D-Day for the A-League looms at the end of the current TV deal, in 2023.
We have reached this stage because of administration blunders by the FFA, an overreliance on TV money, and a lack of foresight to diversify revenue streams and improve the overall health of the game.
With this in mind, we come to one conclusion – any long-term plan to improve the game needs to be complemented with a short-term strategy to give the A-League a much-needed boost amid collapsing TV audiences and poor football.
Within this context, we must consider two significant blunders made by the club owners.
The first is the lack of promotion prior to the season’s kick off.
One justification made is that the league would be competing for advertising space given it’s the business end of the AFL and NRL seasons. Another is that the club owners have not yet assumed full control of the game.
(AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts)
The opportunity cost, however, is significant.
We will have just a few days to promote the league, which is not enough time for many people to factor it into their plans for the weekend or to make Foxtel take notice.
By not promoting the game, we are accepting our role as a second-rate sport.
There is no reason a smart, targeted preseason advertising campaign could not have results. Every day, smaller, more agile companies get cutthrough against the larger brands. Given the limited time frame, this preseason advertisement should have been non-negotiable.
The second major blunder was the recent announcement not to focus on marquees.
This makes no strategic sense. First of all, the marquee concept – which has been poorly used – is not the sole strategy for promoting the A-League.
It is a short-term plan to get bums on seats and eyeballs on the TV screens, so as to give the league a shot in the arm.
But the owners have somehow decided marquees are no longer a good idea. Throwing the baby out with the bathwater?
The rationale here is that they want to focus on youth, but this is linked with the quality on offer and a system that will take years to fix – which is time we do not have.
Marquees offer a quick fix. Didn’t the owners say they had cash to throw around now that they are in control?
(Photo by Daniel Pockett/Getty Images)
So instead of throwing preseason promotion out and binning the marquee concept, why didn’t the owners unite strategies to give create cutthrough?
Bringing a new marque – remember the Alessandro Del Piero effect – would have generated attention and excitement, regardless of how crowded the sporting landscape is.
In addition, one wonders if the owners really intend on spending the money they have indicated on the league. The situation as of now is – at a time where we are fast running out of time – the A-League owners’ early missteps could prove costly for the game.
The momentum is negative, we are losing fans and we have just made our lives harder with two significant strategic blunders.
RF
Roar Rookie
I suggest that your "plenty" represents an commercially unworkable definition for the A League's specific context. My view is that 3/5 is the absolute workable minimum. What works overseas doesn't apply here.
Brainstrust
Roar Rookie
the best time to invest is at the low point. The A-league can work with 8 teams and 21 rounds . Half the games equals half the cost. See Hellas had their phones disconnected because they couldn't pay the bill at time the A-league was looking for investors for Melbourne. They did not have two pennies to rub together. If I had know how frugal Geoff Lord was I would have invested. In four years time if you can buy an A-league team for next to nothing I will be in. Hellas the government money runs out before then, they will be no doubt broke again without it. Easy to outbid them.
anon
Roar Pro
Stop blaming everyone else. This is soccer's problem. They won't take ownership of their issues.
anon
Roar Pro
But, but I thought the FFA was holding the A-League back? The A-League rights are practically worthless. Forget receiving hundreds of millions of dollars. Foxtel is lugging equipment and staff across the country for 7 months of the years in order to pull in 20k viewers per game. As I've said before, if you want 20k views you can buy an iPhone and gimbal off Gumtree and start vlogging. You don't need to spend $100 million plus pay for flights, hotels, salaries, equipment, freight, etc. The future is a sport played on small community grounds like where the Hellas play, broadcast by volunteers on community TV/Facebook. Maybe SBS will cover the odd match in Sydney.
Biblo
Guest
I think you'd find some clubs would have the money to throw at better players (City, Victory, Sydney), while others wouldn't have the money It would lead to an uneven competition.
Bilbo
Guest
Foxtel has over the years done an amazing job of covering the league. Panel shows, great live coverage. It is clear that during last season they became quite disappointed with the ratings and no longer see themselves as covering the league in the long term. Foxtel are under increasing financial pressure and after dropping quite a lot of money for exclusive coverage of local ODIs and 16 BBL games they may pull back their investment in other sports. The A League has three years to prepare for life without money from Foxtel.
chris
Guest
...cue "oh the sokkah fans are so touchy...nobody wuvs me"
chris
Guest
Geez you're annoying. So typical of people like you though. The irony of you coming on to a tab that you dislike. Never saying anything positive about football and constantly slamming it. And you have the nerve to criticise someone, who isnt everyones cup of tea, but at least has football in his blood and is here to debate issues etc about the game. What are you here for apart from being a pest?
At work
Roar Rookie
That’s my major bugbear with memberships Buddy, they’re all counted equally whether it’s a season ticket, right down to an infants membership with no games included. A League aren’t the only ones, all the major professional sports misrepresent in the same manner.
pacman
Roar Rookie
Mid, I was simply observing that the USA has 13 times our population. Therefore, why don't they have 13 times more first tier teams than we do? 13 X 11 = 143 (1 short of a gross). I thought you would have picked up on that. Cheers.
Fadida
Guest
Plenty= 2/5 very good games each week, 2/5 ok, 1/5 poor . I'd argue these ratios apply across most leagues
Punter
Roar Rookie
Geez AR, I thought you would be busy. I know how dead against Flares & violence from fans, I thought you'd be out there berating those Richmond fans who set off those flares & the GWS fans who headbutted a women police officer. This added to the many other violence incidents at the 'Footy' this year. Mate surprise you have time to even come on the Football tab.
Nemesis
Guest
Actually, Australian Rules' constant hijacking of football discussions has gone on for the past 10 years. Every day he & his infantile AFL buddies have been interrupting every football discussion telling A-League fans how crap the competition is, how hopeless our players are, how the comp is about to die. Every week for past 10 years, the same repetitive rubbish. Most of his AFL buddies are now banned from this football forum. Hope the same happens to this miserably sad individual.
Nemesis
Guest
Good to hear that you're involved. I call it stagnation only because I saw the potential being realised within 4 years; then saw us go no further for the next 10 years. It's the literal definition of business stagnation. The big difference between your evolution vision & mine is that yours is driven by demand metrics. Mine is driven by supply metrics. I want a National 2nd Division because that's how the quality of the 2nd tier will improve. Getting the best 2-3 clubs from Victoria to compete every week against the best from NSW, Qld, Tas, ACT, SA, WA will lift the quality of the players, coaches, refs higher than simply playing in State comps. This is common sense. Every kid who plays sport knows you might be the best in your school, but it's tougher when you play against other schools in the neighbourhood. Tougher when you play against the best from the city. Tougher competing against the best from the State. Then the nation. Then the world. The standard lifts. The best play against the best, the next best play against the ones at their level, the ones who are the weakest play against others at that level. It creates a competitive environment for everyone. I watched a bit of NPL Victoria this season. I don't follow any team. Don't care who wins or loses. I'll be watching a lot more if it were a National competition.
Midfielder
Roar Guru
paceman what are you talking about 144 teams... I said today the MLS has 26 teams next year growing to 30 teams soon and in 2008 they had 14 teams... they are spending big money and thus players the A-League want are today playing in the MLS, China and more recently India... it was in response to the article saying the A-League should get more marquees... we simply can't afford them anymore...
AR
Guest
Actually, Fussball’s “with us or against us” approach has proven to be a real winner. For the last 10 years he’s been calling people names, telling people they are football illiterates, telling them to go away, shouting SMELL THE FEAR! and claiming the ALeague doesn’t need any new fans other than already-died-in-the-wool true believers. And, as we know, the ALeague has gone from strength to strength each year. It is now politically stable, attracts huge crowds and ratings, and is financially secured by multi-level broadcast deals. Well done Fuss !
Ad-O
Guest
I watch the games, if that's what you mean. And I wouldnt be here commenting if I didnt like the A-League. You see, what you call stagnation, I call close to the best position the game has ever had in Australia. Thats why I'm pretty careful about turning over the apple cart. Expand slowly like they're doing. 3rd teams in Sydney and Melbourne is the right choice IMHO. Expand again when they show proof of sustainability. Pro-Rel shouldn't even be in the conversation until we have 20-24 sustainable teams. A-League is experiencing a slight downturn. Nothing terminal, and not that far off our long term average. Most probably connected to the fact the Socceroos have been pretty poor the last few cycles and we dont have any real world class players right now. Look at what just 1 Ben Simmons can do for interest in basketball in this country. That's something not even the gargantuan budget of the NBA and some of the best sports marketting minds in the world could crack, so I cant judge the FFA too harshly.
Steve Ricardos
The A League clubs need a radical new thinking approach. In the off season when AFL/NRL are on , the clubs should start a Futsal series to keep the fans interested and improve the skill set. There is a wealth of talent out there among the youngsters but a lot of clubs don't have the support systems to grow them. They should follow the dutch model, Ajax used to have open trials for every kid who wanted to play for them. They then selected those with potential and those who needed nuturing in the right way. There's no reason why Australian clubs can't do the same. Forget about foreigners, become an exporter of world class players to Europe and the money will flow in.
Stevo
Roar Rookie
I loved the A- league Season 1 ad. What happened?
RF
Roar Rookie
I suggest that you need to define your terms. What exactly does “plenty” mean? Anecdotally, and without any attempt at empricism, I would say I saw about one game in five that was worth the time to watch according to my personal standards of acceptable level football.