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Opinion
Last night it was revealed that Football Australia is in talks with the AFC and interested parties about a Super League concept.
These talks included representation from Japan, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE and Uzbekistan with a task force being established which was attended two weeks ago by FA Chairman, Chris Nikou.
Football Australia Chief Executive, James Johnson, tried to put the emergency brake on the tension created by this announcement highlighting that Australia needs to be “driving these conversations” and “represented” as we could “fall behind”.
This shocking news could be quite damaging to the continuation, expansion and promotion of the APL’s A-league. As a rather disappointing season (in terms of fan representation and the teething problems of Keep Up and Paramount Plus) comes to a close, this is not what the A-leagues and Australian Football needed.
The game in Australia has become more inaccessible due to consistently high ticket prices, a streaming service that’s buggy and lacks features, and a severe lack of promotion.
Whilst the APL has control of the A-leagues after the ‘unbundling’ of Australian Football recently, Football Australia still has control over transfer systems and domestic scheduling. If Football Australia wanted to put up a side into this new league (if it comes to fruition) they can, and cause scheduling chaos for A-league clubs whilst poaching players from teams without any regulation in place, due to a lack of a domestic transfer system.
Ultimately, this project could damage football’s accessibility domestically in all levels from grassroots to the professional game. Whilst the A-league isn’t ‘prestigious’, it certainly can’t afford to lose some of the glamour it’s managed to build since 2004.
Furthermore, with teams playing in Asia more often than the current AFC Champions League format demands, many fans may turn away from the game, something that Football can afford in this country.
Of course, this league could be quite lucrative.
However, the current structure of Football in Australia doesn’t guarantee that the new influx of funds associated with this league (especially if it mirrors its European counterpart) will trickle down to the game at home. An Australian team competing in what could be the most competitive league in Asia would be more disconnected from fans and the Australian footballing community than current A-league sides already are.
Money is a contributing factor to Australia’s footballing stagnation, however this is not a viable solution to kick-start the football economy.
Building football communities back home, lowering ticket prices and lowering registration fees whilst continuing the unbundling of the complex association system here in Oz should be Football Australia’s priority and not the allure of foreign fortune’s and glamourous ties. Development is much more important here than making a quick buck.
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