The fans want it. The FFA wants it. Ange Postecoglou wants it.
A-League expansion has been on the lips of many in and around football in recent months, and now with the FFA boasting more financial resources thanks to the new TV deal, it’s now only a matter of time until it occurs.
There has even been fleeting talk of promotion and relegation.
However, expansion has had a rocky past, and with lukewarm response to Melbourne Heart and the abject failures of North Queensland and the Gold Coast still fresh in the memory, there is cause for trepidation.
I have an alternative to A-League expansion that instead of relying on the risky business of building a club from scratch, allows for a more natural growth to the game, letting the fans and market drive its direction, while also building solid foundations for the future.
The FFA should move to introduce an A-2 league.
By taking the cream of the crop from the existing NPL clubs, they create a national B-League that fills the gulf in quality between the A-League and the NPL. This would allow our best young players more ability to grow and develop into A-League stars.
While it will impose a greater financial burden on the clubs with the increase in travel costs, these could be offset by some FFA grants to allow the clubs to continue operating as they are currently.
Promotion-relegation would occur with the NPL leagues. The league wouldn’t necessarily need to be large, maybe 12 teams, with the clubs playing in the FFA cup and other regional state cups as well.
There would be no need for clubs to be fully professional. The aim would be to keep the financial burden down on the clubs such that it doesn’t become a burden on the FFA.
Allow top performing A-2 teams opportunities to gain promotion to A-League.
There are a number of barriers preventing relegation being introduced to A-League. The current A-League licences expire 2034, which could be a roadblock to this happening in the near future.
However, there is nothing preventing a limited promotion system being implemented; it gives purpose to the A-2 league, a carrot for the clubs to chase, a reason for investors to invest.
For a club to be granted promotion, they will have had to have shown that they can meet a strict set of objective criteria, to show their promotion will be of benefit to Australian football.
– Performance on the field. Winning the league, or consistently good performances over a number of years.
– Existing stadium deal. Stadium must be of sufficient size and meet FFA requirements
– Fan backing. Have demonstrated appeal to the fans, whether through meeting and maintaining a membership goal, consistently good crowd figures over a set figure or good TV ratings. The value of these requirements would be set before the start of each season by the FFA.
– Proven financial support. They must be able to show they have the resources to last in the unforgiving A-League. Team must be fully professional or show they have to capacity to become so on promotion.
Promotion would be a rare event; it would allow A-League growth to be measured and controlled. This system allows the fans to dictate what clubs make it to the A-League, removing the need for trying to artificially create franchises and allowing them to grow organically on their own.
It would make the A-League more inclusive, with a set of criteria potential new teams can aim for. It would make investors think long term, it forces them engage with the fans, and if a club can meet all the criteria, it will have shown it will be good for football as a whole.
Some smaller regional markets may find it impossible to ever reach the criteria for promotion, but they likely wouldn’t have made it under the current obscure “metrics” driven system regardless.
And, best of all, it lays down a stepping stone towards expansion ambitions for football in Australia in the future.
Want a team in Wollongong? Well, if the fans come out and support it, and the team shows its stable enough financially to warrant it, the market can drive the team into the top division.
While there will obviously be plenty of tweaks that could be made, and plenty of obstacles in the way, I think that this could be the best move forward. What do you think? Have an alternative suggestion on how we can go forward with football in this country?
steve
Guest
For starters, someone needs to explain where all this money is coming from to fund it? We see these articles week after week yet no one ever explains where the money is coming from to support a second tier comp. Who is fronting the money for facilities, infrastructure? Is there any interest from TV, either Foxtel or FTA? There is barely any FTA interest in the A League itself. Without TV money any thoughts of an expanded a second tier let alone A League expansion is but a pipedream. What about sponsorship in a limited Australian marketplace, where sponsor dollars are concentrated on AFL, RL, Cricket etc. The current A League clubs for most of them aren't making one cent of profit and they are all screaming and demanding more money. That isn't exactly forthcoming is it? You can talk about expansion, second tiers etc all day, everyday, every week, but until someone explains how all this will be funded all of it is a pipedream.
Steven
Guest
That's the best reply I've heard
Leonard
Guest
About "If enough people want a third Melbourne team then so be it , but they don’t follow Melbourne City as of yet . So why do they deserve a third team": people in Melbourne should not have been deprived of the second team they would have chosen ten or so years ago - and that team was SM-Hellas. There was absolutely no demand for a pretend team such as M Heart, which is why they (despite the Pommy ownership & name change) have no following. BTW, although both M Victory and M Storm are both 'made-up' entities, they have both made sure that they integrated into the distinctive Melbourne sports environment by developing formal & informal links with AFL clubs and people. They both realised that treating fellow Melburnians with contempt as 'egg-ballers' was totally futile. Their success is testimony to that attitude.
Swanny
Guest
Freo people would be disgusted to be considered as part of Perth. A city on its own Get yr facts right , Bit of a bummer for WA girls tho, losing both . Talking to sports mad mate from WA earlier today , he didn't know either game was on . So maybe the WA media need to lift their game in regards to women's sport
c
Guest
0-2 full time mcfc girls tooo good
Chris
Guest
Yes Im enjoying watching the game. Its great to hear so many girls heading off to the US to play in their league. I was reading an article today from Amy Jackson (Melb City) and how she was "punted from AFL when she was 12". She said it was the best thing as even though AFL is huge in some parts of the country, it was football that gave her the opportunity to see the world and play for her country.
Mister Football
Roar Guru
No change in score, two minutes of normal time remaining.
c
Guest
0-2 8 mins normal time remaining
Mister Football
Roar Guru
c The game deserved a live blog, you should have put your hand up to do it.
Mister Football
Roar Guru
15 min to go Glory are now just going route one to Sam Kerr, City defence will pick that off with ease for the rest of the match.,
c
Guest
mf 2-0 and cut out your backhanded compliments soccer will be fine tooo big to fail
Mister Football
Roar Guru
I think that's the grand final, a miss hit cross has actually gone through the keeper's gloves and into the back of the net, it's 2-0 to City.
Mister Football
Roar Guru
IN case people are wondering, we've just reached the 70th min in the grand final and City are 1-0 up. Very good game, Perth throwing everything at City to get that equaliser,
Mister Football
Roar Guru
A fantastic day for women's sport today in Perth, with nearly 5k at the W-League grand final, and another 10k turning out to watch Brisbane upset Freo in the AFL Women's.
Chris
Guest
Nemesis with grassroots participation at such huge numbers, there certainly wouldnt be a shortage of quality players feeding regional teams. We need to embrace this nationwide interest in football and provide proper and viable pathways for our regional cousins that doesnt necessarily mean uprooting and moving to a big city.
KF
Guest
Tv revenue
Nemesis
Guest
"if you have little clubs from little towns playing in a national competition like the A2, it’s unlikely in the extreme to be commercially viable" RUBBISH. There is absolutely nothing to suggest this will be the case. If the A2 League remains semi-professional, the only major increase expenditure will be: Travel The major NPL clubs driving this initiative already have sponsors lined up to cover this increased cost & they're ready to go tomorrow. But, it's not surprising if people who don't follow football don't know the inside info. Stick to copying & pasting crowd numbers & TV ratings.
Swanny
Guest
People must remember that free to air networks have regional stations in the likes of Coffs Harbour etc . That means advertising revenue . So it's not a bust for t v . Some people need to think outside the box and get out of Sydney and Melbourne way of thinking .
Swanny
Guest
I don't think Canberra Geelong tassie and Wollongong are little towns. I did mention them . Ideally they will get into the A league proper within 2-3 years . The likes of Sunshine Coast and Coffs Harbour ( north coast nsw) especially are rapidly growth areas . They will be in the future of national competition . If enough people want a third Melbourne team then so be it , but they don't follow Melbourne city as of yet . So why do they deserve a third team .
Mister Football
Roar Guru
Well the point remains that if you have little clubs from little towns playing in a national competition like the A2, it's unlikely in the extreme to be commercially viable, and it's at the opposite end of what the FFA is planning, over the next couple of years at least.