On Saturday, a total of 7,676 people turned up to Leichhardt Oval to watch two in-form A-League teams.
The weather was perfect, the pitch in decent nick and both Sydney FC and Melbourne City had the opportunity to position themselves second on the ladder and be ready to pounce on any Central Coast Mariner slip ups.
All in all, there was plenty on offer for A-League fans and despite a tasty Saturday night timeslot and Australians slowly gaining in confidence when it comes to getting out and about and attending events as frequently as they did prior to the pandemic, the crowd was very disappointing.
Almost certainly there are still many people playing things safe when it comes to social outings and that may well be the case for some time to come, yet there appeared to be no other obvious reason as to why the champions of Australia managed to lure such a paltry number to the ground for a match against the side they defeated in the grand final last season.
Or was there?
With both the NRL and AFL having taken massive swings at the rules which govern their games and the resulting product currently pleasing the majority of fans, the uncomfortable question about football’s potentially silent winter existence does need to be addressed.
As other codes head into the core of their seasons in the winter months, the buzz around both grows. Off the back of some brilliant games and returning fans starved of safely and confidently attending matches throughout much of 2020, both competitions appear to be humming along well.
That raises a fair question. Is the issue around which so many football and A-League fans raised concerns now happening tangibly right before our very eyes?
If so, has it taken just a month for the A-League to prove to itself that competing in the flooded winter sporting market is not something worth pursuing?
Historically, the A-League season would be in or on the brink of semi-final mode. However, thanks to the agility required to complete the 2020 season last August and the New Year kick off to this current campaign, Football Australia set the game up for one of its sternest tests by slating the bulk of the A-League season up against 15 or so weeks of NRL/AFL action.
Of course, FA had little option after such a long break in play last year. However, crowd figures shout a prophetic and clear message to the powers at be, especially considering just how entertaining, unpredictable and exciting the 2020/21 A-League competition has been.
(Photo by Mark Evans/Getty Images)
At this point, concerns around the league losing space in the public’s attention appear to have been right on the money and the dumping of football content from the sports’ sections of both hard and soft copy publications has been potentially even more noticeable than prior years.
I’d hazard a guess that passionate A-League fans who always attend their team’s matches are continuing to do so. What I would also suggest is that many others who once attended the odd match throughout the summer may well be down at the MCG or at a suburban NRL ground watching their number one code.
Some will say, “Who cares? We don’t need those people.”
Frankly, I find that naïve and feel the competition needs every possible bum on a seat. If playing a larger portion of the season in winter removes thousands of cheeks from seats, shrinks media coverage and lessens the overall awareness of A-League football, a decision on an immediate move back to a spring/summer/autumn time slot needs to be made ASAP.
Sure the weather has been pleasant for spectators, yes the standard of play has been excellent at times. Yet what value are either when fewer fans are in attendance observing the improved entertainment and the overall face of the league is somewhat veiled?
Better scheduling through November, December and January can ease the burden of what have been historically unbearable conditions at times.
Fans also need to remember that much of October, November, March, April and May present excellent viewing weather and suffering through the blistering heat of the three warmer months may well be a necessary evil if the current situation is an accurate guide.
That current situation is twofold. Firstly, A-League content is still very good, yet attracting even less people than it has in the past. Secondly, the two winter powerhouses are up and running with new products and fans are flocking to see them.
Concerns that the A-League becomes nothing but a blip competing against them in winter were well made and now, appear to have been valid.
chris
Guest
You mean like AFL players selling cars in NSW and Qld or league players selling cars in Vic?
Martyn50
Roar Rookie
Relocate to FNQ during winter. Good weather. Friday night games. Saturday games x 2 and Saturday evening. Remainder of games on Sunday. Easily fixed.
Martyn50
Roar Rookie
Summer football may not exist in a decade. Low attendances means some clubs could go under. Once 2 or 3 fold then it's a deck of card scene.
Martyn50
Roar Rookie
Promotion/relegation will not happen in Australia. A League cant get enough bums on seats to watch the top level (compares to 3rd Division in UK) So there is no way any business will invest via sponsorship in clubs/teams that will not be shown on TV. Sponsors want their investments seen. Second division club players come from where? They are average 'joe blows' who have normal day jobs. They need to take time of work to fly interstate, play games and return. Not many employers will put up with that.
Martyn50
Roar Rookie
You need to realise that ground capacity was limited to 50%. Perth stadium holds 60,000 so 50% is 30,000
me
Guest
Name any A League players who can front TV adverts that sell cars. That's where heavyweight sponsorship comes from.
jbinnie
Guest
Punter - Having spent a king's ransom (for Australia) bringing players like Arnold and Slater back ,no doubt at huge salaries (compared with others), after a great start, Northern Spirit went he same way as others (like Rangers) spending more than they were bringing in. It's a very simple equation. Cheers jb
mwm
Guest
The main reason for the drop in crowds is that football has never been supported the way the ‘diehards’ in this country want it to be. A lot of posters on this forum want the A-League to desperately be like the European leagues they have watched from afar on tv their whole lives ( plus on vacation). Remember the A - League has always been a franchise league. It was created by lawyers, marketing gurus and businessmen off the back of a Govt report. There has never been a genuine and solid community support for franchise teams. The type that stick through a pandemic. What you saw with the start of the Aleague, ADP and even the golden era Socceroos were either people jumping on a bandwagon or supporting the national team because of patriotism. They had no real emotional connection to the league and obviously didn’t stay around for too long ( as crowd figures have shown). All the leagues we watch in Europe were formed by people and teams representing their community. There is an unbreakable community bond with these teams, the type that form Phoenix clubs when they go bust type of connection. Could any of you really see a Phoenix club emerging if one of the A League teams went bust? To my knowledge no one received Nth Qld or Gold Coast in another league. Just some food for thought. I want football to succeed as I love the game, but until that ‘bond’ is formed crowds will rise and fall.
Blood Dragon
Roar Rookie
Japan and Chinas Leagues are in the Middle of Summer and Summers get Quite Warm in those countries
Blood Dragon
Roar Rookie
Um Actually Sydney FC's average crowd is higher then Adelaide's by 11 people https://ultimatealeague.com/records.php?type=att
Blood Dragon
Roar Rookie
It would be a Relocation of the License to Either North Sydney (Mau U) or Gold Coast (US Consortium) not the team itself but I agree it should not happen
Blood Dragon
Roar Rookie
There is also talk of as US Consortium wanting to buy the Mariners License and Relocate It to the Gold Coast
Will
Guest
The discussion whether its better in summer or in winter is a mute point when the season length here is short compared to say global standards. For example the J-League started on the end of February and will end their season in the last weekend of November and even their national cup final is on New Years day. The MLS will start this weekend and likely end in November or December with their grand final. Euro seasons mostly go for about 10 months of year with Euro or UCL qualifiers start in July and their league and cup finals end in May or early June. Simple if we want to improve our football we need to play more football at all levels its simple as that. If we stay in summer or go into winter our season is too short anyway and then we complain why we cant develop enough good players, teams and even coaches on the the world stage? We need to aim for year round football otherwise its a waste of time discussing which season it should start because the game will always have a limit in far it can go especially when competing internationally.
jbinnie
Guest
Stuart - A strange comment. It was not the originators of the summer soccer idea that came up with the suggested time slot for playing "summer games" it was meteorological depts. all over the country that reported their findings. Where the criticism of the "suits' comes from is that as "vote seeking people" hoping to retain their positions at the annual election they simply ignored that information and played the games at 3pm because, no doubt their club nominators had told them, floodlight , and their costs, were not in the budget. Cheers jb.,
Roberto Bettega
Roar Rookie
Longer term, I can see a few clubs returning to 10,000+ averages, and a few others knocking around the 10k figure on a regular basis, but the rest, about half the clubs, will perpetually be below that 10k marker, some much, much lower. That's why I said that we were unlikely to ever see 10,000+ attendance averages across a whole season ever again. Of course, individual clubs will fluctuate greatly depending on their onfield fortunes. As you know from your lengthy experience, like death and taxes, we can state with absolute confidence that at any point in time, half the clubs will be in the top half of the table, and the other half will be in the bottom half of the table. That equation will never change.
jbinnie
Guest
Roberto - Great thoughts but one glaring omission. On designing the format for the A-League Frank Lowy's "number crunchers" came up with the statistic that a club needed to average a 10,000 "home" crowd" if they, that club, were to last long term in the comp. The league is now reaching for it's 16th year in existence, is it wrong to suggest that that "10,000" figure may have altered in that time????. Up to last season Victory, & Sydney FC were both averaging above that 10,000 figure and both appeared to be doing quite nicely but just eight places away it was no secret that other teams in the comp. were struggling financially. Maybe the "number crunchers" were right. jb.
Mango Jack
Roar Guru
Yes, I think everyone is aware of that.
Lionheart
Roar Rookie
are you talking to me? seriously Andy, you're getting worse.
Randy
Roar Rookie
its like owning 2 fancy hotel's then buying a laundromat
Lionheart
Roar Rookie
What FA report? A League squad size is 24. What do you expect? If any club is different, they are cheating.