If the next 12 months in Australian football evolves the way that positive-minded fans predict it will, then by 2019 we will have 28 teams in the top two tiers of Australian football.
There would be a 12-team A-League competition, and a 16-team ‘Championship’ division, which will be Australia’s national second-tier competition
This discussion is not about whether the above events will, or should, occur. Rather this discussion is purely a vision for a League Cup competition for Australia, based on the above events coming to fruition.
The League Cup in England is an annual knockout competition for the 92 clubs who comprise the four divisions that are known as the English Football League: Premier League (20 teams), Championship (24), League One (24) and League Two (24).
The English League Cup is played over seven rounds, with single-leg match-ups for all stages except the semi-finals, which are played as home-and-away legs.
My proposal is for an Australian League Cup (ALC) involving 28 teams from an expanded A-League (12) and Championship (16).
These 28 teams will randomly be placed into two pots, with no geographical separations or seedings.
Just like the English League Cup, the ALC would also be played over seven rounds, however the first four matches would not be knockout format, but played under normal league competition rules. Therefore, a team would get three points for a win, one point for a draw and zero for a loss.
The 14 teams in Pot A would play at home on Matchday 1 and Matchday 3, and play away on Matchday 2 and Matchday 4. The fixtures for each of the four matchdays would be randomly assigned by picking one team from Pot A and one team from Pot B.
Teams would only be able to play each other once during the four matchdays.
After the four matches, teams would be ranked 1-28 according to the following criteria:
(a) Highest number of points accumulated
(b) Lowest number of red cards accumulated
(c) Lowest number of yellow cards accumulated
(d) Highest goal difference
(e) Highest number of goals scored
(f) Toss of a coin
The top eight teams on the table would then qualify for the quarter-finals.
Quarter-final and semi-final fixtures would be randomly drawn, with once again no geographical separations and no seedings. The first team drawn would play at home.
The host of the final would simply be determined by tossing a coin.
The Australian League Cup would help build a portfolio of competitions for elite football in Australia.
It would also provide second division teams with further competitive matches against A-League teams, and it would allow the A-League to abandon playing opponents thrice each season, which produces a compromised home-and-away fixture.
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) sets a minimum requirement that teams entering the Asian Champions League must play a minimum of 27 matches each season (including league and cup tournaments).
Since each A-League club would now play a minimum of four competitive ALC matches, a 12-team A-League could move to a 22-match home-and-away format and fulfil the 27-match minimum requirement demanded by the AFC (22 A-League home-and-away matches, four ALC matches, one FFA Cup match).
AR
Guest
“Whilst we try to solve problems on the Football forum, on the AFL forum some clown wrote an article about his love for Star Wars.” Was he jealous that Darth Vader didn’t lead the teams out before the biggest match of the year?
Nemesis
Guest
A timely article that addresses some of the issues I've raised about online streaming & targeted ads in this discussion piece and a previous one. If you're up-to-date with technology & business, you'll find this interesting. If you're still mainly watching linear TV, I suggest you don't bother. This is not for you. Stick to Star Wars movies & driving on dirt roads. "At first younger demographics were more likely to watch on a connected device but it’s starting to filter into an older demographic,” says Doug Peiffer, CEO of TV ratings measurement service OzTAM, who compile TV data. " Full story The idea of what TV is will change’ – the challenges and opportunities of addressable TV https://mumbrella.com.au/challenges-and-opportunities-of-addressable-tv-480713
Nemesis
Roar Guru
?? You've summed it up beautifully, Chopper. Almost starting to feel sorry for that bloke. Something is not right. In real life, I stay well clear of such personalities. Hope he gets all the help & support from family & professionals that he needs.
Chopper
Guest
You have done well Nemesis having scored 5 Rick Disnicks for this excellent story. (one can measure the quality of the story and thread according to the bites from the AFL's paid goose).
Kangajets
Guest
Nemesis It can be broadcast low budget and still attract an audience. Bar tv Newcastle do a great job. And are making a Motza No country in the world broadcast live all their second division gsmes . The highlights shows you see from the efl championship league one are often basic 1 or 2 camera jobs . Don’t cost much to do that Bar tv is doing successfully in Newcastle for all football codes for 4 years and making a motza.
Kangajets
Guest
Jack Russell No country in the world broadcast live all their second division gsmes . The highlights shows you see from the efl championship league one are often basic 1 or 2 camera jobs . Don’t cost much to do that Bar tv is doing successfully in Newcastle for all football codes for 4 years and making a motza.
Jack Russell
Roar Guru
Yes, run by volunteers that generates no income. They do it to get exposure, and even then we're talking about a small number of viewers. Its incredibly easy to live stream anything on youtube. You can do it with your mobile phone. Whats hard is making money from it. Now that you bring up my ignorance, perhaps you can enlighten us by telling us all how many viewers are needed on youtube for a broadcast to make any money at all, as well as how many are needed to generate enough money to fund the competition? You made the claim, now back it up with your non-ignorant brain.
Doc Disnick
Roar Guru
You see the problem with this comment, Caltex: "The AAFC is currently finalizing its model for the National 2nd Division and, based on what has been reported, the broadcasting will be FREE using a platform like YouTube/Facebook/Twitter with targeted advertising to raise revenue." Mixed with this comment above: "2) Foxtel thinks ALC is a great idea and also thinks a shorter HAL will be even more enticing. It embraces the model I’ve proposed & instead of 201 HAL matches with 12 teams, Foxtel gets exclusive PayTV broadcast rights (not exclusive streaming rights) to 137 HAL matches with 12 teams + 63 ALC matches Total = 200 matches" ...just doesn't make sense. It's also confusing to the reader, which is standard for his articles it must be said. This would require a renegotiation of the current A-League broadcasting deal to allow all of the current games to NOT be exclusive to Foxtel when being broadcast to television sets. Just thought I'd put this disclaimer out there for everyone to read, because Fuss doesn't understand his own content at times.
Mosquito
Guest
Good grief - like the existing farce which is the FFA Cup where the A league teams play out of season and always away against the minnows. Another day - another penalty farce decides Chelsea game - I don't blame the refs - the rule stinks..
Nemesis
Roar Guru
@Caltex, I'm sure you're already aware the NPL clubs have been broadcasting NPL matches LIVE via YouTube & Facebook for some time. Even FFA Cup matches hosted by NPL clubs have been broadcast on YouTube. The AAFC is currently finalizing its model for the National 2nd Division and, based on what has been reported, the broadcasting will be FREE using a platform like YouTube/Facebook/Twitter with targeted advertising to raise revenue. The targeted advertising is particularly interesting since it's highly likely the brands & service providers who will be advertising will be suburban SMEs who are the financial lifeblood of grassroots football. Not the big brands & blue chip companies that are being squeezed constantly for sponsorship of sport. This is something I raised in an article discussion potential ways to raise revenue from Free online streaming. Looks like the National 2nd Division will implement. PS: Whilst we try to solve problems on the Football forum, on the AFL forum some clown wrote an article about his love for Star Wars. I sometimes forget the level of "adult" we deal with on this website.
Doc Disnick
Roar Guru
Well I guess we'll have to wait and see then. I wouldn't read too much into it though, and I certainly wouldn't go writing any articles based on this or the assumption that Facebook or Youtube are going to be able to purchase the rights to live steams direct to televisions. I'm telling you both right now, the steaming rights will most likely be structured the same as the AFL. The current structure is near identical to the AFL's model (which I said would be the case over 12 months ago) so it stands to reason the steaming rights will too. Expect Telstra to probably pick them up. I'm trying my best to get this article to 100 comments. Fuss will be disappointed otherwise.
Caltex TEN & SBS support Australian Football
Guest
It was on the FFA (or FOX) Facebook page during the live announcement of the TV deal, when they were taking questions from the journalists. It was stated by the FOX CEO.
Doc Disnick
Roar Guru
Thanks for the info, Caltex. Got a link to it? I remember when the media was speculating on how much the two new expansion teams in the AFL would bring to the AFL. It was later revealed they added nothing except for a sweetener to the TV networks due to their infancy. I see the same thing happening here since it's impossible to put a market value on what two new expansion teams would be worth from a Tv rights perspective. Furthermore, I'm 99 percent certain the digital steaming rights will be limited to handheld device only. This entire article is moot because of this likely outcome, since it just won't work due to the lack of potential revenue generated from online streaming ads — a core feature of Fuss' proposal to fund such a league. Since Fuss refuses to acknowledge this, in fear of another one of his articles being ruined by yours truly, perhaps you can take it on board as you appear to be a far more educated chap.
Nemesis
Roar Guru
@Caltex, if that's true about $7M per year bonus for each expansion team, that's fantastic news; given 10 teams are generating around $56M per year under the current deal. I must find the original Media Release.
c
Guest
12 team ALeague will not be too different from existing 10 team ALeague we need "enhancement" of current position
Caltex TEN & SBS support Australian Football
Guest
FOX have stated that, they will contribute $7m for each new expansion club introduced to the HAL. That was documented when the new FOX TV deal was announced.
Nemesis
Roar Guru
12 team ALeague; not 14 team. 16 team 2nd Division could happen within 6 months. At the most basic level - just get 16 of the strongest NPL clubs from around Australia. The only extra expense from playing State NPL will be the cost of interstate travel & some additional wages. It would still be a semi-pro competition.
Redondo
Guest
AD - I couldn’t resist and snuck a look at the article you’ve abandoned. In my opinion you should dive back in and give Aligee and I Ate Pies hell. I’d be fascinated to see how low they can go when pushed. You’ve got a long off-season - why not have some fun?
c
Guest
achieving a 14-team A-League competition and a 16-team ‘Championship’ division in the next 24 months in Australia would be unbelievable
Nemesis
Roar Guru
"The A-League needs a minimum of 16 teams to be taken seriously as a National competition.(All states included)" In Europe these nations have fewer than 16 teams in their Top Division: Croatia, Denmark, Austria, Switzerland, Scotland, Hungary, Ukraine, Romania All these leagues produce top quality players.