The Association of Australian Football Clubs (AAFC) has put forward a blueprint for a national second-tier competition dubbed ‘The Championship’ that would begin in 2019 with an eye to eventually introducing a promotion and relegation system in partnership with the A-League.
They have not put forward a specific plan for the introduction of promotion and relegation but instead say: “Our intention is to discuss this matter further with the A-League clubs and FFA with a view to implementation of full promotion and relegation by 2024.”
The AAFC will open a bidding process in December which will close in May next year, and bids will be independently assessed before the successful teams are announced in October next year.
The Championship would launch in line with the A-League’s 2019-2020 season and feature between 12-16 teams with a vision towards introducing additional teams to a total of 20 by 2024, however this would be dependent on there being clubs that meet the criteria.
Clubs need to have access to a stadium with at least 3000 seats and must commit to fielding both a men’s and women’s team. Financially they need the capacity to meet an annual budget of at least $2.5 million, including a $150,000 annual license fee.
The competition would have a significant focus on developing young Australian talent with 20 player squad sizes required to have at least half of the listed players 25 or younger, and a maximum of two visa players and three former A-League and W-League players.
The AAFC will also apply to the AFC Champions League for a spot to be available to the winner of The Championship.
AAF Chairman Rabieh Krayem said there were three reason why Australian football needs the introduction of a second-tier competition.
“First, we need it from a football perspective. The best way to improve the quality of football and our international competitiveness is to give young players more, and higher standard, game time.
“Second, as a football nation, we’re not fulfilling the membership requirements of either FIFA or the Asian Football Confederation by not having promotion and relegation in place. A national second division is a pre-requisite of that.
“Third, we believe it’s necessary to have this extra level of national competition in place to help bring life back into the football ‘market’, increase interest and attract investment.”
More information on the proposal can be found at The Championship’s website.
Beto
Guest
Yes! Well done Australia!
chris
Guest
What a lot of people don't realise is that there is a very large football community that exists outside of what msm reports on. Eg the Lions FC example. Will be interesting to see how this will develop but from what Ive read so far, it looks positive.
chris
Guest
Thanks for that summary Nem
Ben of Phnom Penh
Roar Guru
The interesting facet is the momentum this initiative has gained through the understanding by clubs that the FFA has no genuine intentions to expand the A-League. There have been many false dawns for expansion and the message received is that expansion talk has no meaningful intent behind it. Hence clubs need to act on their own as the FFA does not intend to work towards a scenario that will further their ambitions.
Mike
Guest
Bring it on.
Josh
Guest
Soccer keeps shooting itself in the foot. Just because other markets have promotion and relegation doesent mean that it will work here because it wont. What happens year 1 if Western Sydney go out and are replaced by so nowhere team with 3k crowds in central qld for example. Game over for the A The only way promotion and relegation works in Australia is if the A Leahue droos down to 6 teams and 2nd divisoon has 6 too and even then
Cool N Cold
Guest
Why call it "The Championship"? A-league has championship already. There may be confusions: A-league Champion and The Championship Champion. Simply call this second division "B-League". A-League stands for Australian League and/or A Grade League while B-League stands for B Grade League or second division league.
Waz
Guest
Lions FC have 22,000 members and a social club that turns over millions each year. Now it’s doubtful they will be in a position to bid for an initial Div 2 place however they are representative of what the larger non-League clubs look like.
Mitcher
Guest
You actually mean that. Respect. Hey everyone, look at that pie over there. Up in the sky
Mitcher
Guest
Well it’s solved then. It’s chump change everyone. Done.
Will
Guest
If i was to be the FFA CEO or Chairman and i want to give the game a roadmap or blueprint on how the game could look in say 30 years from now, whilst aiming to win the World Cup. A-League 1( A1): 14 teams A-League 2( A2): 14 teams NPL state league, possible conference system to reward the best clubs. 28 pro teams, could potentially aim for 30 overall, but a possible number of 644 professional player opportunities and a possible 322 professional coaching opportunities open up. Every club to also have a youth academy, stable facilities, quality coaching, admin and fan engagements set up. But most importantly it opens up the possibility of pro-rel system through the a-league and onto to the NPL system being implemented once both divisions are stable financially and commercially viable. But the biggest impact it will have is at international level where we will see more players and coaches being developed and would set us perfectly to aim for us to try and win a world cup during that 30 year time frame. FIFA 2048 World Cup anyone? As Ange said it in his book 'Dream big Australia' the opportunities are endless.
Nemesis
Guest
"I just don’t see financial viability for a second tier" That's why investors create a business case to justify the investment. Since you don't see financial viability, you should present your financial analysis to AAFC, or just post it on this forum. Obviously, the consultants & bankers hired by AAFC have overlooked important details that you have identified.
Waz
Guest
Any club running a half decent social club could find that sort of money
Waz
Guest
Well it is a fact.
steve
Guest
There is 10 A League clubs that would all kill for another 30 million in funding or 3 million for each club. I just don't see financial viability for a second tier. This will kill club in the long term.
saul
Guest
I love the game to much for it to be in the wrong hands I would rather it be controlled by the Incompetent than the corrupt. Vested interests held the game back in the past lets not repeat the same mistakes.
steve
Guest
That seems a bit strange, they signed 20 year participation agreements that allow them to be relegated before the 20 year point is reached? Seems quite strange to me.
saul
Guest
Well i hope the competition will be a success, Seems like it will give leverage to the south west Sydney A league bid as Gino Morro is secretary of the Southern District football association. Oh Rabieh http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/onetime-townsville-mayor-tony-mooney-says-hes-not-interested-in-talking-about-australian-water-holdings-and-the-obeids/news-story/c87aff957cd6c26ee7ddfbd4b8704987
Stevo
Roar Rookie
This interview with Archie Fraser is timely and adds to this debate. https://soundcloud.com/fnr_footballnationradio/fnr_football-football-extra-25-october-2017-archie-fraser Let's just say that Archie does not hold the FFA is high regard. In fact he would say that they have held back the development of the game. Great listening.
Nemesis
Guest
You realise the people involved are putting their own hands into their own pockets & will not be asking FFA, State Feds, or Government for even 1 cent? If you think they want to throw money down the toilet, you're entitled to that opinion. This is the best news about domestic football, I've heard in the past 12 months.