, Gallop all but ruled out the nation’s capital, based on it’s relatively small population.
“We haven’t identified what our target zones would be,” he said.
“Certainly the experience in Australian sport generally is that you need to be looking at areas with millions of people not hundreds of thousands if you’re going to really have a viable crack at it.
“It is something we need to do at some point but not necessarily right now.”
pete4
Guest
Yes that was reported a few weeks back: "Football Federation Australia has confirmed the A-League All Stars match will return next year and Fairfax Media understands Italian giants Juventus are red-hot favourites to be brought to Australia for the showpiece event" Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/sport/soccer/juventus-tipped-for-next-aleague-all-stars-clash-20131030-2whif.html#ixzz2kQWCLmCb
Mantis
Roar Guru
it better not mean that
Brian
Guest
I wonder if that means next is Auckland or Singapore.
Garcia
Guest
Juventus? Its been done before http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BShbOXc4YUk
Franko
Guest
“Certainly the experience in Australian sport generally is that you need to be looking at areas with millions of people not hundreds of thousands if you’re going to really have a viable crack at it." - Gallop Well according to the ABS no city will break the 1m mark that hasn't already before 2056, and that is looking at the aggressive figures. http://www.abs.gov.au/Ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/3222.0 The Gold coast is not expected to reach that mark in 2031 (they'd only be at 790k) http://www.ipswich.qld.gov.au/documents/business/qld-govt-pop-proj-lga-2011-edn.pdf But then it also makes you wonder about Gosford, Newcastle and Wellington.
Jukes
Guest
I thought they already got Juventus to agree to come. Although I wish it wasn't the All stars team, better to get our clubs involved and grow them with some decent exposure.
mahonjt
Guest
Make it happen FFA!
Brian
Guest
You need a big name. If Sweden beat Portugal next week then a Real Madrid with Ronaldo would be good. Otherwise it needs a big EPL club like Arsenal. I would aim for two big games each year, one at Homebush and one at MCG. Each game must feature a name that would get non-followers going e.g. Man U, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, Barca, Real, Juve, Messi, Ronaldo, Brazil, Italy, England. Forget the football and target the theatre goers. I thought the MCG was going down this path we had 2006 Greece 2007 Argentina 2008 Japan WCQ then it stopped until Beckham and then Liverpool. Clearly there is money to be made from a big game once a year.
Garcia
Guest
I was hoping for Plymouth Argyle F.C. or AFC Wimbledon
Franko
Guest
Another big Euro club to play All Stars in 2014 Wolves back for another game then?
Matthew Skellett
Guest
Actually Doc Gallop changed the standard FFA contract to include mandatory attendance at All -Star games for all Marquees -and I hope he gets two of 'em not jusr one :-)
Doc
Roar Rookie
Unless FFA is negotiating with Barcelona or Real Madrid, I feel that it would be a step backwards from what we saw this year. I am personally not a fan of the "All Stars" concept, as inevitably a number of the bigger name players pull out. I can however understand how the concept may effectively be used to invite new fans into the game. 27 rounds does the trick for me.