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A pre-season BBL-style tournament could actually work in Australia

Chris Edwards new author
Roar Rookie
30th May, 2017
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Can Sydney FC do the double? (AAP Image/Dean Lewins)
Chris Edwards new author
Roar Rookie
30th May, 2017
15

On Sunday, I spent a day at Hong Kong Football Club, watching the Hong Kong Soccer 7s, an event that has taken place almost every year since the early 1990s.

While I was sitting in the shade of the southern stand, looking at the high rises that surround Happy Valley Racecourse (that HKFC sits inside) and poured myself an icy cold beer from the two litre jug that I had bought not moments before, I wondered if such an event could work in Australia.

It is my sincere belief that, if structured correctly, it could.

As my friends and I talked about this, and other various other things, as the beer flowed, we got some rough ideas down.

Firstly, it’s a 7s tournament. That means seven on the pitch at a time, seven minutes per half. You can pump through teams fast.

In the knockout stages, extra time was four minutes, four players, golden goal – no goals in that time meant penalties.

Our collective heart rates went through the roof as the Hong Kong Football Association Under 23s put Rangers through the wringer but still couldn’t find the goal they wanted, but then lost on penalties.

Secondly, the HK Soccer 7s had 16 teams in the main draw, each playing three games on Saturday, and then the knockout stage was on Sunday. This means that ticket packages can be sold for individual days, or for the whole weekend.

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Thirdly, it was a fun convivial atmosphere around the ground. There were sponsor areas, children were easily able to get autographs from players and generally it was a lovely day in the sunshine of Hong Kong.

One area that the three of us discussed was where to host it. As West Australians, we felt that it was inappropriate for one city to permanently hold the hosting rights.

The idea I settled on was an 12 year rotating schedule among cities that currently have an A-League side, plus an additional venue inside that 12 years that do not. Our thoughts considered places like Canberra, Cairns, Townsville, Hobart and Auckland.

The rough schedule I came up with was:
– three in 12 years in Sydney
– three in 12 years in Melbourne
– two in 12 years in Brisbane
– one in 12 years in Perth
– one in 12 years in Adelaide
– one in 12 years in Wellington
– one in 12 years in a separate city (no idea about the bidding process).

We felt that Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane should not be able to hold their tournaments in consecutive years.

We also agreed that it had to be flexible enough to allow for changes for new cities to come into play, and for the number of years in a certain city to change. For example, Newcastle is not listed – there is a reasonable question about whether they should have a separate year, or bid in the separate city category.

Many readers might say that this is just a sideshow, and these tournaments don’t matter – and to some extent that is correct. But if the A-League was serious about creating some buzz about the competition with a one weekend blast, covered live on social media, that could get other teams from Australia to get involved, then why not?

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Wellington Phoenix have been up to the Hong Kong Soccer 7s over the last few years, and the Central Coast Mariners came second in 2007 – a fact that had completely escaped me until I saw it in the program.

So instead of just saying ‘No, it’s stupid’, why not consider it as a way to attract people to the game, and if you don’t like it, how would you make it better?

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