Now that the ink is drying on a $140-million equity deal for the A-Leagues with American private equity firm Silver Lake, focus has turned on how to spend the money.
The A-Leagues (governed by the APL) will only get $134 million, with FA set to receive a $6 million (five per cent) share as part of the negotiated independence deal brokered last year.
The APL will target marquee players, a stronger digital strategy, community programs and youth football as part of their investment program.
Expansion is also considered another blue chip investment. The APL have already committed to growing the A-League Women’s competition with Western United and Central Coast coming in for 2022-23, following Wellington Phoenix’s admission this season.
Macarthur FC have also indicated they will have a women’s team by 2023-24. This will take the A-League Women’s competition to 13 teams, and for the first time, there may be more women’s teams than mens.
However, there is likely to be expansion on the men’s front too, and some interesting alternatives have been thrown up.
A Canberra team is a no-brainer and is likely to be the next cab off the rank. However, beyond a team in the nation’s capital, there is some serious thought to going beyond Australia to expand our premier competition.
Perth Glory owner Tony Sage has made it no secret of his desire to move into Asia. He has privately indicated Singapore and Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) as immediate opportunities for expansion.
Teams in Asia raise the potential for a bigger TV rights deal considering the population on that continent, however, whether clubs there would really whet the appetite of Australian fans is hard to say.
There are also calls for another New Zealand team based in Auckland to rival the Wellington Phoenix. The Auckland Football Kingz and New Zealand Knights were once part of the NSL and A-League. However, both teams folded and there has been no presence in Auckland for the A-League since 2007.
With New Zealand now likely to feature in every World Cup once it expands to 48 teams in 2026, there will be significantly more money available to New Zealand football. This could mean more investment into any new club in New Zealand.
Do we need another team in NZ? (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)
Auckland City are a powerhouse in the existing New Zealand Football Championship. Since being formed in 2004, they have won eight New Zealand Championships and nine Oceania Football Confederation titles. They have appeared at the FIFA Club World Cup nine times, coming third in 2014 in Morocco.
Staying in Australia, a second Brisbane team is now a red hot chance of coming in, especially with the Redcliffe Dolphins now becoming an NRL expansion club and the Olympics coming to Brisbane in 2032.
While rugby league is a rival code, with co-operation, there is no reason why a new A-League club can’t base themselves in Redcliffe permanently. The Brisbane Roar are there now, albeit temporarily.
The Dolphins’ have 11-hectares which sits on the Redcliffe peninsula jutting into Moreton Bay, and are about 50 minutes north of Brisbane.
The Dolphins have a 11,500 capacity Stadium which the Roar currently use. A second Brisbane team would likely shift the Roar back down south, creating a genuine geographical divide and rivalry.
(Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
Another option is a team based in Ipswich, a region seeking funding for a 20,500 capacity stadium which is tied to the 2032 Brisbane Olympic Games infrastructure project.
The potential stadium was dealt a huge blow last year when the Brisbane Jets missed out to the Dolphins on joining the NRL, however, a national sports team in the booming western corridor growth area has potential. The Jets still have hope of coming into the NRL going forward.
The Ipswich CBD is receiving a $150 million facelift, which on top of $5 billion worth of transport and service infrastructure upgrades for the Brisbane western corridor region, means any new A-League club will be part of a thriving landscape.
Other options are a second team in Perth and a new club in Hobart, while Townsville and Gold Coast are also considered as potential spots for the A-Leagues to revisit.
There are rumours two NPL clubs in Perth are joining forces to put a bid in for a new Perth based A-League club. The Glory have indicated in the past they are ok with a rival, something that may breathe life into West Australian football.
Queensland NPL clubs Gold Coast United and Gold Coast Knights have apparently had discussions proposing a joint bid going forward for a new A-League licence.
The Wollongong Wolves have made noises about joining the A-Leagues but have kept their cards relatively close to their chest. The Wolves are perhaps not ready to join the A-League with corporate support hard to come by, and dramas with local governing body Football South Coast likely to make it challenging for a bid in the region to have trust among the football community.
Many feel a National Second Division (NSD) is a better option ahead of A-League expansion, however this is the domain of the FA, and not the APL. There is of course a link, with any future promotion and relegation requiring FA and the APL to work hand-in-hand.
A report commissioned by the Australian Association of Football Clubs (AAFC) last year estimated the cost for a club to compete in a second tier competition would be $2.5 million per annum. This figure is considered unrealistic, with the PFA (players union) believing it would cost closer to $5.4 million, in a ‘White Paper’ released in June 2019.
A number of potential NSD clubs have indicated the PFA figure is unattainable. With the NSD now proposed to start next year, surprisingly a number of potential clubs claim to still be in the dark as to how a second tier will look and the cost of being involved.
This is staggering considering the proposed competition was pencilled in last July for January to May this year, but there has been no word from the AAFC other than contending a ‘final report’ will be sent to FA later this month.
Having a $140 million to play with is a lot of money, but expansion surely is the best bet.
Vincenzo Hot Dog
Roar Rookie
Women is a different story and ideally Aleague Women should be full year professional like the men. We never aligned with AFC previously, while it would be ideal to align with AFC we must play when it is most suitable here which is a calendar year from jan/feb - oct/nov. If we change to align with AFC, then we should look at bringing NPL and below into line as well. We cant have our game playing in different times depending on what division you are in. Your point about grassroots players following NRL/AFL over Aleague isnt backed up by any stats but im sure there are some that are like this, in any case we should be confident to convert them to Aleague fans and this is key to gain traction in the market. We must be bold and make strong moves.
Blood Dragon
Roar Rookie
India has had football for decades NZ has Pro/Rel in Rugby and Football
Blood Dragon
Roar Rookie
With AFC moving its clubs competitions to a split year format aligning the A-League with the NPL not going to happen not to mention in the A-League Women a lot of players play A-League in Summer and NPL in Winter Most Grassroots Players follow NRL or AFL there not Intrested in the A-League Tarnit Stadium is years away and Casey Stadium is just a feasibility study at this stage
Vincenzo Hot Dog
Roar Rookie
we need all our competitions aligned at all levels. Participation shows the potential of our sport. It shows if our grassroots can compete with NRL and AFL playing in the same season then why cant the professional level? Footballs strategy should be converting the grassroots fans to professional level supporters and not as much the NRL/AFL fans. Also your Aleague teams game will most weeks not clash with your AFL/NRL. The Melbourne situation will improve with Western moving out and City hopefully to Casey soon, we can work around this. None of our football clubs ground share with another football club except the Melbourne market where progress to rectify this is slowly being made.
Blood Dragon
Roar Rookie
30 Games Plus Finals is Great through I would push for an expanded Finals Series Personally don't see room for 18 teams ATM hell even going to 16 is going to require a 2nd NZ Team FA and APL are going to choose aligning with AFC Competitions over State Leagues, A-League is likely to remain a closed shop for the foreseeable future anyway, NSD if it actually happens is more likely to line up with State Competitions then the A-League Participation Means Nothing, my friends follow the A-League in Summer and NRL in Winter if there forced to choose between the two there going to choose NRL most people will choose NRL (NSW, QLD, ACT), AFL (Rest of Australia) or Super Rugby (New Zealand) over the A-League Melbourne for Example has 5 different Teams over 3 Different Sports Playing in the Same Stadium if the A-League moves to Winter how are you going to do the Scheduling for AAMI Park?
Vincenzo Hot Dog
Roar Rookie
Sorry just saw this now. 30 is good but not per global best practice where we should aim for more, at present ignoring $$ our season should be 33 games. 18 teams gives 34 games plus finals which is better than 30 plus finals for a 16 team comp. Competition alignment per the domestic match calendar is an FA task and with their share in the greater good of the game need to encourage the Aleagues to move to a full year comp i.e jan/feb o oct/nov min 9.5/10 months min 36+ games. We have taken on these other 3 codes in all our other levels of the game and our participation numbers are greater. Why are we scared? There is competition in summer months too from Aus open, F1, BBL,NBL, AFLW, I think we should focus on ourselves and play in the most suitable conditions to ensure our game is at its maximum. Alignment is crucial. Stadium deals can be sorted out this is not a reason to not go for it. The ACL change was very recent
Janakan Seemampillai
Roar Guru
I think it’s worth revisiting Nth QLD
Dan Gregory
Roar Rookie
Townsville is still an option. Averaged 6k in the first season (higher than 3 current teams in that season), which is higher than this season's average across the competition. COVID barely affected NQ (no lockdowns etc.), which would probably have that 6k figure improve. The problem was the use of the "Fury". Fury had nothing to do with Townsville, and something like North Queensland Spirit would work much better.
chris
Guest
And which countries are they? The USA doesn't have pro/rel in any sport. India? The game has literally just started there over the past few years. NZ? Again no pro/rel in any sport. Canada? No pro/rel in any sport.
chris
Guest
Correct Foot and Ball. I've heard JJ saying that a license does NOT provide immunity from relegation. FIFA has the final say on that.
Roberto Bettega
Roar Rookie
I'm not sure I understood what you're trying to say in the 2nd part. The public statements I"ve seen and heard of Johnson are usually along the lines of: I'd love to see it introduced one day. Never does anyone authority say: yes, we're working towards it, we've established a task force to implement it, all the clubs are on board, and we're working towards having it implemented by 2048 (for example).
Blood Dragon
Roar Rookie
No it isnt most countries that don't have Football as there number 1 sport usually don't have pro/rel from there top flight they might have it in there lower divisions but not to/from there top flight I love Pro/Rel but its far more likely to be a club killer like it was in Liga MX when they had then unite Football people in Australia, the reason Football people don't watch the A-League isnt because there is no pro/rel its because the quality is poor in comparison to the Premier League and there is just no way Australia will ever be able to bridge that gap
At work
Roar Rookie
Disagree, it’s a natural progression for professional football in this country. Might be 10-15yrs off, but the only way to get all football people on board in Aus is to make it happen (eventually).
Blood Dragon
Roar Rookie
Pro/Rel from the A-League is unlikely at best
Blood Dragon
Roar Rookie
The Hill you mean one of 3 Hills, the Ground currently is 1 small grandstand with the Rest of the Ground being hills that's fine for the odd game but for a full time tenant that's just not acceptable but the upgrades will solve that problem anyway its just a matter of when said problem is solved https://www.austadiums.com/stadiums/sunshine-coast-stadium Beewah is a part of the Nambour Line and said line is Single Track from Beerburrum plus the line in addition to having a Suburban service also runs long distance passenger Services and freight simply put there isnt enough capacity on the line as it is now and needs to be dual track before a line to Maroochydore can go ahead Dolphins Intend to Play 1 Maybe 2 Games there a Season which is what already happens in the NRL anyway and As I Said for the odd game its fine but not for a Fulltime Tennant until the upgrades happen Depends on Criteria for NSD I suppose but I would expect NSD to be Staked with NPL Clubs from Sydney and Melbourne
Jordan Sports Fan
Roar Rookie
Why do I need to look up pictures I was there a couple of months ago for an NRL game? I sat on the hill with numerous others. Theres a few reports CAMCOS is back on the agenda due to Olympics, time will tell. What does Nambour have to do with it this is a rail that starts at Beerwah and runs to M’dore. Why would football need to limit themselves to a grandstand, what is wrong with the hill? If Sunshine Coast Stadium is good enough for NRL finals matches and regular regular season matches, it is good enough for the A-League, plain and simple. Wikipedia lists the capacity as 12,000 which is about 4k-6k more than would be required for A-L matches. Dolphins have said they intend to play games there each season. If it is good enough for Dolphins, it is good enough for any would be A-League team. Will be interesting to see if SC is featured in the initial set of 2nd div teams.
At work
Roar Rookie
As much as I think an Auckland team would be good (ie Auckland City), I wonder how this is going to work in future with the pro/rel with the N2D
Blood Dragon
Roar Rookie
Sunny Coast Stadium is currently 1 Tiny Stand that at best can hold 1000 People and hills that's it go look up current pictures of the ground CAMCOS was proposed in 2009 and it cant go ahead without upgrades to the Nambour line due to capacity issues with Said Line Roar isn't moving anytime soon so not an issue
Foot and Ball
Roar Rookie
James Johnson on various podcasts in the past had clarified clearly that pro/rel can be introduced and that clubs are Not locked in till 2034, whereby they cannot be excluded into a lower league.
Foot and Ball
Roar Rookie
Wrong! Sutherland and StGeorge areas could well have a team with two major Stadiums to choose from or share, Kogarah Stadium and Shark Park. Sydney fc are moving back to Sydney City soon when their new Stadium is up and running next season. The appetites have been wet now in Southern Sydney for their own team.