There is no doubt that the introduction of the A-League has set the foundations in establishing a truly progressive football competition.
It is one that is chartered in developing players from juniors to professionals and ultimately feeding the national team.
Off the pitch, the A-League is continually attracting new fans; supporter groups are embracing their clubs and look to deliver passion and colour on match days.
The fact that at times, members feel that their best intentions are somewhat not addressed by the hierarchy is another story.
It is now however time to look towards achieving the next steps in the games progression and overall development, that being expanding the competition.
It’s no secret that the A-League wants to add new teams over the next few seasons. But the question still remains as to where to locate any new teams and whether or not the chosen location(s) will attract sustainable long term support.
Ideally, the A-League should look to expand to anywhere between 14 and 16 teams. This will give the league a good balance, making the title race and the race for the finals even more exciting.
A total of 14 teams in the league delivers 27 rounds with everyone playing a traditional both home-and-away fixture.
This however will result in featured cross town derbies in Sydney and Melbourne will only occur twice instead of the current three times a season.
A traditional home-and-away season could be the catalyst for the league to create new match day traditions.
Now, the idea of 14-16 teams does sound quite scrumptious but the issue still remains as to where and whether such expansion is necessary.
The idea of a third Sydney team has been thrown up in the air a few times. The Sydney derby is one of the most featured and exciting matches of the season due to the match dividing Sydney’s east and west.
Whether a third team in the city can attract the same support, we are yet to know.
Wollongong are seemingly always in the mix as a candidate, and rightly so, the city of just under 300,000 people has a demonstrated interest in football, with over 11,000 players registered at grassroots level.
The region had a rich and proud history with the Wolves being crowned NSL champions in 1999/2000. WIN Stadium would be the logical venue for the club and with a decent capacity of 23,000 would see an exciting atmosphere at big games.
In addition to the Wolves’ success, the city is very much a footballing town, producing stars such as Scott Chipperfield and Mile Sterjovski.
Canberra has also made a strong case for their right to host a club in the National Competition. Football fans have been craving for a club in the capital city and they have certainly displayed their devotion for the sport, with an average attendance of 12,000 in the seven games played there during the Asian Cup.
Fans were seen making banners demanding a Canberra team during matches and if the league is to put a team somewhere, would it not be in our capital city?
Recently 19,000 turned up mid-week for the Socceroos games against Kyrgyzstan.
There is another possible expansion target. Is it time however for the A-League to tap into Australia’s most untapped market? Is it Tasmania’s turn to host a team?
This will certainly be welcomed in our most southern state, with cricket being the only sport with a team in Tasmania. Although having a team in Hobart would be very nice, the main concern would be whether the sport can attract a crowd, with the city of Hobart itself only having 200,000 residents.
Having continually being overlooked by the AFL maybe it is time for the Tasmanian government to lobby the A-League for a spot? Surely they would get better value for money than ploughing sponsorship dollars into Hawthorn.
Other options for expansion have included the likes of Geelong in Victoria as well as a second Brisbane team, which could liven things up with a possible ‘Brisbane derby.’
The A-League could even look to expand to Auckland, granted that the Phoenix stay in the league. The Phoenix have a unique charm about them, whether it’d be their fans or their playing style, the Nix deserves a spot in the competition.
It is strange that the league would look to throw out Wellington, if anything the league should be looking to add a second team from NZ. With a population of 1.5 million I think now is the right time to reconsider an Auckland licence.
Generally, whenever expansion is discussed, the topic of a promotion/relegation system isn’t too far behind. At this stage however, we should not be looking to pursue this. The main issue with this is whether promoted teams will be able to sustain the required support and funds.
The funds simply do not go far enough when you consider the amount of travel, player salaries and support staff. It also runs the risk of jeopardising a national competition, as a state could be left without a team in the main division.
Having a 14-16 team competition can still be very exciting without a relegation battle. In doing so, teams will feel as though they have truly earned a place in the top six, rather than falling in because there are only ten teams.
The battle for the title will also be very exciting as teams will feel even more satisfied winning the league, seeing as though the competition has increased.
Ultimately, the A-League’s expansion is an issue that will be debated over and over again. Wherever the league goes, let’s hope that the supporters follow and Australian football becomes the powerhouse that it wants to be.
So the question remains, do we consolidate with the ten established clubs, or do we wish to expand and where to?
Logan Smith
Guest
The best targets a probably a Northern Queensland side, a Canberra side, South Melbourne (I agree 3 of 14 is a bit too much but they're ready so why not?), and potentially a Tasmanian side - especially considering not many codes go there and we could establish football as the main code there.
Adan
Guest
Forget Tasmania, that will be another North Queensland Fury. I like the idea of a rural Sydney or Melbourne team, either Wollongong or Geelong are great options - neither could be less supported than Newcastle. But certainly dont step on the toes of the two Melbourne and Sydney based teams by adding a third, as the league needs 'big clubs', so dont weaken their capacity to grow.
Martyn50
Guest
When the focus is on one soccer team in Perth and they cant get more than 5,000 for a major match at home what hope is their for a second side to be viable. WA is an AFL state. Rugby League tried back in the 1990's with the western red with no success.
Chris
Guest
Football Oz is booming like never before . The off season friendlies proved that . Football has 5 entries in the top 20 of the biggest crowds this year with 99000 at the G watching real football superstars. Expansion in key markets is the next step for our domestic league . Let's hope one of the Aussie trams wins the ACL again giving Aussie football a real footprint into Asia and making our nearest neighbours interested in taking our domestic games live increasing the TV deal and thus bringing more money into football.
Perry Bridge
Guest
agreed - it's why the AFL stands alone for now - with a minimum 2 sides per mainland state. Therefore - with creative fixturing they ensure 2 local derbies each year. It also ensures every other week that there IS a game played locally (hard to attract casual attendees if two or three weeks may pass without a game on in town) - and there's at least one TV game beamed back into town. The question though is how long it would take to bed down. Could private ownership models sustain it? In Adelaide and Perth it could be a real hard slog. Far different to the AFL playing to the domestic audience in those cities. The dilemma is always the funding model and for now the FFA doesn't generate sufficient broadcast revenue - and I'm not sure that a 2nd team in Adelaide and/or Perth would generate sufficient revenue. The sporting flipside in Australia is the AFL pushing into Sydney and SE QLD but in Sydney the Swans are 30+ years established. The Giants may take 20 years. But - it IS the much larger Sydney market and not an extra slice of Perth we're talking about.
Punter
Guest
Mr & Mrs AFL, yawn!!!!!
smell the fear
Guest
i was being silly. i agree with you
MarkfromCroydon
Guest
O.k so I have a romantic ideal scenario (for me that is, which I'm sure is different to most others). My dream season is: October/November : A 'league cup' competition, 4 groups of 4 based on previous years ladder (Group A contains 1st, 8th, 12th, 16th) (B 2nd, 7th, 11th, 15th) (C 3rd, 6th, 10th, 14th) (D 4th, 5th, 9th, 13th). Each group double round robin so each team plays 6 games. 4 group winners go to semi finals (single leg, a v D, B v C, highest ranked team home ground), single leg final (highest ranked home final). Winner of league cup gets ACL spot. From Late November on, 16 teams playing a straight 30 game season, first past the post is champion. No finals system. Winner qualifies for ACL. Current teams plus love to see new teams from Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Woollongong, Canberra, Gold Coast. The result is 38 weeks of football, with 2 separate comps. P/R not necessary as ladder positions are important for the league cup seeding, so teams in the league would need to fight all season to get their best position. FFA cup re-vamped so the 16 A-league teams enter at round of 32, with 7 state champions and runners up and 2 champions of territories. FFA Cup final last game of year,with winner getting ACL spot. Not saying any of this would work, but it's what I'd love to see.
GWSingapore
Guest
Be bold. Singapore and Hong Kong. Huge sponsorship potential. Soccer mad locals. Weak local leagues. The A League teams are already well known as A League is already screened in both markets.
Mister Football
Roar Guru
Yes, I was going to put these numbers up as well, because it supports a few of the viewpoints expressed on this thread (and other threads). These days 89k is a massive audience for the A-League, and no surprise that a marquee game featuring clubs from Australia's two biggest cities is able to get it, and right on cue, the two newest clubs from the same cities gets another good rating, 75k, which is also an excellent number these days for the A-League (noting that WSW is probably on par with SFC in terms of overall interest). In the middle, you have clubs from the 3rd and 4th largest cities getting an average rating: 51k. At the other end of the spectrum, you have the clubs from the smallest cities getting pretty ordinary ratings: Wellington vs Adelaide: 33k (and we all know the special circumstances of the Nix) Newcastle jets vs CCM: 29k (and that number says it all so early in the season).
Athos Sirianos
Roar Guru
Oops, sorry I meant 26 rounds. Maths is obviously not my strongest point, lucky I'm a literature student :)
my2cents
Guest
I'd say the best case for the HAL is to follow the NBA's model with what they did with teams like OKC and San Antonio. While those cities are bigger then most of the expansion area's the A league is looking to move into. Finding a smaller area with a passionate fan base and decent existing info structure would be the way to go. The greatest untapped potential is in Canberra where they would share a stadium with the Brumbies. The Sunshine Coast. a fast growing area that unlike the gold coast actually loves and supports sport. That would be the best options. If the A league wanted to expand to 16 teams. They should split into 2 tiers of 8. With tassie 1 team in each tier. One in Hobart. One in Launceston. By splitting the market and building the Local Rivalry, you would find much greater engagement then by asking Tasmanians to support a team they hated.
Freycinet1803
Roar Rookie
I'd say the Mariners are your only outlier in the above (but they are only an hour from Sydney ... and only now seem to be reflecting their "status" of strugglers). But yes, if you look at the most successful teams they tend to come from major cities (all around the world). Munich, Barcelona, Madrid, Turin, Milan, Amsterdam, Manchester, London, Paris ...
Freycinet1803
Roar Rookie
And not to mention the large university population of Canberra are not on campus.
Freycinet1803
Roar Rookie
The A-League out rates the EPL in Australia ... and Optus just paid $50 million for the rights. The A-League is one of Foxsports highest rating shows on the weekend during Summer. Sure they can grow the market, but could be argued that expansion allows for the audience to grow too (greater population covered by a team).
marron
Roar Guru
No effniks in the aleague allowed.
Boban Fett
Guest
Bruce Gordon? I've heard he would back a Wollongong franchise.
CBR
Guest
If people are considering Tassie, might as well consider Darwin Olympic. Tasmania hasn't a hope of getting an a-league team soon so bringing them into the discussion only serves to discredit the concept of expansion.
Matthew
Guest
Ruin what story ? The story thats been rehashed about 15 times in the past 8 months? Its the same thing each time. Possibly in Canberra, Possibly in Wollongong, Possibly a second team in Brisbane for another Derby (and honestly.. Derby seems to be the fave word for the Radio callers.. Perth/Wellington is called the : Long Distance Derby). Hell Tasmania like the 5th Dog in the litter that is gonna get taken to the pound is mentioned. Seriously, unless there is actualy news on expansion enough with the stories on talking about the expansion.
AR
Guest
And a snapshot of this week's ratings supports this policy - it's all about Melbourne and Sydney: MCY v WSW 75k WEL v ADL 33k SYD v MVC 89k NEW v CCM 29k BRIS v PER 51k