Sydney FC midfielder Anthony Caceres has urged the FFA and A-League to consider the complex process of moving the competition from summer to winter to improve the quality of Australian football.
A change of seasons would place the A-League in direct competition for broadcast dollars, crowds, stadia and media coverage with Australia’s dominant winter codes, the NRL and AFL.
However, Caceres has added voice to a growing belief within the game that it would be best to take on the bigger codes rather than avoid them as summer conditions in Australia deteriorate.
“I think it’s a pretty good idea to tell you the truth,” he said on Wednesday.
“We dish up pretty good quality across the league considering the conditions we play in at times and I think the change would only lift the intensity of the games and improve the product of this league, so I think it’s something worth looking into, definitely.”
Cacere’s view follows a report in Nine Media on Wednesday in which Professional Footballers Australia chief executive John Didulica and broadcast rights expert Colin Smith compelled the FFA to consider the radical switch.
Smith argued the European soccer leagues, not the NRL and AFL, were the A-League’s biggest competitors for viewership and said business analysis was needed to help save declining crowds and ratings.
Players have long called for the code to revert to winter to improve the quality of Australian football.
So far this season several W-League and Y-League games have been rescheduled, while drinks breaks have been frequent through sweltering conditions in the A-League.
Sydney and Canberra teams have also been forced to change their training schedules to avoid hazardous air quality due to smoke haze from bushfires, and it is only set to get worse as the impact of climate change intensifies.
On Wednesday another fog of smoke blanketed Sydney impacting visibility, but Sky Blues medical staff concluded it was safe to train outdoors.
“These are extreme conditions, obviously,” Cacares said.
“It’s something that has affected everyone greatly. Looking at these conditions, whether we change the league from summer to winter is probably the least of our concerns with all the people that are suffering because of it, but obviously it’s a discussion for the future.
“It’s just a case of getting on with it. We haven’t let it affect us mentally, I guess.
“Obviously you do feel it sometimes but you’ve just got to keep on going and get the job done.”
AndyAdelaide
Roar Rookie
new sound, lighting, bar facilities. You'll have a ball lol
Buddy
Roar Rookie
Oh good it has been updated. I am visiting in May for a long weekend and tickets to see Maiden there...makes a change from the indoor aren at Homebush.
Christopher
Guest
Yep I think for Sundays especially there is nothing wrong with an early kick. What irrits some AFL fans is that the Sunday start times are dictated by channel 7 which wants a 3:20pm start and 6pm on the dot finish leading into the news. That means heading home in the dark and on the night before school, not ideal for families with young kids. A 1pm or 2pm start for the A League on Sunday would be ideal. Or two games, one at 1pm and another at 3pm.
AndyAdelaide
Roar Rookie
Season ticket holder for the reds since the inception of the a league, even sitting in the main grandstand you get battered by the rain and the sun. The matches this year where the temperature was near 40 + (that Newcastle one in particular) was dreadful for the fans let alone the players. I always feel sorry for where the away fans sit, as its completely exposed to the elements. Hindmarsh (refuse to call it coopers) will never get a roof, will cost too much money, its quite outdated now as well. Which is a real shame because it has the best pitch out of any a league club, because no other sport shares the ground. there has been a lot of talk of building a 20,000-25,000 seater near or in the cbd with a roof, but that requires funds that the government wont provide unless it benefits them. They can barely raise a new hi rise building in the cbd, so theirs no chance in this happening. But hey they are more than happy to upgrade Adelaide oval so they can keep playing that awful egg shaped ball game and moving the basketball team to our updated 12,000 seated entertainment center
Nemesis
Guest
In the cooler months there's no reason we can't have earlier kick-offs to encourage more people to attend. 3 pm or even Noon. AFL in Victoria used to be 2pm starts for 6 matches all played on Saturday. No one thought it was odd.
Samuel Power
Roar Rookie
I think moving it to the winter is an idea worth exploring, however the stadium issue needs to be solved, really only Adelaide United and the Central Coast Mariners have their own stadiums which won't be an issue with other sporting codes.
Christopher
Guest
If the product is good then fans should turn up (in most cases) The only time they can be excused is when it is 42 degrees and they have to sit out in the open at Hindmarsh. Sports fans will turn up in winter. Not uncommon to have 70k at the MCG on a freezing winters night in June.
Buddy
Roar Rookie
The fact that fans appear to find a myriad of reasons for not attending - would evening kick offs in winter simply present another one? In outer suburbs of Sydney, we get an awful lot of complaints about the cold when night games are scheduled . Whilst stadiums may be warmer, they may still not be as inviting as sitting in the warm and dry watching television.
Amazon
Roar Rookie
Winter football................ It would be a huge decision but one that is necessary. Football would not lose or even increase its attendances - Status Quo in my opinion, might even reverse the downward spiral . However the alignment to winter football with the NPL and other competitions is a good thing and makes the pathway to Pro Rel easier ( if it ever eventuates?) I've always said ..........football looked to get clear air by going to summer - a total misnomer an a stupid idea, there is no clear air on the sporting landscape in Australia.
Roberto B
Guest
Caceres is right, it's a Winter game and the Premier League is our main competition, not the other codes football fans will still want to watch the football, I don't see any problem changing, if anything, attendances and ratings wil probably increase also we'll be in sync weith the rest of Asia and the rest of our domestic football for when we introduce the 2nd division and promotion and relegation so it's a big thumbs up from me
Christopher
Guest
While the heat may be a reason for later starts, I would also think Foxtel is behind this. Ratings are higher at night on weekends than at 3pm.
Christopher
Guest
True, Hindmarsh def needs a roof And yes NRL does chop up the pitches, but we manage in Mar-May each year Only Perth, Adelaide and eventually MU will have a stadium to themselves. Bris needs to eventually move away to a more suitable stadium size wise. This move could take place in 3-4 years, after the Foxtel deal and I doubt they'd be in favour of it.
Fadida
Roar Rookie
It's a big issue Buddy. You'd need evening games in winter to avoid affecting grass roots
Fadida
Roar Rookie
Unfortunately the "summer heat" arrives in November and is around until March, in Newcastle anyway
Fadida
Roar Rookie
The stadiums is the big one. How many a-league clubs are sole tenants? Adelaide? Anyone else? Pitches chopped up by NRL rhinos will make a big difference to the standard of play. The time has come to consider a winter competition, simply because the heat is both ridiculous and unsafe. We need to consider that while fans are already staying away because of the extreme heat eg Adelaide, they'll also stay away when it's very wet. Why? Open stadiums. Build some roofs ASAP
Buddy
Roar Rookie
In the summertime, more games are scheduled as evening kick offs although I grant you that they go as early as 4-00 pm depending upon which state you reside. If they were winter games, I wonder where they would be seated? The same, or afternoon kick off etc? My curiosity on this single issue lies with spectators and community football. The focus is not on losing spectators to other codes but being able to attract what we would generally consider to be current fans. If games were played on a Sunday afternoon for example, I know a huge number of current fans that would be involved in either playing, officiating or administering the game at grassroots level and I’d be fairly sure that would be the priority over going to watch a game. Maybe it wouldn’t be that important and maybe I’m atypical. However, I’d be willing to bet that grassroots football would require some major rethinking and planning were this to ever happen.
WanderingKooka
Guest
Think we either need to move to winter or have a break for about a month over the christmas - new year to Australia day period to avoid the worst of the summer heat. Either way I will be going as often as I can and if anything would watch less union/league.
Christopher
Guest
True, I don't think that many fans would be lost to the other codes The stadium impact would need some planning, especially with Newcastle, Suncorp, and WSW's stadium. This can be overcome by playing alternate weekends to the Broncos/Knights. Otherwise better quality of play would be a major win for the league.
Nemesis
Guest
It's a no-brainer for me. Football should not be played during the hottest months. One off tournaments are the exception. And, football already overlaps more sporting competitions - including AFL, NRL, Rugby - than any other professional team sport, so it's not going to cause significant drop in crowds. If there are fans of multiple sports comps and a match is played in a city on the same day, they'll have to choose one. If there are 10k ave crowds in A-League I doubt such overlap will impact more than 5% of fans. Some will choose the other sport. Some will choose ALeague. I'd guess we might lose 100 people per match due to overlapping fixtures.
Christopher
Guest
Improving the quality of play should be the main aim and so therefore a move to winter should be considered Media coverage is a non issue as there is basically no media coverage in summer in any case. Open up The Age and Herald Sun and A League is usually on the last page of sports coverage next to the trots. Will need to work out what to do with the stadia. Scheduling is important.