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A-League may wander with Asian expansion

30th November, 2014
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David Gallop and FFA might now want South Melbourne in the comp. (AAP Image/Lukas Coch)
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30th November, 2014
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Western Sydney Wanderers’ heroics in the Asian Champions League has given the A-League an opportunity to build stronger connections with its wealthy counterparts.

Southeast Asia is now being promoted as a genuine possibility for a future expansion team in the A-League.

A column by former Socceroo Craig Foster in The Sun-Herald stressed that the FFA had to learn from their disastrous last attempt at expanding the competition by looking at other alternatives.

Foster argued that either a Malaysian or Indonesian team would provide a drastic increase in revenue, attract high-quality imports, and move football a step closer towards its goal of being the premier sporting competition in the country.

Asia is the fastest growing football market on the planet and its teams would bring a different style of football into the A-League, forcing a welcome shift in techniques and tactics. But would one of the clubs from Southeast Asia improve the league in the long run?

Let’s look at the Malaysians – they have been praised by some for their pace and skill, but their national team’s lowly FIFA world ranking of 155 is concerning. For a country of almost 30 million people, the majority of whom are football mad, Malaysia should be much more competitive on the international stage.

I discussed this issue with my taxi-driver on our death-defying journey through the bustling traffic of Kuala Lumpur earlier this year. His answer was simple.

“Our players lack game intelligence,” he said.

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“They all want to dribble past four or five opponents instead of getting their head up and looking for a pass.”

So, on the surface this possible expansion could be a win-win for both countries. It would potentially provide a much-needed influx of money for the A-League and allow Malaysia to expose their players to a more rigorous level of competition.

However, there are already concerns that the presence of an Asian team in the A-League will further restrict opportunities for local talents.

Former Adelaide United and Sydney FC coach John Kosmina is among those who have criticised the lack of faith in young Australian players.

“For all of its strengths, I think one of the A-League’s greatest weaknesses is its obsession with overseas players,” he said.

“The fact is there are good players there, it’s as simple as that.”

A case in point can be seen in the nder-22 Malaysian side Harimau Muda ‘A’ (translation means ‘Young Tigers’), which was invited to play in the National Premier Leagues Queensland for the 2014 season. The Football Association of Malaysia reportedly invested RM4 million so that their young players could compete against more senior opponents in a league that was improving in standard.

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Inaugural NPL championship-winning coach Mark Rudan claimed this was the exact reason for his opposition to the concept.

“I guess the argument is, ‘well, aren’t they developing playing against a Malaysian side every week?’ Yeah perhaps, but you’re also taking away another club that could help develop their own too,” he said.

Apart from these issues, there’s also the threat of match-fixing. Despite all of the investment provided for Harimau Muda ‘A’ to play in the NPL Queensland, they were not eligible for the end-of-season playoffs or the FFA Cup.

This led to concerns that the competition could possibly become influenced by Asian betting syndicates.
In the event that an Asian team was introduced into the A-League, they would obviously have to be allowed to play for silverware in order to reduce this risk.

But would supporters be receptive to them playing in the finals at the expense of their local club?

While the A-League clearly needs more financial muscle in order to improve facilities and attract better players, any expansion plans involving Asian teams should be some way off yet. The stability of current clubs like the Newcastle Jets, development of young talents, and turning around the struggling Socceroos are far more vital to the success of the A-League over the next few years.

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