It’s been a frustrating season for Perth Glory, forced to play a disproportionate number of matches all around Australia due to Western Australia’s draconian border laws.
With no sign of the lockout laws ending, the club confirmed on Monday morning it had agreed to a four-game deal to play in Launceston in late February.
The Tasmanian state government deserves a round of applause for once again being welcoming of a sport that has the potential to firmly establish itself in a state that has no real allegiance to a particular code.
While the AFL has long harboured claims to Tasmania, it has been reluctant for a team to enter its league. There are, however, professional cricket and basketball teams playing in each sport’s national competitions.
Tasmania, while not the biggest state, has been able to produce talented footballers over the years. Hobart-born Dominic Longo was one of the most underrated players of his generation and had a very successful career at NSL level, notably with Marconi.
Josh Hope, also from Hobart, was a gifted midfielder who became a target of internet trolling while at Melbourne Victory. He was subsequently lost to the sport, announcing his premature retirement due to mental health reasons.
Nathaniel Atkinson was born in Devonport and became a mainstay in Melbourne City’s all-conquering A-League side last season before completing a move to Europe in January.
Tasmania is still very underrated when it comes to footballing prospects. More A-League and European club scouts should be paying closer attention.
Before the pandemic really hit, Football Tasmania was very excited to be sending boys and girls squads to compete at the 2021 Football Australia National Youth Championships. Amazingly, 18 of the pupils selected came from the same school – Taroona High School, which is starting to be a breeding ground for talented footballers.
(Photo by Speed Media/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Football has the highest participation rate of any sport in the state for children aged five to 14 years and is well funded by the federal government.
Tasmania has long held aspirations of having a team represent the state in the A-League. Several years ago there was an ill-fated ‘Tasmania United’ bid, whose consortium had behind it one of the richest men in the world, Mohammed Hussein Ali Al-‘Amoudi.
Last year Football Tasmania president Bob Gordon was very confident a Tasmanian club would likely be entering the competition as soon as early as 2023 with the full backing of the government.
But the problem with Tasmania’s bids has always been to do with stadiums, more specifically its lack of rectangular stadiums. Bellerive Oval and Aurora Stadium are both well-known grounds, but they are also large oval stadiums better suited to Australian rules football and cricket.
Football Tasmania has found North Hobart Oval as a preferred option for many through its feasibility testing but, once again, this stadium is not rectangular.
Tasmanian NPL 2021 champions Glenorchy Knights play out of KGV Park, which is where all the major local football matches are played. It is a small stadium that holds close to 4000 people and would need a costly redevelopment to get it up to a required standard, which will require the removal of the artificial pitch.
Somerset FC, winners of the 2021 NPL Northern Championship Men, play at Somerset Recreation Ground, but it holds barely a few hundred people. Runners-up Devonport have the better stadium in northern Tasmania. Their Valley Road Ground can hold a few thousand spectators but, like KGV Park, would require an expensive redevelopment.
Western United played two matches in Tasmania last year for an average of 2865 spectators. The FA will be hoping for an improvement on these figures when Perth come to town.
Once again this will be an acid test for Tasmania’s football community. If these games achieve a good turnout, it might finally be time for football to take a bite out of the Apple Isle.
Adam
Roar Guru
Who knows!? Makes perfect sense to have incorporated a rectangular ground in that development, considering there was the room. Just a hodge podge up there
Kewell
Roar Rookie
Yes, Peter Gutwein has European parents and surely know how good this sport can be. He provided the funding for Kingston light wood park upgrade. So there’s always hope
Kewell
Roar Rookie
Football is even behind hockey when it comes to quality facilities. It’s a disgrace
Kewell
Roar Rookie
I think when it’s finished it could be these football stadium in the state. Not that that’s saying a great deal. Why the hell didn’t they incorporate a rectangular ground into the twin ovals development. I guess cricket and AFL didn’t want mix with football crowd.
M20
Guest
Bring in the Devonport Strikers. The Brissie Strikers will never be in the top division again but I can get behind another Strikers
M20
Guest
Would love to see a team from Tasmania as well as Canberra in the league
Adam
Roar Guru
Lightwood Park is such an elephant in the room. The main ground used there cost millions - as a baseball diamond
Adam
Roar Guru
KGV was terrible when I was a kid and it's only "improvement" since then is the change to an artificial pitch. Was done probably in part due to how degraded the pitch would get after a long, cold, wet winter in Tasmania. I certainly wouldn't want to attend there with more than a few hundred people
Kewell
Roar Rookie
A commitment written in blood, I don’t think so.
Kewell
Roar Rookie
KGV needs substantial upgrade. The money that football needs is being diverted for a new AFL stadium. And you wonder why football struggles, there it is writ large.
Kewell
Roar Rookie
Tasmania doesn’t have half descent rectangular ground. Any games played here of significance are played on oval AFL and Cricket grounds where the port cannot be appreciated at its best. AFL and Cricket have great stadiums, there talk of a Tasmanian AFL team and guess what the government is going to build a new stadium for them. Yes football does not even have one. Make no mistake football has many hurdles not only in Tassie but Australia wide, most down to insular attitudes an parochial media interests. Football people have to become more vocal write to all MP’s tell them what you think, no action ring them. I will say that we should underestimate the number of women now playing the game. In Tassie at Kingston the government has supplied funding for the revamp of the Kingborough Lions Football ground, this is due to the upcoming World Cup where the hope of getting a national team located here. So maybe the ladies will see some action at last. But the state must push for an A League quality stadium, otherwise forget it. Oh and by the way I live in Hobart.
Adam
Roar Guru
I'm not saying using North hobart oval is a good ideal :laughing: Just that KGV has all the same problems that I think haunt Bellerive Oval
Brainstrust
Roar Rookie
Nothing will be solved with an A2 league. Japan has 110 million in a small area, what puzzles me is how you think the countries are similiar. There is talent here its being ignored and left underdeveloped because NPL teams are no longer scouting talent. Japan put a lot of work into youth football and school programs. A2 teams will just lose as much money as the A-league teams, smaller salaries will be offset by smaller revenue. I think a second division will go broke within 2 years and any teams in it will then probably take a couple of years to recover back to top level of the NPL,
JAMES G HASLAM
Guest
While a thousand kids play soccer at the end of my street each Saturday morning in winter. very few make it up to Valley Road for the 16s and above. Many switch to AFL, which remains the sport of choice for Tasmanians, whether there is a team in the top league, or not. I see North Melbourne playing more games in Tassie (the AFLW team are already called Nth Melb Tasmania) replacing Hawthorn and becoming the the only team playing home games here. It will take a rich soccer person to bring and underwrite an A League team.
Football is Life
Roar Rookie
It takes all clubs time to build but you have to admit Coasyies are in a pretty good spot at the moment
Blood Dragon
Roar Rookie
North Hobart Oval is where the TFL Final is each year and has since been upgraded to host AFLW
Nick Symonds
Guest
"17 million to afl teams?" - No, that's $8.5 million to Hawthorn and Noth Melbourne combined, not each. The ammount has increased slightly since AFLW came in, but it's still about $1 milllion per match which is quite expensive for the privilege of hosting two FIFO teams. Not to mention money spent on upgrades to stadiums. Canberra has a similar deal worth $23 million over 10 years for 3 AFL matches a season and that's just to give them the opportunity to watch GWS. In both cases, it would be better for their respective governments to spend money on their own full time A-League teams.
Brainstrust
Roar Rookie
The Adelaide effect where the poorest and least populated states seem to be producing a lot of the talent, because in NSW you have a surplus of rich parents paying high rego fees seems to be applying to Tasmania as well. The only thing needed for an A-league team in Tasmania is government support they have been put in probably about 200m into the AFL and not even getting a team. Dont expect to get it though no state is more tightly controlled by AFL stooges than Tasmania. It would be better than QLD where the govt absolutely hates football and tries to bankrupt every A-league club there if they had a backer prepared to put in for one, but where would you find one.
TheSecretScout
Roar Guru
from the sounds of it, by the end of 2022 we will all know who gets into tasmania first.
At work
Roar Rookie
I'm no contractor but I imagine you'd spend the limited money available on redeveloping it. But just wonder how willing the Tassie govt would be to give a rectangle sport millions.. I just thought the one google review was hilarious though.