The APL and ViacomCBS have worked hard so far to help football in Australia.
Increased exposure through games and advertisements on free-to-air TV, and a larger and more impressive advertising campaign leading into the season had many fans excited to see what 2021-22 and the future held for the A-League Men competition.
Despite the increase in exposure that fans have been screaming for, however, it looks to have made little impact on dwindling crowds that seem to be shrinking week by week for the last few seasons. A lack of proper advertisement and exposure has always been touted as the biggest reason for this, with Fox Sports seemingly disregarding the A-League in their later years holding the rights.
But now with proper exposure and little to show for it, it may be time to think of other methods to get people through the turnstiles.
For perspective, after some decent crowds in the first round of the season, the only team in the competition that has managed to reach the 10,000 mark for their home games since has been Melbourne Victory. Averages from Round 2 until the most recent weekend of football have dropped from 6533 to 4830.
Issues outside of the APL’s control have hindered attendances, with the current Omicron outbreak leaving many fans hesitant about attending matches, as well as in isolation and unable to attend should they want to.
Not to mention Wellington relocating to Wollongong meaning no home support and uncertainty about fixtures being completed making fans hesitant about committing to away trips. Western United and Perth Glory are also not playing out of proper home grounds, while Adelaide United have part of their stadium sealed off for renovations.
(Photo by Mark Brake/Getty Images)
The constant postponement of games, however necessary, has been the biggest source of fan disengagement. With fans unsure of which fixtures are going ahead, which games are off and which matches have been created to ensure there is football being played, it’s not hard to imagine why this is occurring.
I know in my own personal life I have seen fellow football fans slowly become disengaged over the uncertainty of fixtures. This is the biggest issue the APL must address, where rescheduled games and games played through the heaviest period of postponement had little attention brought to them.
Although fans have been quick to point out the issue of crowd numbers in the league, this has been an issue with a number of other codes currently running also. As the issue of COVID doesn’t seem to be going away any time soon, it may be up to the league to ride this current wave out as best as possible, but for the future of the competition, they could plant the seeds for stronger attendance numbers post-pandemic.
Social media engagement
Both the APL and ViacomCBS see the 12-17 age group as the biggest targets for engagement with the A-League. There has already been a revamp of the league’s social media presence, however, there could be more done to ensure even casual fans who may not be followers of the league’s social media are still aware of what’s on.
Investing in sponsored posts on Facebook and Instagram is one way of doing this. Putting fixture details on the league’s TikTok is another example, as this is a platform allows users to come across videos solely based on what they already engage with, without the need to follow the account making said videos.
The primary users of the app are in that 12-17 age group, thus making this a useful opportunity in the current climate.
Kids deals
It’s typically is up to the clubs to create discounts and promotions for kids to get discounted or free entry to matches, however, the APL could incentivise this for clubs to make this an appealing option. Clubs may be hesitant at this present moment due to match day revenue already lost to the pandemic, but if the APL were to offer subsidies to clubs to help get more young people to games, the effects of this could be longstanding.
Getting young people to matches is the first half of the issue, but getting them to stay is going to be the key going forward.
Revamping/rejuvenating active support
The biggest downfall of the previous people in charge of the league was a failure to defend the fans when they needed it most.
(Photo by Speed Media/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
The flow-on effect has been devastating for active support across the country and thus the league lost the biggest drawcard for fans. A bright and enthusiastic atmosphere was what separated our code from the rest and despite comments from the media saying it created an “unsafe” environment, it was what young people went to matches to see.
The APL’s plan moving forward from this pandemic should touch on how to rejuvenate this part of the game to give the league their edge back over other codes.
Outside factors have clearly had their influence over people ability and willingness to go to football matches this season, so the numbers we see may not be all doom and gloom.
However, action does need to be taken now to ensure that once the fear of the pandemic passes, fans are not permanently turned off getting to games.
The APL and ViacomCBS have shown good signs so far in their mission to do this so far, and this certainly isn’t a criticism of their efforts, but hopefully, a little more can go a long way.
Foot and Ball
Roar Rookie
Don't care if you have to get 14 players in, for any given A League team experiencing covid 22, from various pub teams. Do Not Postpone Matches. WIth active support its great for atmosphere no doubt, although, those flares will be hard to get used to once its back again. Build back better?
Football is Life
Roar Rookie
Concur, the instant flashback i get is one Rebecca Wilson and Alan Jones taking great delight at putting the boot into football and describing active supporters as "terrorists". It annoys me that the previous administration did not have the intestinal fortitude to defend the game, but you have to remember that until such time as the generational transition takes greater effect and the Baby Boomers and to a degree Gen-X start to transition out of managerial roles old attitudes will prevail. We are fortunate that we have genuine football people at the top in JJ and DT. An indication of the old school previous adminstration was clear for all to see when Craig Foster was marginalisted if not completely locked out when running for a spot in FA. Not all would agree he was the best man for the job but he was a football man, he was in possesion of a progressive and constructive mindset and most importantly, he didnt have an mindset that was more at home in the 80's and 90's
Midfielder
Roar Guru
APL and CBS have a lot to do.... but there scope for improvement and lets hope they have the expertise along with the PE group who are said to have experience in sports growth... Its like the wheel barrow boy down at the docks ... the job is in front of them.... hopefully they can get it together....
TheCommonFootballFan
Roar Rookie
That was the thought process behind the article I guess. As much as nothing can turn things around in a COVID climate we should use this as an opportunity to draw up something that 1. Keeps the league surviving in the climate and 2. Puts us in a good position post pandemic. As long as that plans in place the league will be in a good position hopefully.
Mark
Guest
Yep. There have been enough derbies now that you can’t sell them as an event with some novelty. Who is currently playing for WSW or Sydney that would get casual observers to pay the price of entry?
Mark
Guest
The virus is no doubt really hurting the league but the problems run deeper. For me, two of the biggest challenges for the A-League are: 1. We are saddled with two expansion clubs that add no value to the league. Expansion has also meant there are more games against opponents with no broad appeal for fans. The current FA seem all in on further expansion, which will make this issue worse. 2. The quality of the player pool is weakening, or at best stagnant, and expansion has stretched it too thin. We all know the issues with youth development. There are no great young talents coming through, and the lack of local talent is not being topped up by quality imports There are also few, if any, players in the league today who you could say are a big draw for fans. These are very similar to problems in Super Rugby and the Big Bash. Super Rugby is a great cautionary tale for the A-League that bigger is not always better. Careless expansion created more low appeal games and stretched a weakening player base too thin. Rugby Union in Australia also has no broadly marketable players. I dare say most people could not name a single Wallaby. For the Big Bash, expansion of the season again created more low appeal games and, in addition to COVID, reduced the ability of our test players and imports to participate, weakening the player pool.
Buddy
Roar Rookie
Yes, scheduling is just awful - how to plan around shift work and the like takes some real doing. My observations on crowds were just that. It just seemed that the main stand and the left hand end from cameras are not as busy these days…no blame or reading anything into it, just that JB quoted figures saying numbers are holding up so far- it doesn’t feel that way. Even the Sydney derby early as it was was difficult to fill the stadium - people lose interest when you keep serving up the same thing especially here in Sydney - it is no longer “an event” so far less casual observers. I can’t see them ever reaching they 50-60k mark again unless at some point both teams are playing good football and are fighting out top spot - and that isn’t going to happen anytime soon. 23k might be good on a certain level but that tells me there are thousands missing!
Waz
Roar Rookie
Well intended article but without the ability to solve COVID there’s no point. The BBL is getting crushed by low crowds too - it’s not the product, or the timing, it’s the virus! Hopefully there is a plan for next season.
Waz
Roar Rookie
“ Brisbane home games tell a similar story. Looking at the main grandstand there are swathes of empty seats that were occupied for games last season” Roar crowds are about the same as last season when due to COVID chaos they ended up playing multiple home games in midweek, and were pretty unlucky with rain. So a comparison on last vs this season is still a bit speculative but problems remain - 1 home game in 2 months then 3 in 10 days …. it’s just the way it is now.
Pro Rel NSD
Guest
Its been like that for at least 6 or 7 years. Even the A League finals have no advertising
Saffi
Roar Rookie
Well, many supporters do not know when and IF the games are played. That’s just bad luck due to Covid. I went to the Victory v Sydney game and it was fantastic but NOBODY outside the tifosi knew it was on. It’s was mentioned nowhere except occasionally on channel 10. Check the Age and Guardian report on the game…..Nothing! Have a look at the amount of general advertising showing A League fixtures…….Nothing. So, seriously, how can you get Any enthusiasm and support from the general public for the League given the above.
Stuart McCarron
Guest
The lack of commitment from the current media partner and standard of broadcasting does nothing to promote the game.
Roberto Bettega
Roar Rookie
No turnaround is imminent. The spread of the omicron variant has made people extra cautious, and that's before we even consider the impact of the Nix being away from home for a second season, or the ongoing lock out of WA. More people are home, and yet TV ratings have hit rock bottom. With ongoing fixturing problems, zero media coverage, an incapacity for even Keep Up to keep football fans informed about what's going on, and the start up of the other football codes only 4 or 5 weeks away...no turnaroiund is imminent.
Buddy
Roar Rookie
JB - it isn’t possible to provide a logical argument relating to crowds when presented with solid statistics. However, with the exception of MV, clubs do not appear to be drawing people through the turnstiles. Turning on the SFC vs Perth game, the crowd was scattered and sparse and even the cove appeared to consist of no more than 30-40 supporters. Brisbane home games tell a similar story. Looking at the main grandstand there are swathes of empty seats that were occupied for games last season. WSW haven’t played for a while but numbers were thin and the two newest clubs don’t really rate a mention for the most part. Adelaide may be ok. Looking at the games it is more difficult to gauge with the renovations taking place. That leaves me wondering how accurate the reported numbers are. For example, if my family has three season tickets but don’t turn up, where do we get counted? After all we have paid for the seats and the club has the money in the bank but there are three empty seats in the stadium. In a sense, the important figure is the number of seats sold for the game as the club has the money irrespective of whether people turn up. In essence, what you are telling me is that my eyes are deceiving me I suppose?
Buddy
Roar Rookie
LH - I’m not sure that allowing it to proceed in the way it has is in anybody’s best interests. It just appears to be chaotic and out of control and leads to so many complaints and accusations from all and sundry. I can’t claim to have any good solution but I would have suspended the competition by now. Whatever the final outcome, collectively we will call it a crock of S%$#e irrespective of who you support or where you live. There have been numerous postponements in europe but they do appear to be able to play more games and with fans in attendance without the concerns we have here.
Grem
Roar Rookie
Thanks JB - and these improvements without a season's list of fixtures. Hopefully next year - with Wellington at home, Sydney back in their spiritual home, Brisbane settled in to their new home and a fixture list for the season we'll see us moving towards the 10000 figure.
Grem
Roar Rookie
So McDonald's must be a high quality restaurant. Married At First Sight is also great television. Quality of product and audience/ clients/ spectators doesn't always equate!
Kalle
Guest
The product is the problem..! If a restaurant offers average food, people don’t turn up.!
Kalle
Guest
It’s the product, that’s the problem..!
jbinnie
Guest
CFF - fIrst of all let me correct one thing, crowds for 2021/22 are not trending down in fact after 42 matches played they have attracted 281,756 through the turnstiles compared with 242,294 last season. The average attendance is standing at 6.708 compared with last seasons 5769. When one adds the effect Wellington are having on those figures it could be argued that the actual increase could be more if they were still playing in front of "home" teams. Just a point for your consideration. cheers jb.