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Opinion
Many Australian football fans would have woken up on Monday morning in complete shock to the unexpected news that Sydney will be hosting the next three A-League Grand Finals, starting this season.
How many times has football constantly taken forward and backward steps throughout our history?
The recent success of the Socceroos at the World Cup presented a golden opportunity to spearhead the game forward and build on the momentum and positive media attention.
How many articles were written in the past week about capitalising on the growth and interest of the game? How many former players stressed the importance of making sure that no more hiccups can afford to take place? Countless articles and countless people.
Yet, the most important person who needed to understand this was APL CEO Danny Townsend along with the APL board. Unfortunately, they have failed to read the room and put the game’s interests first ahead of the dollar signs.
Money is obviously at the focal point of this decision being made, with the New South Wales government submitting a successful eight-figure bid for the hosting rights of the showcase event in Australian domestic football.
(Photo by Vince Caligiuri/Getty Images)
What people like Townsend don’t recognise is that this code is not big enough in Australia to make controversial decisions such as this to push supporters away from the game.
The passion and interest are nowhere that of Europe and South America where football is a religion regardless, let alone Australia’s constant battle to fight off other major codes and gain some respectable spotlight.
We need to be doing our utmost best to attract as many fans as possible to love and appreciate the sport, not do the opposite and disperse everyone from following the A-League.
The decision itself doesn’t make any sense whatsoever.
AFL is different. The Grand Final is hosted in Melbourne every year based on tradition. The sport is so big in Australia that the MCG can still reach full capacity even if two interstate teams were playing.
NRL is the same. As much as it is a tradition for the Grand Final to be hosted in Sydney, the code is mainly Sydney-dominated anyway and it will attract massive crowds regardless.
However, the A-League cannot compare. Although the crowd numbers have slightly improved, there is no chance that a Grand Final will sell out and attract the necessary interest required if two interstate clubs were to reach the final. Football just isn’t on the same level compared to the AFL and NRL.
What is the actual point of handing the rights over to Sydney and how does it benefit the game?
AAMI Park hosted arguably the best A-League Grand Final in terms of atmosphere back in 2015 where Melbourne Victory took on Sydney in front of a sell-out of 30,000, providing an incredible experience.
Three years ago it was Perth who staged the biggest-ever attendance for an A-league Grand Final, reaching an impressive 56,371 at the newly built Optus Stadium.
It proves that other cities are more than capable of putting on a great spectacle to positively advertise the league.
The fact that Adelaide United and Socceroo star Craig Goodwin had to release his own statement confirming that he was against the idea of Sydney hosting the Grand Final after he was part of a promotional video having his words cut into it unknowingly from a separate interview was the lowest act possible by the APL and FA board. It proves that they expected negative reviews.
At a time when travel costs and cost of living are so high, it is quite frankly disgusting that all other cities around the country have been shafted and left with no choice but to pay thousands just to watch their team play in Sydney.
NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet despises Melbourne and is jealous of their sporting dominance.
Where exactly was he for Australia’s first three World Cup games when Federation Square took the country by storm? What a coincidence that he all of a sudden opened up public live events in Sydney to try and replicate that atmosphere.
(Photo by Shaun Botterill – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
Whenever the moment arises, Perrottet will pounce every time to get one up on Victoria. He couldn’t care less about the state of the game and its future here in Australia which is the sad part.
What is also frustrating for supporters outside of Sydney is that it presents an advantage for clubs like Sydney FC and Western Sydney Wanderers if they do so happen to progress to the Grand Final.
Home ground advantage means everything, especially in football where the crowd gives clubs such a massive edge. Just like that, they will be handed an advantage that they would not have worked for. Hosting is a privilege, not a right.
What is the incentive for finishing first at the end of the regular season? The competition has been compromised to accommodate Sydney which works out to be the complete opposite of fairness.
This is no surprise, though. Football has been Sydney-centric since the A-League’s inception with head offices and people running the game based in NSW.
It has come to a point where people are sick and tired of the obvious Sydney favouritism and it has been well demonstrated in the backlash that it has received in the past 24 hours.
The one shining light that has come out of this shameful decision is the incredible unity shown across all platforms of social media to voice their anger and disapproval.
You know the verdict is ludicrous when Sydney FC’s own supporter group, The Cove, release a statement expressing their disapproval of the move.
Sydney FC fans at the SCG (Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)
“We are making it clear now that we do not agree with this decision, despite the advantage it gives us. Fans are at the heart of football. You remove the heart, you kill the game,” part of the statement read.
Meanwhile Melbourne Victory’s active support group, The North Terrace, released a statement of their own confirming that they will be boycotting the Melbourne derby this Saturday.
“We will be walking out at the 20th minute and not returning. City Terrace will follow. It’s the duty of anyone inside the stadium who cares about the integrity of the game in Australia to support this action,” part of the Facebook post read.
Both statements put out were brilliantly said and portrayed what a lot of football fans around the country are feeling right now.
The old cliche rings true that football is nothing without fans.
It is so important that all supporters come together to protest and vent their anger at what has just transpired.
Actions speak louder than words. Walking out of matches or not buying a ticket at all will really hit home for the APL.
This is our chance as a proud football community to stand our ground and make a statement, just as Europe did earlier this year in protest of the proposal of a Super League which was instantly shut down thanks to the help of strong objections.
Football power belongs to the people. Football belongs to the whole of Australia, not just Sydney.
The movement needs to continue and not just last until this weekend to then completely forget about it and brush it under the carpet and pretend as though nothing major has occurred.
Enough is enough now.
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