The FFA has today released a statement announcing an in-principle agreement with the New Leagues Working Group (NLWG) to establish independence for the A-League, W-League and Y-League.
Citing a desire to allow Australia’s top domestic football leagues to “flourish and achieve their full potential”, two parties have recognised and agreed on an “immediate need” for the competitions to achieve commercial self-determination.
According to the statement, the key recommendations are as follows.
- NLWG recognises the immediate need for commercial self-determination for professional Leagues
- FFA to receive ongoing yields from Leagues for National Teams and grassroots football
- FFA to hold “Good of the Australian Game” rights and governance representation
- FFA and APFCA to immediately progress long-form agreements reflecting NLWG recommendations with completion targeted by August 1
The recommendations will further see clubs given “full and perpetual” use of their intellectual property, as well as “unimpeded control” of their commercial rights.
Clubs will no longer be on the hook for licensing payments over the next four seasons, although the new leagues body will be required to make an annual contribution to the FFA for national team and grassroots programs.
FFA chairman Chris Nikou hailed the agreement today, thanking the NLWG members for their work during the process.
“The recommendations of the NLWG serve to align and unite Australian football’s interests like never before,” he said.
“Clubs would have greater control over the strategic and commercial direction of the Leagues, in turn triggering significant new investment in the quality and marketing of all three Leagues.
“Importantly, FFA would retain influence in key areas of the Leagues through the Good of the Game Share.
“Once finalised, the FFA Board will consider the full details of the proposed reorganisation of the Leagues in accordance with their directors’ duties,” he said.
Football fans in Australia have long advocated for the independent operation of the A-League, arguing that allowing it to operate more like top football competitions in Europe – such as the removal of the salary cap, as well as promotion and relegation – will help keep marquee Australian talent in the country, while also attracting superstars from overseas.
Critics and sceptics, however, warn that such a system could create a very uneven competition that would benefit only a select few clubs.
Justin Mahon
Roar Rookie
The GOTG powers will be codified like they are in England. The shop will remain closed. More closed than ever now. Indeed the FFA will likely agree with the A-League on this to protect its revenues that now come from the league indirectly. Previously the FFA got those revenues directly and had some flexibility internally in theor budget. Not anymore. Not in the slightest.
Mister Football
Roar Guru
It may or may not make sense to the club, but will players and player managers continue to seek that out? At the end of the day, 90% of them want to go overseas, even for lower wages, so they will want the easy exit, and even domestically, it's such a merry go round, there's very little downside to the player to continue signing one year contracts.
Harry Selassie
Roar Rookie
Then that is something which should change as clubs gain more autonomy from FFA. Not only is it short sighted in terms of building a team, it makes no business sense as the club's lose out on potential transfer fees, especially for their younger players.
Nemesis
Guest
Be interesting to see how many players from each A-League club's academy system. I'm not talking NYL that's never been an academy system how many have actually been with an ALeague club since the age of u15? I'd guess there are very few. So, let's not pretend any ALeague club's academy system is churning out great footballers. They haven't been operating long enough. In terms of coming through the NYL/NPL u20 system, I count over 20 MVFC players who moved from Youth to senior: Behich, Brown (Jordan), Deng, Dover, Hope, Howard, Katebian, Kirdar, McGilp, Nigro, O'Dea, Pasquali, Pilkington, Sette, Sutton, Theoharous, Waring, Ferreira, Franjic, Jeggo, Mattei Probably quite a few more who didn't get a contract with MVFC in ALeague but went to other ALeague clubs, or overseas.
Post_hoc
Roar Rookie
Yea but that was before The Wanderers, no more poaching Western Sydney talent LOL But both of you are spot on the money, and non-football people don't get the massive opportunity that developing youth can have. I would argue that this one area where Victory has not developed, will be interesting how quickly they can catch up.
oldpsyco
Guest
The Only rights the FFA are interested in is to be able to say "MINE, ALL MINE, MY PRETTIES!" Power is ALL that drives them! Concern for the good of the game is a running joke at headquarters!
Nemesis
Guest
And, it's amazing to think even if the lowest, measly Transfer Fee paid to an ALeague player is more money than the entire Transfer Fees for the World's best Aussie Rules players over the past 100+ years.
Mister Football
Roar Guru
As LH intimated above, the majority of A-League players are on one year contracts. There's a long line of young players who have joined overseas clubs at zero cost.
Mister Football
Roar Guru
Well, you might be able to do it in some fantasy land, but back in the real world, any club that has paid a huge license fee for a seat at the big boys table is not about to be relegated into B-League oblivion in a hurry. Conversely, semi-pro Struggletown FC is not about to get to join the big clubs at no cost merely because they won the B-League.
Fadida
Roar Rookie
Agree
Harry Selassie
Roar Rookie
That is why it is important to sign these young players up as soon as possible and then if a foreign club wants to sign them they will have to pay as Bayern just did for the Nix Sardeep Singh.
Redondo
Roar Rookie
A propos of nothing: Alex Baumjohann has signed for SFC - a really good buy.
Harry Selassie
Roar Rookie
Scrapping a salary cap is not the way to go but having more independence each club could then, as is done in MLS, sign a few players whose salaries exceed the salary cap this is how players like originally David Beckham later Thierry Henry and David Villa and now Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Carlos Vela, Michael Bradley and Nicolas Lodeiro play in the league. A salary cap is still maintained but with the "loopholes" that several players per team can have salaries that exceed the cap. That is how to build up teams and fan interest and then, as Wellington Phoenix just did with Sardeep Singh, use transfer fees to help fund the clubs' development.
Lionheart
Roar Rookie
Good points Nemesis. I'm living proof such a strategy will work. I was in your third category - never hated football but was always told by my peers that it was boring, had never really watched a game let alone understood it. The World Cup 2006 jumped me to Category 2, I then just had to understand the game, learn the rules and different styles and the more I read and watched, the more I understood and loved it. Son gave us Roar memberships, daughter married LFC fanatic, and now the rust has set in. I follow the W League as closely as the A League, and Roar in NPL but still watch games in our (overcrowded) local park, and any games from overseas on BeIn.
Nemesis
Guest
"you can’t relegate a club which has just paid an $18 million license fee for a seat at the big boys table." Of course you can. The Licence Agreement each Club has signed "expressly provides that the Licensee Clubs's continued participation in A-League is subject to any promotion and relegation system implemented by FFA". This is basic contract law. An express term of the contract. An express term in the FIFA Statutes. $18M Licence Fee? Wow. That's not bad for a dying competition that has ratings that you ridicule. Anyone who owns a Licence to operate in any industry, can, subject to the requisite formalities, transfer that Licence to a new Licensee. So, one option would be for each Relegated Club to transfer its ALeague Licence (Share) to the Promoted Club. It could be a full transfer for the NPV of the Licence. It could be an Annual Fee paid for each season that promoted club is in the ALeague. All sorts of options available. Don't worry yourself about such things. You've got bigger fish to fry. Teenager Draft coming up. Probables and possibles. Who will make the AFL top 8 next year. Why even spend a minute of your precious time worrying about our tin pot A-League, that's going to die within a few years?
Lionheart
Roar Rookie
They do. Young Zac Duncan from Roar youth was signed by Danish club for four years, free transfer as out of contract. It's a bit tough on our club academies when the kids can just walk away.
Mister Football
Roar Guru
Well MLS has got away with, continues to get away with it, and their medium term planning is more of the same. As Chairman Nikou said a month back, we're unlikely to see P&R for 15 years, which strikes me as a pretty accurate assessment when you factor in the number of licenses the clubs will try to sell over the next decade. As I've said many times, you can't relegate a club which has just paid an $18 million license fee for a seat at the big boys table. Or do you think otherwise?
Mark
Guest
No, they saw him at the U20 World Cup
chris
Guest
PH the Mariners do have good junior set ups. I was recently up on the Central Coast and the facilities there have improved greatly. Plus they have Central Coast Mariners, North Shore Mariners and Western Mariners all with junior boys and girls teams.
chris
Guest
"The ones who live & breathe football. The ones who don’t care what quality league, they enjoy watching The Game. " This is an important point. Our football standard is the same as AFL or league or union or any other sport. Ie they are played by Australians who grew up in the Australian school/sporting systems. If anything, the football standard is better than any other sport as football brings in more imports than the other sports. So next time one of the impostors starts going on about the standard of football in Aus, just remember its of a better standard than the sport you probably follow.