In spite of the continuing and significant COVID-19 realities presenting themselves in New South Wales, Football Australia has released its domestic match calendar for 2021-22.
The calendar encompasses the period between October 29, 2021, a day before the A-League launches into action on the much anticipated Ten Network/Paramount+ platform and October 28, 2022, just 13 days after the newly positioned FFA Cup final.
In between, it brings football together in a more effective manner than has ever been achieved in Australia.
With a certain freedom gained after the severing of ties with the previous major broadcast partner, FA CEO James Johnson’s dialogue with the APL, member federations and the Professional Footballers Association (PFA) has informed the document, which has been met with almost universal positivity in the hours since its release.
(Photo by Brook Mitchell/Getty Images)
In what is a logical and well-informed decision, the A-League returns to its traditional place on the calendar, running from October to May. The W-League will begin in late November and culminate in a grand final in the early days of April.
While the NPLW will continue to run entirely out of step with the still limited top tier of women’s football in Australia, thus providing the opportunity for the best young talent in the country to play all year round, one of the major innovations is the increased focus on the men’s NPL competition.
In 2022, the NPL will begin in late February and is scheduled for completion in early spring, with a designated finals weekend on September 11. A fortnight later, the NPLW will experience the same exposure on September 25.
The aim is obviously to lift the profile of the NPL and NPLW competitions, particularly after Australian fans witnessed first-hand just how much young talent existed in them when it was called upon throughout the pandemic-affected 2020-21.
Notably, FA and the APL have managed to navigate the challenging waters surrounding the issue of transfer windows and formed an exciting agreement, which stands to benefit the Australian game.
For the first time, both leagues will break during the FIFA men’s and women’s international windows, despite a caveat in the agreement that appropriately cites the continuing concerns of COVID-19 and an always present need to be flexible and agile should the situation deem it necessary.
Johnson cited a continuation of much of the work he and his team had already done, labelling the new calendar as “the next phase in the evolution of the Australian football landscape towards more aligned football competitions and a more connected Australian football pyramid.”
Danny Townsend, managing director of APL, perhaps expressed the broad support for the new structure most emphatically in the statement he made to coincide with FA’s release of the calendar.
“The Domestic Match Calendar is the framework for the whole pyramid of football – this announcement is demonstrative of the determination of Football Australia, APL and all the other football stakeholders to achieve outcomes that serve the whole game.”
(Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)
Perhaps most compelling is the inclusion of a placeholder period of play, alluding specifically to a national second tier competition, beginning in late January and running into May.
There are limited details as to the exact shape and form of such a competition, yet for Australian football fans who have craved the installation of promotion and relegation and more severe consequences for the A-League cellar dwellers, it will be music to their ears.
In another reshaping of competitions, the 2022 FFA Cup will be finalised prior to the launch of the 2022-23 A-League season. That will provide Australian football’s most prized knockout competition with some much needed clear air and coincide nicely with the culmination of the NPL season.
In essence, the FFA Cup final becomes the final match of the season, before the A-League carnival begins all over again in late October.
Frankly, and in spite of the challenges in constructing such a visionary plan amid the existing health concerns on the east coast of Australia, FA has produced a document that outlines the most potentially connected football pyramid that Australia has ever seen.
No doubt, its imperfections will be pointed out in the days to follow. However, Johnson has clearly shown both an awareness of existing flaws and the need for change in the domestic game.
With future tinkering and adaptation, this initial step in the right direction could well become the blueprint for long-term success.
Grem
Roar Rookie
VACCINATE
Stevo
Roar Rookie
I’m hanging my hat on JJ being a quiet man of substance who gets the football landscape and how to navigate it. Our previous CEOs, O’Neill, Buckley and Gallop didn’t have a football background so were hamstrung from the beginning. Starting from behind the eight ball they would utter comments like “football is going to become the biggest game by [insert date]” which was plainly just putting the horse before the cart. Apart from skilful administrative and people skills, JJ needs time and patience. Something like that saying about the building of Rome. And the rest of us will have to play our part by getting behind the game across as many levels as we can.
Justin Mahon
Roar Rookie
I say, do bother, but only if it is the fist pahse of a transitionaty plan to shift over time to a model that achieves the objective you rightly identify - while doing so transperantly and by minimising the very real strategic risks of moving to the final model too quickly.
Justin Mahon
Roar Rookie
I am more optimistic than your, understandably skeptical self, but believe what you are seeing as an exciting but risky revolution in Queensland is exactly what we need and goes to Point 2 (of 3) that I outline above in my list of outstanding strategic reforms. Let's hope QLD ends up with a unitary model more akin to VIC and they don't blow the place up doing it. Even NSW, despite it's scale of participation needs to clean up it's football administration. It has a lot of players and revenue - but the sheer scale of the bureaucracy is mind boggling.
Justin Mahon
Roar Rookie
This modest milestone, the production of a PDF document, belays the fact it evidences by its very existence the unification of the professional, representative and amaeteur game in Australia for the first time in my 50 years. The irony is that this unification required as a pre-condition that the game be split up with the emergence of the APL entitiy (in a deal, the financial specifics of which suprised me and won me over from a position of extreme skepticism towards the professional clubs). I hope this milesone, the suprisingly decent broadcast rights deal and the emerging maturation of the womens game in commercial terms can create the bedrock for 5 years of strong game development and the strategic space to resolve the three biggest challenges remaining in the game, namely (1) reform of State federations within a unitary national football governance model (2) the subsiquent reform of player development pathways and (3) the biggest opportunity/risk of all – the devlopment, implimentation and ‘spin off’ of a NST that doesnt bankrupt the FA or lead to strategic capture by the various factions. Remember, the governance reforms of a few years ago has produced more ‘football polticians’ than we have ever had. This remains a concern to me. When you list the key, outstanding issues this way – the amount of reform ahead is HUGE, but I hope the release of the national football calender gives our massive and inneficient game the strategic space to start solving its real issues.
Winter A League is Awesome
Roar Rookie
We can wait 5 years, watch the crowds not go up in summer and than go to the next broadcaster who will go to winter. Unless DTAPL/Sydney FC/JJ still own the joint :silly: . Either way looking forward for the FFA Cup games.
Saffi
Roar Rookie
Brilliant, fantastic,excellent. The Australian football leagues have had 12 plus disconnected competitions going every year, since forever . Every state has looked after its own patch and national teams have been a non essential for many clubs, women’s comps have been an afterthought. The effort to get all these football streams to work in unison is such hard work. I can only congratulate Johnson and Townsend on their efforts.
Stuart Thomas
Expert
Sadly, I have no control over the images. If I did, I would have included more of the citizen sky blue considering I have tipped them for the last five years!
Stuart Thomas
Expert
Many cancellations in August and significant COVID issues in NSW make the Cup a very fluid event at this stage, could stretch towards Christmas!
Waz
Roar Rookie
My question would be “what is the purpose of the NSD?” My answer would be something along the lines of improving standards, closing the gap between NPL and AL, creating a second professional layer etc … None of the above can be achieved in a 4 month competition imo. So don’t bother.
Nick Symonds
Guest
BBC SPORT European Super League: Barcelona, Real Madrid and Juventus 'will continue with plans' https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/58032324 - BBC SPORT Dangers to English football 'very real', says chair of fan-led review into game The review was promised as part of the Conservatives' 2019 General Election manifesto and commissioned early after the foundation and swift collapse of the Super League in April. https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/57929695
AGO74
Guest
The biggest risk in all of this remains Covid. October 29 remains three months away and I cannot see any circumstance where any NSW based team will be allowed to enter another state. Still I think the move back to October-May league is best for the next few years at least to re-build the “brand”.
Micko
Roar Rookie
Why? You don't want an NSD because it's not long enough? Who's paying for this thing? You have to be realistic here!
Bendtner52
Roar Pro
Nice summary. Having the FFA cup final before the A-league season starts and after the NPL season finishes gives it much more prestige and focus as well as making it a cleaner format I found it very weird having it one month into the regular season.
Jordan Sports Fan
Roar Rookie
Good points Waz, I think something we can all agree on is that changes are needed even if they aren't optimised in the first instance. This is a great first step in theory, but it might then take 3-5 calendar years to iron out and improve it.
Jordan Sports Fan
Roar Rookie
Semi and final the two weekends prior to the AL season start most likely!
Waz
Roar Rookie
I’m not as excited by this as some seem to be, somaybe I’m missing something but it looks remarkably similar to what we’ve already got? A major challenge is not addressed here which is to increase the number of games we play at both professional and junior level. This “calendar” does nothing for that. And a NSD playing in February, March, April & concluding in May is just farcical. Don’t bother with it! Looking further afield though other changes are afoot and being driven by JJ. Football in Queensland is the crash-test-dummy for a streamlined Administration with FQ suddenly abolishing the biggest State Zone (Football Brisbane with over 30,000 registered players) causing major disruption and loss of season fixtures. Subsequently Football Gold Coast voted to abolish themselves (basically with the same gun to their head that shot FB) and presumably the remaining QLD zones will follow like lemmings. This is not to take sides in this particular spat especially as many - including myself - had been calling for streamlining for some time. But what is happening in Queensland is the future for all States good, bad or indifferent. The rate of change is accelerating - let’s hope they get most things right :thumbup:
Stevo
Roar Rookie
Wow, when I read the title of this article “FA’s 2021-22 calendar is the best thing Australian football has seen in decades” and saw the picture of Atkinson, Jamo & Co celebrating I thought you were going to describe a dates calendar with a picture of Melb City team moment for each month of the year. How disappointed was I ! :laughing:
Grem
Roar Rookie
James Johnson has certainly made a difference. He has been leading during an awful time for football - pandemic, falling ratings and spectators, sponsors leaving, our previous broadcaster treating us poorly and predictions of the death of our A and W Leagues. If this can be achieved during these times imagine what may happen when things are more positive. You never know Winter A League is awesome but your wish may be coming - be patient!
Micko
Roar Rookie
So when is the current FFA Cup scheduled to reach it's conclusion?