Why has the FFA blocked live FFA Cup streams?

With the first round of the FFA Cup done and dusted, the attention has quickly turned to the Round of 16 fixtures that will begin on Tuesday the 16th of September.

There is no doubt that the FFA Cup has been a breakthrough in Australian Football as it aims to boost interaction between community football teams and the A-League sides.

Matches across the round of 32 proved to be thrilling as many fans flocked to support their local team as they aimed to try and make an elusive cup run.

With the unexpected departure of the Western Sydney Wanderers at the hands of Adelaide City, an added hope has been installed on smaller clubs as they aim to forge their way into the quarter-finals of the inaugural competition and one step closer towards the inaugural title.

Much has been documented about the success of the FFA Cup and it is inevitable that the Cup will continue to be successful.

Being an avid Sydney FC Supporter, I keenly tuned into the live stream that was provided by Sydney FC and Melbourne City a few weeks ago. While the stream did prove troublesome at times with the connection struggling, on the whole, the stream provided a diehard fan with the opportunity to watch my team battle it out in a high quality match in Ballarat.

It was nine days before the match was set to kickoff when a member of the Cove (Sydney FC’s Fanatical Fan Base) posted on social media asking if there would be a live stream to the match. I must say I expected no response but I was happily proven wrong.

While the club acknowledged the idea and the benefit this would be for fans, they were unsure as to the ability to set up a stream and whether this would be possible.

Despite this a stream was made available and provided thousands of fans around the world the opportunity to see Sydney FC win a tight encounter.

So thank you Melbourne City and Sydney FC! But now the question must be asked…

Why has the FFA banned clubs from providing live streams to their FFA Cup matches even if they are not being broadcasted by Fox Sports?

Fox Sports has recently announced its schedule for the Round of 16 matches and they will be broadcasting the following matches live.

Tuggeranong United (ACT) versus Melbourne Victory, Vikings Park, Wanniassa, ACT – 7:30pm (AEST)

Sydney United 58 FC versus Sydney FC, TBC (likely Sydney United Sports Centre) Edensor Park – 7:30pm (AEST)

For fans of Adelaide City who eliminated the Western Sydney Wanderers as well as the Brisbane Strikers, Sydney Olympic, Bentleigh Greens, Olympic FC, Central Coast Mariners, Palm Beach Sharks, South Springvale, Adelaide United, Brisbane Roar, St. Albans Saints and Perth Glory – the chance to watch their teams compete will be limited to attending the matches at the ground.

While this, to a degree will encourage people to make the trip to watch their team play, for many fans it will leave them unable to watch and enjoy what is set to be an exciting round of football.

So I ask again, why has the FFA banned clubs with providing live streams to its fans?

It must be noted that Fox Sports does have the right to the FFA Cup and during the matches that they will be broadcasting live, they will be crossing when goals are scored but if I was a fan this would not be enough to satisfy my over the top and slightly excessive needs.

As a fan, I relish watching my team walk out onto the field and for the full duration of the match – I would want to watch every free kick and corner that my team was guilty of conceding.

So still the question stands. Why has the FFA blocked clubs from providing streams to fans?

It seems unfair that the FFA has blocked the ability of clubs to decide whether they will provide their own streams to fans. For a competition in its first year, surely live streams should be made available by those clubs who will not be shown live on Fox Sports.

What do you think Roarers? Should clubs be allowed to provide live streams to their fans or is this a case of the FFA trying to encourage crowds to flock to suburban grounds?