Canberra should be considered as one of the next expansion sides in the A-League, and should get the licence. The benefits outweigh the risks, and the addition of another team to complement the likely expansion in already established markets keeps the game growing.
David Gallop, the CEO of the FFA, has come out and said that there will not be an A-League team based in Canberra.
He is also the man that is in charge of the governing body that has angered every active supporters group, watched the Newcastle Jets falter financially, showed no interest in the Wellington Phoenix, was behind the Socceroos pay dispute and the Matildas going on strike and forgetting to book the Docklands Stadium for a grand final.
You can take what he says, which is a grain of salt sometimes, and find that this article assumes that the next CEO might be more receptive.
Let’s start with the attendances at the Asian Cup, which before the tournament had organising head stating that costs where kept down to encourage Canberrans to attend, and that not attending is a sign that they are too lazy (ABC, Jan 6 2015).
Gallop then changed his tune to one of eating humble pie (ABC, Jan 24 2015), when Canberra turned in crowds of more than 82,000 for the tournament, including a sold out quarter-final of 19,000. In November 2015, more than 19,000 fans went to the stadium to watch the Socceroos game, showing there is an appetite for football in the Australian capital.
The marque piece of why Canberra needs an A-League team isn’t actually directly related to football, but the stadium itself.
Namely, Canberra Stadium is poorly located and isn’t that great. However, the government has toyed with the idea of building a brand new, shiny, covered stadium in the CBD to host the ACT Brumbies (rugby union) and Canberra Raiders (rugby league) teams.
What better selling point to a government to build the new stadium then giving them another tenant in the summer months. The new Canberra football side would have the latest, modern rectangular stadium in Australia to host their matches.
With media reports showing more kids are playing the round ball game then ever before, surely an untapped market like Canberra can be put on the road map. A W-League side has already been established, and the structure and identity is already there. They have a playing strip that would work well for the mens, and sponsors that are already open to supporting local football.
A three to four hour drive to and from Sydney means travelling fans can go to Western Sydney Wanderers and Sydney FC home games, and the Red and Black Bloc and The Cove would make the trek down the Hume to Canberra without breaking the budget.
Even the eight hour Melbourne run wouldn’t be too much of an obstacle for the diehard Melbourne Victory and Melbourne City fans.
If a renewed Canberra bid could leverage the crowd attendances from international games, and be backed by government support through the completion of a new stadium, then surely the FFA can take the punt on making the Green Machine a reality in the A-League.
Tex Redmund
Guest
Last year I gathered a great deal of evidence to investigate the plausibility of a Canberra A-League team, & it was strongly in favour. Player registration numbers, population, culture, the competitive marketplace. Check it out here... http://www.theroar.com.au/2014/08/23/league-expansion-capital-idea/
Stadia Cooperoz
Guest
The Fed parliament "friends of Football" membership group has few members and no big hitters. If you can't get top feds who live and/or work there then you're not building a strong enough case. Don't have a strong view on Canberra v x or y but they all espouse passion but locking in corporate and civic support is more than 50% of the deal.
Jeff Williamson
Roar Pro
Canberra definitely has a good case for entry to A-league. The problem is that the FFA have not yet announced any plan to expand. At the moment, we cannot really talk about the merits of any particular new team until the FFA releases its plan. Obviously, the recent discussions about Wellington Phoenix have clearly shown what Phoenix have lacked and what any new club is going to have to bring to the A-league.
Mister Football
Roar Guru
Nordster is not talking about competitive bids, he is talking about onfield/offield competitive tension, that NPL clubs who have the werewithal can work their way into a national second division, and from there, they can work their way into the A-League. It's hard to see it happening in a hurry, but if it were to come about, Nordster's argument (and it has a pretty sound basis) is that clubs would no longer have to rely on a central body giving them the go ahead, they'd earn the right by results on the field and perhaps by also meeting some offield benchmarks. Once in place, Canberra clubs, any of them which has become strong enough (say, like the Deakin Croatia club) could work its way to the top flight. It's worth recalling that the NSL used to allow for this very thing, and in 1985 both Canberra Olympic and Inter-Monaro (from Queanbeyan) were both in the top flight together for one season. I'm sure people would appreciate that's both a positive and a negative. It would be a massive negative if, by chance, both (or today's versions from Canberra/Quenbeyan) took the places of SFC and WSW in successive years. Can you imagine that? Can you imagine the fluctuations in fortunes the A-League would experience in ratings and attendances year to year if big clubs are getting replaced by the likes of the Cooma Tigers?
Wayne
Roar Guru
Likely yes, but I've always wondered who would support the third Sydney team that hasn't already picked WSW/Sydney FC/Another club?
Wayne
Roar Guru
Canberra tried, and put out a solid bid but weren't successful. The previous A-League for Canberra bid raised $6 million in capital – $2 million short of the amount sought by the FFA. The bid was overlooked in favour of Gold Coast United and North Queensland United, both of which have folded.
nordster
Guest
You can argue for one area or another until the cows come home .....or football in oz can break the cartel hold over strayan pro sport and introduce Competition for Entry. League entry based on merit and no one will be able to whine about their area not being in the top flight. Go Out And Earn It.....
Mister Football
Roar Guru
FFA have pretty much made it clear there will be no teams in Canberra in the short to medium term. 1. there is little likelihood of an increase to 12 teams any time soon; and 2. even if one team was to drop out, it's pretty clear a 3rd Sydney team would come in.
Wayne
Roar Guru
*** Correction *** "Gallop then changed his tune to one of eating humble pie" is incorrect, it should have read He then changed his tune... - Referring to the head of the organising committee of Asian Cup not Gallop