At least once or twice a week we discuss or debate the prospect of expanding the A-League, but a far more pressing issue at hand is expanding Australia’s football culture and knowledge.
Regardless of how many teams we want in our domestic league, the only way it will ever expand is by first expanding football’s foundation.
Much like the USA, Australia has numerous national sports, which makes competition fierce. Code wars aside, all of the sports can easily and relatively peacefully co-exist.
The problem that has long plagued football, however, is that it has had to compete with the AFL and NRL heavyweights.
For some Victorians, the only form of football is AFL. Likewise in the north, NRL might be the only code for some.
But football has come a long way in the past decade and can go much, much further. The FFA is all too aware of this, and is doing everything they can to see it through.
Football is fully established in virtually every corner of the globe, from the biggest economic empires to the tiniest pacific nations. This gives the game in Australia limitless potential to build upwards and outwards.
We’ve all added our opinions when it comes to the argument about expanding the A-League, but the general agreement reached is this – consolidate the league first.
In order to do this, the FFA need to go to the sport’s foundation. Build a strong enough foundation, and you can add as many levels to the football pyramid as you need.
Instead of focusing on adding more teams to the A-League, we should be looking to the NPL, FFA Cup, Y-League and W-League.
The NPL is one of the greatest achievements of the FFA, and this is the best example of using the word ‘consolidate’. The Victorian league has been green-lit, meaning that 2014 will see an even eight statewide semi-pro leagues go ahead.
It’s easy for the casual fan to overlook the NPL, but it will play a vital and strategic role in football’s growth. Realistically, we all know that Australia is too large and too underpopulated to support a fully professional second tier.
The NPL is the next best thing. Each club needs to meet strict criteria, including facilities and coaching accreditation.
Clubs receive incentives for their players who move up to the Y-League, A-League or Socceroos, meaning that we will see clubs produce some highly talented athletes.
The reach of the NPL is far greater than that of the A-League, as it encompasses many regional teams. And while many locals can easily choose to ignore it, the FFA have taken a wise step forward in establishing this competition.
This is the beginning stage of football. The final piece of the puzzle for the NPL would be a broadcast deal.
The FFA Cup also offers a huge reach. It gives each A-League and NPL club – and even clubs lower in the pyramid – the chance to fight it out to become the nation’s best.
The introduction of the FFA Cup and NPL means more ‘known’ teams in Australia. More known teams mean more fans of the sport.
And more fans means more aspiring talent.
It’s easy for us to discuss where the next A-League team should be, but the biggest and best opportunity we have to expand the league is to expand football in Australia as a whole.
The bigger football’s foundation, the bigger the top tier will eventually be.
Mike
Roar Guru
The A-League doesn't need to be on 2 out of 3 commercial stations. Even the AFL is only shown on 1 commercial station. Multiple stations doesn't equal more matches. There were ads on channel nine before the A-League started. Agree that the sports market in Oz is highly competitive, but I think there's only so much that can be done while the league, and dare I say "mass public acceptance," is in its infancy. Give it time and you'll see football more and more. Although marketing only plays one part in the success of a sports organisation. The huge advantage that football has over any other sport is its worldwide demand. And while the Australian sporting landscape did not initially make room for the game, the fact that people will demand it is what will make it stronger. People want the Socceroos, and/or they want a strong domestic league, and/or to see a local team in their continental champions league. Disagree with you that the FFA are "sitting there and doing nothing." If you're unfamiliar with the A-League, then I can understand that it might look like a small, ten-team competition that is only "slowly growing." But for knowledgeable football fans, we know that the FFA is undertaking an immense amount of work, such as the NPL and FFA Cup. Only so much work can be done on the top tier at any time by the FFA, and they know this, which is why they're working on the foundation. A big enough foundation will ensure that the league never plateaus. As for the cricket, it's expected that we'll see large crowds for the test matches against England. Football doesn't have a monopoly over summer, so different codes need to share. Or were you referring to the BBL? If so, I don't think that any football fans feel threatened by it, especially since the BBL attendances were only almost a quarter of the A-League's. As for A-League crowds continuing to fall, this has only ever happened in the 2008-09 season. Apart from that, it has grown every year. No other large sport has had such consistent growth in attendances. Both the AFL and NRL's have fluctuated over the last decade, which is normal for a code that is nearing its present relative capacity. The A-League is far from capacity, however, and therefore can only continue to rise, especially as the Australian culture embodies the sport more and more.
Sports Candy
Roar Pro
2 out of 3 commercial TV stations (and their affiliated radio stations) are showing cricket, so they are flogging it to death because of their vested interests and greed. Until the A-League and the Socceroos are shown on 2 out of 3 commercial stations then you have no hope. I haven't seen or heard one ad for the A-League all year. I know the FFA are tight for money but with a highly competitive sports market in Australia you need to do some marketing. With a player base approaching 2 million, surely they could work out some deal for all the registered players to get cheap or some free tickets to A-League games as part of their rego. There are plenty of other ways to promote yourself that don;t cost much money either, If they continue to sit there doing nothing then A-League crowds will continue to fall while the cricket is on.
Mike
Roar Guru
I have to disagree with that. Racism and the Australian cultural sense of homogeneity will slowly fade away over time. The world is a completely different place to what it once was. Thanks to technology, the world is now vastly smaller. The younger generation of kids are growing up in a world where they are familiar with multiple cultures, and this does not frighten them. As globalisation continues, and the world continues to culturally shrink, Australia will drastically change and evolve. What might be the status quo now will cease to exist. You only need to look back on the world's history to see that each decade brings its own era.
Sports Candy
Roar Pro
Australia's culture, racism and bias will ensure that football is never going to be the most popular sport in this country, there are way too many things against it and even Gallop can't change the world. Cricket, cricket cricket till its coming out your asre here in Sydney at the moment. Even FIFA, the footballing Gods and the rest of the football world are against us. http://www.theguardian.com/football/interactive/2013/dec/18/world-cup-2014-draw-strength-of-schedule
The Bush
Roar Guru
"If the NPL could become the equivalent of college football in the USA, it would be amazing." But this completely ignores the incredible history of College Football and just assumes that it can be replicated. College Football existed long before the NFL did, it drew the same following then as it does now and it will always continue to do so. You can't artificially create that kind of tradition etc.
realfootball
Guest
Poor ACL crowds aren't restricted to CCM, or to Australia, of course. The comp has a long, long way to go. If CCM is breaking even, why has the club been unable to pay wages etc several times in the last 12-18 months? Why did Charlesworth have to step in and rescue the club with a financial bale out? I thought Heart and Victory were the only clubs not making a loss.
Ian Whitchurch
Guest
American college football works for a couple of reasons, but the big one is that they have a strict salary cap, and the cap number is zero. This frees tens to hundreds of millions to pay coaches and whatnot. A further issue is that, if you're an NPL club, then presumably you're trying to win the NPL, not develop players you wont see a return from - and if A-League teams need to pay serious transfer fees to the NPL, then theres questions of how that interacts with the salary cap (as an aside, a NEAFL team just demanded a $10k transfer fee for a player to an AFL club, and the club went 'He's just depth. Deals off''). Im not saying the NPL is a bad idea, I just think that we need to look at the interests of the NPL clubs seperate from the interests of the A-League clubs.
Mike
Roar Guru
Thanks Towser. I sometimes enjoy the odd debate, but it's also good for us to put our heads together and brainstorm about football in Australia. I've got a really good feeling about our future. ;)
Towser
Guest
These sort of articles about football MIke are what we need more & more on the Roar. Keep the grey matter ticking over about very difficult issues & nothing is more difficult in my mind than getting the right balance of clubs in place given the newness & market the A-League operates in. That market being defined as one with limited large population areas & domestically crowded with other long established sporting Leagues.Add to that Internationally in Asia against countries with much larger populations & arguably less domestic competitors professional league wise, with no salary cap. Sounds tough when you say it like that,but considering where the A-League was in season 5 & where it is in 9,I believe the FFA are learning fast on that steep learning curve. Whilst the Roar may be about opinions & the more controversial the subject the bigger the hits,the best articles are ones like these that allow you to offer ideas to try & solve as a I said difficult issues. We may be way off the mark,but some may be on the money.
Midfielder
Guest
We do break even on 10K ... My thinking is MC wants about 2K more from NS... and to move say the ACL which get very poor crowds to say NSO where office workers can come after work...
Mike
Roar Guru
You're spot on there Timber Tim. That's precisely the purpose of the NPL. Well, I suppose it has many purposes, but one of them is to engage fans. After all, clubs like South Melbourne still have a big following, and they haven't been in the top tier in a decade. If the NPL could become the equivalent of college football in the USA, it would be amazing. Imagine having discussions on websites like this about the top NPL players, and which clubs they might go to. It's been a terrific year for the NPL so far, and I can only see it going up from here. And because there is minimal risk involved, a lot can be done. FFA can really use it as a testing ground for virtually anything they want. Same goes with the W-League and Y-League. The casual fan might only ever know of the A-League or Socceroos, but little do they know of the huge growth happening beneath.
realfootball
Guest
Mid, that wasn't my question. I think CCM's crowds are good for the pop base. What I don't understand is why CCM isn't viable when we don't here the same about Adelaide, Perth or Heart, who have similar av attendances? Why can't CCM break even on a 10K average?
Kane Cassidy
Roar Guru
"Largey comprised of Australians od southern and eastern European heritage" Laughable there. If you actually bothered to look there are far more names from The UK/Ireland, Holland and Germany, I've noticed a huge shift in the heritage of the players in the Socceroos, don't even try and hold on to that old myth as fact.
Midfielder
Guest
Real we have a core base around 8K ... that is something ... add the 11 out of 27 matches being derby matches and our crowds will average 10 to 13 K depending on weather and how well we are doing... Some RL clubs in Sydney don't average 13K .... I cannot see a mass movement away from the Coast ... what I can see is very selective movements to NSO... we could play our Champions league games there. Cheaper to run & a lot of coasties work in the city plus would be easier for the Asian communities to attend if there heritage is the opposition.... A history round against a side that draws low crowds at Bluetounge say like Wellington ... call it a heritage [Northern Spirit] round. Play the W-League and run a youth academy at Cromer Park [ a small football stadium near Manly] ... we already have connections with Granville, Gladesville Hornsby and Northern Suburbs (then Ku-Ring-Gai) from day one. Encouraging greater link-ups with Manly United, Northern Tigers and Spirit FC to feed our NYL sides (in addition to CCMA) makes perfect sense.
TIMBER TIM
Guest
The NPL is probalby one of the best things to happen in the last 12 months and now with the addition of NNSW, WA and VIC and hopefully a form or representation in the Northern Territory this will do what I have always dreamed of in the last 5 years. That every state and territory of Australia is covered with a football team to support either semi or fully professional. Where their are teams that don't have the presence of an A-league team, in time they could start building crowds that would give A-league teams a run for their money. Just look at Northern Fury's rebirth in the NPL building towards an A-League licence. Surely there a many football fans around the country that might latch onto an NPL team in favour of an A-League team. The NPL would be to the A-League what American College Football is to the NFL. There are big college teams in markets that don't have a fully professional NFL team (e.g. Alabama, Auburn, Arkansas, Oregon, etc) The NPL teams could be just that in time and it will then not force the FFA to expand for the sake of expanding but put forward strict criteria in place to make the jump from NPL to A-League level. Promotion/relegation to and from A-league is a long way off and in truth if New Zealand got their league up and running would get Promotion/relegation off the ground before we do.
realfootball
Guest
As a former Northern Beaches surfer, it is difficult to overstate the barrier of crossing that bridge.
Mike
Roar Guru
I think the headache for the FFA is figuring out which places are the most viable options, and how to go about it. No matter where they put the 11th team, be it in a huge city or a small one, it's almost certain that the crowds won't be giant at first. Each team will have to find their feet, which might take a few years, or even a decade or two in some cases. In the case of WSW, it was an extremely successful launch. For Heart, not so much. I suppose it's easy for us to go straight to the most populated areas to see where would be the best place for a team, but the FFA would presumedly want something more than this. They'd want a detailed report on each bidding region to see if they're viable or not. Either way, I think any subsequent A-League teams will need to take their time in getting established. At the end of the day, I'm happy to trust the FFA's judgement. They have professionals on the job, and that's good enough for me. If they decide to grant all future licenses to Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane, I'll accept it. I'd love nothing more than to eventually see some regional teams, but I'll accept a 3rd or 4th same-city team if it's what the FFA deem best. As long as the A-League can produce some quality football, and the league does its absolute best to encompass the whole of Australia (as opposed to being a league based in only one or two states), then I'm a happy man. :)
Bondy
Guest
Real I'd suggest that asian champions league qualification is hurting us we are the smallest club in Australia representing the HAL. Just also territorially I see Sydney Fc support more Manly ,Mona Vale ,Mossman, Milsons Point,possibly Crows Nest "on the north shore of course", the Kur Ring Gai chase Hornsby region to be Mariners territory..
Matthew Skellett
Roar Rookie
Right on Kasey; for Simon Hill to talk of News Limited and journalistic integrity in the same article beggars belief
Ian Whitchurch
Guest
My feeling is the plan based around developing players at the Centre of Excellence and onselling them is a strategic mistake. Go to transfermarkt, and check what CCM has received in payment for onsold players, then figure how many coaches and whatnot that pays for. It's not pretty. The 'stuff talent development, we'll just buy them' of the rest of the A-League seems to make more sense from the perspective of those clubs.