On Thursday, Adelaide United announced that the FFA Cup final against Perth Glory had been sold out. Fantastic news, but it also left the feeling that it could have been so much more.
The final will be held at Coopers Stadium, which has a capacity of 17,000. Given tickets sold out in just three days, it’s a foolproof sign of just how popular the fledgling competition has been.
Considering the fast take-up, however, would it have been feasible to hold the match in a bigger stadium?
For the cup’s inaugural year, I think Football Federation Australia have made the correct decision in awarding the hosting rights to one of the finalists. But in the future, should the governing body look at finding a permanent home for the tournament’s final?
The FFA Cup has quite obviously been modelled on the FA’s cup competition in England, with a vital connection between professional and grassroots clubs being established. Since 1923, the FA Cup has been held at the iconic Wembley Stadium, apart from a brief sojourn in the Millennium Stadium.
A tradition was formed, whereby fans would travel across the country to watch the country’s biggest match in a vibrant atmosphere, and those watching on television would identify the cup with Wembley’s twin towers.
It all added to the magic of the competition, which has sadly declined in recent years.
While FFA are on a learning process in the FFA Cup’s inaugural year, surely it should be a long-term aim to find the competition a permanent home, to go along with the yet-to-be-initiated tradition of an Australia Day showing.
But where would that permanent home be? Sydney or Melbourne are the obvious choices, but which stadium?
And is football at such a stage where we can be guaranteed to sell out a match in Melbourne if either Victory or Heart aren’t involved? Or similarly, would Sydney turn out if the red and black or sky blue were both absent from the playing field?
It’s a tough question. While A-League fans are beginning to feel a strong and passionate affinity with their club, there’s still debate about whether there are enough football fans out there to fill out more than 30,000 seats for a cup tie that doesn’t feature their colours.
I’m talking about football fans that will happily rock up to a state league grand final in the pouring rain just because they love the game, not because they hold an affiliation to either participating club.
Would you buy a ticket to the FFA Cup final, every year, regardless of whether or not your club was competing for silverware? What if the match was between Wellington Phoenix and Central Coast Mariners, would Sydneysiders or Melbournians rock up?
Having a permanent ground as host for the FFA Cup final may be possible in the future, but at the moment I doubt even the magic of the competition could draw people on such a consistently high level.
So should FFA continue with awarding the big game to one of the finalists? It’s a contentious policy to run with, given how Perth Glory have reacted to the decision to stage the game at Coopers Stadium.
FFA announced the ruling shortly after the conclusion of Adelaide’s semi-final victory over the Mariners. What criteria did they use to decide the ruling?
Perth certainly weren’t too happy, with chief executive Jason Brewer taking to Perth radio station SportFM to vent his frustrations.
“It is bitterly disappointing but they’ve decided to play the game there without any real consultation with the club,” Brewer said.
“Obviously it was decided before even yesterday’s game finished that it wasn’t going to be played in Perth for any number of reasons at the FFA’s discretions.”
Owner Tony Sage was equally upset and also took to radio to vehemently oppose the decision, calling it “an absolute disgrace” and claiming FFA had given Perth “their word” that a call would not be made until this week.
Despite fears of being accused of having an anti-FFA agenda, which is far from the case, this is another example of poor communication from the governing body. Make hard decisions, by all means, but make sure you engage with stakeholders beforehand to avoid controversy.
(While on the topic of FFA engagement, make sure you have your say on the Whole of Football Plan, if you haven’t already. You can also keep track of the consultation process, which includes dates and locations for upcoming forums.)
Personally, I don’t see how choosing one finalist to host the final can be sustained in the long-term. It’s a nice way in which to ‘share the cup’ around Australia, but if a club such as Bentleigh Greens had made the final, it’s unlikely FFA would have chosen their quaint Kingston Heath Soccer Complex.
So, if a permanent home for the Cup final is too soon, and staging the game at one of the finalists’ home grounds is unbalanced and prone to bad will, what can be done with the FFA Cup showpiece?
Could we follow the route of the current UEFA Champions League and Europa League formats, where a ground is predetermined before the start of every tournament? That could be a way to spread the magic, but also runs the risk of pulling disappointing crowds, depending on the two competing clubs. At least giving the game to a finalist ensures local interest.
The next two years could be used as an experimental stage. Place one of the finals in Melbourne and one of the finals in Sydney, and see how it goes. The FFA Cup’s popularity is only going to grow and I think its success this year has surprised a lot of people, including the FFA.
A crowd of 16,000 for the inaugural FA Cup final is great start, absolutely. But it’s just a short-term solution for now. We may be selling the game short confining the final to a smaller stadium, as well as snubbing one finalist.
Does the FFA dare to dream big and find the cup a permanent home? Do you think the crowds would show up Roarers?
*Update*The Roar contacted FFA for comment regarding the decision-making process behind choosing Coopers Stadium.
“The selection of the Westfield FFA Cup Final venue was based on the objective of maximising the attendance and the TV audience. It’s a cup final and we want as many Australians engaged as possible,” head of A-League Damien de Bohun said.
Follow Janek on Twitter @JanekSpeight
mattq
Guest
I've been with the club since 2003 but no longer reside in Adelaide, therefore do not have a ticket (was in Adelaide last weekend and will be there for xmas so another trip in between was impossible). Can I still be labelled true believer status please?
Kavvy
Guest
Exactly, this country is too big geographically when compared to other football nations, the one venue concept doesn't work here the way it would in smaller (land mass) countries. Poorly thought out suggestion (neutral venue)
Kasey
Guest
Considering the FFA Cup has been about trying to play as many games as possible (within the safety constraints) at the home ground of NPL clubs, I would argue that the crowd figures are not and were never likely to be used as an indicator of the success or otherwise of this competition. A couple of thousand fans at Marden sports complex(AUvWPX and AC vBrisStrikers) is a win by anybodies standard. Their regular home crowd is measured in the hundreds. Adelaide Blue Eagles and Bentleigh Greens made a princely sum over the bar and from canteen takings:)
Jack Russell
Roar Guru
It's the only game of the whole competition that's going to have more than a few thousand people watching. And you want to give that away by playing it in front of an audience that's likely not to care? You'll just kill the crowd for the final as well.
Timmuh
Roar Guru
How about the winner owne year having the right to host the next year? But realistically, any thought of a neutral venue has to be put on ice for a few years. Even if it was in a city without an A-League team, you would basiclly be saying that city (Canberra and Gold Coast probbaly the only realistic options) will never get a team. Or you would have to move the final and lose the tradition if they do get a side.
Kasey
Guest
It disappoints me this fascination football fans have with the hey everybody, look at our crowd , we're popular I tell you attitude(theOnly reason to choose an Oval venue over a dedicated football ground). This is a showpiece event and the game comes first....oval venues without moveable seating suck nuts for football. AU has a very impressive record at Hindmarsh. Why would we give that up to fit in a few more bandwagonners? So we could give further evidence to the eternal Johnson-measuring keyboard warriors? [eg: hey AFL fans look how big our crowd is...(me): who gives a crap?] What matters now is that AU have a chance to win our first trophy in 9 years...Hindmarsh gives us a wonderful opportunity to lift the silverware.... have fans forgotten how the surface at AO played just a month ago? The true believers that have been with the club consistently since 2003 should all have tickets by now, thanks to the member pre-sale, to the best viewing stadium for football in the State(Country?). Hindmarsh Stadium has hosted NSL Grand Finals, ACL Finals, Olympic football and now the FFA Cup Final. It is a wonderful venue for the game and beats an Oval venue hands down, especially with a full house:)
Kasey
Guest
This I like;)
Ben
Guest
Agreed. Terrible, terrible idea. It would turn into a d*ck measuring contest between Melbourne and Sydney over who gets to host the event in an empty stadium. Having the final played over two legs is a sensible compromise.
Scott
Guest
Terrible idea hosting it at a neutral venue. How many Adelaide and Perth supporters would travel to ANZ Stadium or Etihad Stadium or Suncorp on a week night.
haydos
Guest
I agree with making this years FFA cup final at a bigger venue, nib stadium in Perth comes to mind.
Outer Limit
Guest
Good to see Hindmarsh sold out at 15000, we could have got more at NIB, but then we're only outer Australia. I know, how about holding Finals at the new stadiium that's going to be built over here. Then we can see how many thousands of loyal Melbourne fans will travel. Thing is, the FFA want Glory and Western Australia to make the numbers up so it's a country wide sport, but they don't want to actually give us anything. Our time zone is wrong, our support too small and we aren't close enough for the eastern media to cover. So why should we be surprised if we are just seen as a bit part extra, turn up, do your bit, shut up and bugger off back to Perth.
CrossIT
Guest
Logical.
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
According to Wiki, the Russian Cup used to be held in Moscow but since 2010 has been moving around the country.
AZ_RBB
Guest
I think geography must be taken into account here. In that regard there are 3 good comparisons. USA, China and Brazil In the USA, the host of the Cup final is determined by the simple toss of a coin. In China, who in the middle of the Cup final, it is a home and away final and in Brazil, also running at the moment, they use a home and away system as well.
Brian
Guest
How about a rotation of all FFA Cup fixtures davis cup style. That way no one can complain when they play the Final away.
nickoldschool
Roar Guru
I believe that in any 'normal' football nation a cup final should be held at the same venue (and is, in most countries). Thing is Oz isn't yet a football nation as such and logistics and sheer size of the country makes it hard to organise such event in a pre determined city. I believe many potential finals wouldn't sell out in a 40-50k stadium in Melb or Sydney (finals not involving clubs from those cities). Imo the best format for Oz (for now) would be a two-legs cup final. Italy and Spain have used it (Italy recently switched to a 1 match final) and I think these would ensure 2 big crowds in the 2 cities who have reached the final.
c
Guest
Janek i find your coment " Sydney or Melbourne are the obvious choices" obnoxiuos
ChrisW
Guest
Absolutely not.
Towser
Guest
FA cup started over 100 years ago,FFA cup this year. Difference in start time + big country + dud Capital city +TV= Bunfight over final venue. Solution= .................... "Harry ,where's your wand" "Don't know Hermione,Foxtel has got TV rights to it".
Chris Kettlewell
Roar Guru
That is another good point. The FA Cup is basically the big final at the end of the season and it held on a Saturday. I mentioned the distance in my other comment, but the mid-week nature of it is also a good point. You would probably struggle mightily to get close to 17,000 to an Adelaide v Perth final played in Sydney or Melbourne. Might get a few more in Melbourne as it's closer to Adelaide and probably more Melbournians might turn up as a neutral to a match where they don't really care about either team.