- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
Football Australia has formally committed to the introduction of a national second division with a planned start in March, 2024 and promotion and relegation to be considered once the league is established.
The decision has been heralded as a step forward by A-League fans who believe the game needs to move towards a promotion-relegation system as exists in most major football nations.
FA has invited clubs wanting to be involved in the yet to be named, National Second Tier, to provide an Expression of Interest.
“The EOI process will provide Football Australia with relevant information to assess the level of interest, and to refine the strategy, vision, competition format, operation, and administration of the National Second Tier,” the FA said in a statement.
“The process is designed for Australian football clubs with a deep connection and demonstrated history in Australian football to participate in a tier of football that is anticipated to comprise of an individual league in a ‘home and away’ structure with the proposed competition parameters as follows:
“A new national tier of football between the A-League Men competition and the National Premier Leagues, with the opportunity for promotion and relegation to be considered once mature.
“A home and away league structure with finals, comprised of between 10 and 16 teams and featuring between 24 to 36 games.”
Football Australia Chief Executive Officer James Johnson said many potential respondents had already expressed their interest through a consultation phase across Australia in 2022, and more could emerge during the process.
“Developing a national second tier competition is a key component of our 15-year vision for the game and our efforts to reconnect and realign Australian football competitions. Australian football has gone on a journey of transformation over the last two years and this is the latest example of us bringing our vision for the game to life,” Johnson said in a statement.
“In 2022, we did extensive financial and competition modelling followed by a series of consultations with clubs and other stakeholders across the game. We know from this process that there is a lot of interest in a national second tier so we expect that we will receive a strong number of responses in this first EOI phase.
“Some of these clubs have a rich history in Australian football and aspire to grow and compete at a national level. The national second tier will now provide a platform for these aspirational clubs and to be a part of a connected football pyramid in the long term.
“With football booming in Asia, our national teams competing strongly on the world stage and as the largest team participation base in Australian sport, this is the right time to create a national second tier.
“We look forward to the process we have now launched and working collaboratively with all stakeholders and interested parties in building a successful National Second Tier and kicking the league off as early as March 2024.”
The reaction was mostly positive from Australian football observers and fans.
Are you the ultimate team manager? Pick your own superstar team and go head to head with other football fans for glory and cash prizes on Draftstars. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.