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I was one of those who posted negative comments about the APL’s decision to enter into an agreement with Destination NSW for the A-Leagues Grand Finals to be located in Sydney for the next three years.
Having considered the matter further, and with information slowly leaking out with respect to the parlous financial situation of the A-Leagues, then I have to say that as much as the decision for the Grand Finals to be played in Sydney for three years is not my preferred option, I am happy to support it if it contributes to the continued survival of the A-Leagues.
I think there needs to be careful consideration of any fan action or walkouts this weekend as they will hurt further the financial position of the clubs and the leagues, and cause further reputation damage too. Such action, although well-meaning, may in fact cause existential damage from which there may be no coming back.
So, here is the fundamental, underlying question: do we want a national football league or not?
We can quibble about whether or not our A-League meets all of our want and desires, but like everything in life, it needs to meet our budget. Life is full of compromises and sometimes we have to say that we can live with those compromises if it means we have the majority of what we want.
(Photo by Graham Denholm/Getty Images)
Certainly, we have the majority of what we want in the case of a national league, since it exits and is, so far, surviving. And we have a finals series that works, even if the Grand Final might not be played where we want it. The leagues are still relatively young, and given the state of the finances, perhaps we have to smile and say at least we have a league and hopefully it will continue to improve as it matures.
To take action against what we have now will only damage the A-Leagues, perhaps mortally. It will certainly put a smile on the faces of other codes and our detractors. It certainly won’t help to grow football in Australia, and it certainly won’t help your club.
We need to reconcile with the fact that the APL has a board and its job is to ensure the financial sustainability of the organisation. We don’t have all of the information that the board has, which should of course be confidential given the commercial sensitivity. They take action and make decisions based on the financial needs of the organisation first, because if they don’t get that right, there is no organisation and therefore no A-League.
So, I say, let’s suck it up. It’s not what we want, but it may be what the league needs to do right now if it is to survive the current times. The board is responsible for making these decisions based on the information it has, and they are required, by law, to act in the best interest of the organisation.
By now, the clubs and the APL are well aware of how fans feel about the Grand Final decision, but let’s not throw the baby out with the bathwater.
If we do, we may end up with no national league and football will always remain a unrealised opportunity that passed us by because we lost what we had through a tantrum over something that was not perfect but which we could have lived with if it was the difference between survival or not.
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