Who is going to be broadcasting the A-League in five years’ time?
Because all the plans for a second division will come to nothing if the top flight no longer exists.
Let me state on record for the Twitterati that I’m for promotion and relegation.
Sometimes even the simple act of asking seemingly important questions like, “Who will pay for all of this?” and, “Why would current A-League clubs agree to this?” can lead to some fairly disingenuous accusations about one’s motives.
In fact I’d go so far as to suggest that much of the debate around promotion and relegation has been hijacked by voices whose only aim is to drive a wedge between A-League supporters and the rest of the game.
Too often the discussion descends into ad hominem attacks and straw man arguments, particularly when you start to ask questions beyond simply why Australian football needs promotion and relegation to the top tier.
So it was a nice change of pace to see my fellow Roar columnist Matthew Galea broach the subject during the week in what was a thoughtful and thought-provoking piece.
Galea got to the heart of the matter when he asked whether creating a national second division would actually accomplish anything if it didn’t include promotion and relegation to the A-League.
And he was right to suggest that any plans to establish a viable second division would “require the buy-in of the existing A-League clubs”.
On that note, I’d politely suggest that it’s hard to see how the A-League clubs, the Association of Australian Football Clubs – which represents the interest of National Premier League clubs – and the various state federations could possibly be on the same page.
In fact I spoke to someone familiar with the New Leagues Working Group just last week and they hinted that the various lobby groups were worlds apart.
(Tony Feder/Getty Images)
The ten A-League clubs are far more concerned with how to stem the bleeding, having collectively lost millions of dollars since the competition kicked off in 2005.
There’s not a whole lot of appetite to worry about the ins and outs of promotion and relegation when in reality most clubs are struggling to figure out how to generate some cash flow in the meantime.
And that’s where the question of who’s going to broadcast the A-League in the future comes into play.
Because at the moment, many of the staunch critics who drone on and on about the desperate need for promotion and relegation are the same who admit they don’t pay to watch Fox Sports.
And it’s hard to see any broadcast rights holder pumping millions more dollars into the game if there’s no return on investment.
The cognitive dissonance between those demanding a radical structural overhaul and those who will actually pay for it is so great that it must be a concern to whoever is in charge of the A-League over the next few seasons.
There’s no doubt that adding a second tier could open the game up to new TV markets, particularly if it includes disenfranchised former National Soccer League clubs.
But enough to fully fund the sport?
A couple more things need to be acknowledged before we all tee off and shoot the messenger. The first is that the A-League has gone backwards under Football Federation Australia’s stewardship, and the second is that without Fox Sports there would currently be no A-League.
Admitting as much doesn’t make me an FFA critic or a Fox Sports apologist; it makes me a realist.
And the next slap of reality is that as things stand right here and right now, without immediate capital investment football in Australia simply can’t afford promotion and relegation.
What the A-League needs to concentrate on is getting to 14 clubs as quickly as possible.
Only then will we have a viable home-and-away season to actually sell to a broadcaster and help fund promotion and relegation in the long term.
gavan
Guest
I believe the way forward is to: 1- Y-League rebrand 1a- pump up the numbers of the Y- league by including a large number of NPL teams in (say 6 NPL teams per conference) 1b- have Canberra united and roar youth switch conferences 1c introduce P/R with NPL (4up 2down) 1d- rebrand Y-league as A1 2 A-league Championship Finals evolve into a league cup Top 8 A-League v top 4 A1 groupA v top 4 A1 groupB 3 -introduce pro-spansion promote 2 team (1 from each conference) per year no Reg for 2 4 -introduce P/R 4a - eliminate conferences 4a introduce P/R 2up 2down
Redondo
Roar Rookie
Actually Aiden, I’ve said that several times and nobody has dared to call me an AFL fan.
David V
Guest
A myopic view dismissing a system used in the world's most popular sport, where league systems still generate quality entertainment at any level. Nice one.
Punter
Roar Rookie
Mister positive on the AFL tab, Mister negative on the football tab, ummmmm.
Mister Football
Roar Guru
There is a cabal of 4 or 5 posters who band together, always agree with each other, and try and talk down anyone who presents a different perspective. They see themselves as the guardians of the game and everyone else as being an enemy agent. If nothing else it does get entertaining reading the constant backslapping: oh yes, brilliant idea that one, oh yes, I must say, never before have I seen something so brilliant, you are a genius!
Aiden
Guest
Ha! I’ve noticed that. There is a little crew who are like the primary school bully boys in the sandpit and they love to deride other fans of the game as Johnnie come lately lovers of the game (sokkah fans they like to say) as if true football lovers are a kind of hive mind. Like all things online, I doubt they’d be as strident in pubs or their workplaces. For the record P/R, good for the game. P/R won’t happen until the A League club’s feel it makes financial sense. Acknowledging the latter gets people accused of being AFL fans on this site.
Beach
Roar Rookie
Fad, you are in general such a lucid poster, but your lack of objectivity with regard to the commercial context of the A League is perplexing.
Beach
Roar Rookie
Your disconnect with reality is truly impressive.
Beach
Roar Rookie
Yep. Anyone who thinks differently doesn't know the place.
Redondo
Roar Rookie
BA - you’re too polite to be an interloper and it’s a good question. First point, div 2 and pro/rel are separate issues. The first doesn’t imply the latter, although having a div 2 would certainly generate even more interest in pro/rel. Second point, the decision on pro/rel won’t be under a single club’s control. Together the A-League clubs are running a business and they need every branch of that business to perform. One club losing most of its games badly is bad for the whole league’s brand and value. And yet currently that club still gets its distribution of broadcasting cash and retains its right to sell its license in future. A majority of the clubs might decide pro/rel offers better rewards than a closed shop that lets other license owners behave parasitically. The strong clubs are unlikely to ever be in a relegation spot so they would be confident that even vaguely prudent investment would keep them safe. Added to that, a play-off style pro/rel formula would make it unlikely any A-League team would ever be relegated. Such a model might see the bottom A-League club play off against top div 2 club for a place in div 1 the next season. Even though it would be unlikely a div 2 club could win promotion under that model, A-League clubs would still desperately want to avoid ending up in a relegation play-off. That would maintain interest to season’s end in far more A-League games. It would also give the div 2 comp added spice. All of that likely means more viewers and bigger crowds at the back end of the season. And if there’s a buck in it for the majority then they might happily vote for a system that let’s a struggler drop to div 2, particularly one that can’t beat a div 2 team that has much more limited resources.
Jordan Klingsporn
Roar Guru
Ohhhhhhhhhh. I get it.
Brendon
Roar Rookie
Promotion/relegation in the a-league shouldn't happen because it is a truly moronic and stupid system. Look at the failure of European basketball and how it has failed to close the gap with the NBA because of promotion/relegation despite European basketball having the advantage of the EuroLeague. The gap between the NBA and top European leagues is actually widening. Look at the arenas of the less successful teams in European basketball leagues. They're tiny, old, outdated. No one wants to invest in new areans because they might get relegated. Difference in the NBA a team like the Sacramento Kings can build a new stadium even though they've been a bad team for a long time. Same with the NFL. A team can get a new stadium built because they know they will still be in the NFL even if they have a bad season. Look at the premier league and the teams that can afford to build a new, big stadium or renovate and expand their existing stadiums are the big teams. This further widens the wealth gap in the premier league. Then theres the fact that European football doesn't have a salary cap meaning the rich, popular teams can just buy the top players. A-league has a salary cap.
Fadida
Roar Rookie
It's an AFL state. Forever.
Nick Symonds
Guest
"NHO is totally unsuitable, a purpose built stadium a mile off" - 5-10,000 at NHO would still look better than the same number or less at Kardinia Park for Western United. Then, if Tasmania had a team, they might be able to get funding for a dedicated stadium in the future, like Perth. - "It’s an AFL state." Participation in Tasmania has grown by 20% in the last two years and has now outgrown AFL. By the time that the current AFL TV deal expires in 2023 the participation rate will have grown even more. Tasmania might be known as an "AFL state" for now, but for how much longer?
Lionheart
Roar Rookie
2nd division, yes?
Lionheart
Roar Rookie
no, I meant todays game V US
Brendo51
Guest
A 2nd division would help to funnel talent below the A-league into a much smaller pool. Instead of a NPL structure that contains around around 50 teams we would have 12-14. With 2-3 years the 2nd division would be a natural Spring board into the A-league. That alone would help raise the standard at the level directly below the A-League. It would also make for some interesting match ups in the FFA Cup and like your points above add more spice to the conversations about the gap between the 2nd and 1st tiers. I think people who make the comments about the gap being too big may be surprised when the talent is concentrated into a 2nd tier.
BA Sports
Roar Guru
Redondo; Since I am not a regular poster I guess that makes me a rival code interloper (ven though I do play).... But I have a serious question; Why would the current A-League owners agree to Promo/Relegation when it would basically mean that at least 1 - possibly 2 depending on the format - of them would basically be writing their own death certificate as someone has to go down. I think that is one of the points Tuckerman is making - Why would the A-League owners risk what they have given how much they have invested in it? That would seem to be a pretty substantial sticking point?
Nemesis
Guest
"At least in the EPL they might be going from £40k a week to £20k." Don't look at absolute wages it's pointless given the huge revenues for EPL. Look at the relative wages 2nd Division vs EPL. Average wages in English Championship are about 1/3 that of EPL We need to explore are how wages in Div 2 in a wide range of countries compares to Div 1 in that country. My guess is that the wage differential will be 20-33% in Div 2 compared o Div 1. So if the current wage for clubs (excluding Marquees) is $3m in ALeague (140k per player), total squad wages should be around $600k-1m per club in 2nd Div (27k-45k per player).
LDG
Roar Rookie
So are 17 new clubs going to be created from scratch? Madness. The teams are already here.