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The A-League is getting ready for its 10th season, starting in October this year. Most clubs are now looking, scouting and trying to sign new players including some overseas marquees.
The whole world stood up and took notice of our little league when Alessandro Del Piero came to our shores two seasons ago. All the metrics which are used to measure the success of the league exploded that season, and it quickly became known as the ‘ADP moment’.
That would’ve had a positive effect worldwide, and it certainly paved the way for the purchase of the Melbourne Heart by the extremely wealthy Abu Dhabi Group.
They own Manchester City, have started the newest MLS franchise New York City and have just purchased a 20 per cent stake in a J-League club. The fact that they’ve picked the A-League as an investment speaks volumes about how the game is growing here.
But it’s what they can do for the A-League that really excites me. This new club and its ambitious owners will have a massive influence on the league in many ways.
But I see them driving the competition on two key fronts. They’ll not only sign the biggest names in the league next season, but they’ll most likely pioneer the next phase of the A-League’s development, which are academies and facilities.
This is surely the next stage in the A-League’s progression, where clubs actually start owning their own homes made of real bricks and mortar.
There’s been strong rumours around that City are prepared to spend big dollars on a training facility, believed to be at their current base at La Trobe University in Bundoora. Nothing’s been confirmed at this stage, but the word is they’re talking to local council to strike up some sort of agreement and funding. Watch this space on that one.
The second key point is what City’s entrance will do for football in Melbourne. I’m not expecting to see another Western Sydney Wanderers-like startup, with bigger and louder support than its established neighbours, but I am expecting an improvement both on and off the park. That should guarantee a good increase in sponsors, members and home attendances.
I estimate they’ll probably get at least 12,000 per home game next season, without counting the derbies against Victory, which would be a great improvement. I reckon they should be able to reach 10,000 members as well, after notching up over 7000 this season.
An increase in all these metrics will have the Victory on their toes, but it will also push them to lift their game to another level, as the Wanderers have done in the Sydney market. I see this as a benefit to the competition, as there needs to be two quality outfits in Melbourne. We have the space for it and the interest is definitely there.
In recent seasons there’s been plenty of watershed moments for the competition, which have helped build mainstream awareness of the A-League. These moments have brought the code more column inches in the papers and more airtime on TV and radio. But most importantly they’ve also improved the product on the field and lifted it up another notch, increasing its credibility year on year.
In 2011, after a couple of poor seasons, failed A-League expansion and the massive debacle that was the 2022 World Cup bid, the doom merchants were coming out of the woodwork thick and fast. Many were predicting the end of the league and the entire code.
But in that next season we had Harry Kewell come back home and in 2012 we had Alessandro Del Piero come to Oz and the Wanderers were born. In 2014 we now have City coming into the competition, and bringing with them Spanish superstar David Villa. Make no mistake, this is the A-League’s next ADP moment.
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