Nearly 12 months later, it’s unlikely that Australian football fans would have predicted the A-League’s reversal of the despised Grand Final plan.
As The Guardian reported in mid-December of last year, Australia Professional Leagues and Destination NSW made a deal, with Sydney to host the men’s and women’s showpiece events for the next three years in a reported eight-figure deal.
This previous agreement has been cancelled, much to the satisfaction of fans, myself included.
I was astounded to learn that the widely disliked verdict had been reversed.
We all expected it to run for three years and remain unchanged.
In its place, there will be a Unite Round, similar to the NRL’s Magic Round and AFL’s Gather Round. The team with the best results in both A-League Men and A-League Women will host the Grand Finals.
As reported by AAP, each team in the A-League Men and A-League Women will play across three venues – CommBank Stadium in Parramatta, Moore Park’s Allianz Stadium and Leichhardt Oval – between Friday 12 January and Sunday 14 January 2024.
It’s ironic that the NSW government and APL gave in to the demands of football fans, don’t you think?
Football fans contribute in various ways, from attending matches to creating content on social media. All of these efforts help keep the sport relevant to casual fans.
Sticking with the deal would have been a business disaster, and the evidence supports this.
For starters, the official crowd figure was 26,523 for the Grand Final with Melbourne City’s active supporter base boycotting the event.
It was played at CommBank Stadium in Parramatta, which was not convenient for fans. Perhaps a closer venue could have been chosen.
The hospitality industry in Sydney needed a boost after COVID-19, and an event with a Wembley-like feel could have provided just that.
However, the idea was developed without consulting the fans, which was detrimental to its success.
It would have been beneficial to involve the fans from the start and incorporate their input into the event’s business model.
The only positive note from this dreadful decision was the revival of the Central Coast Mariners to the top of Australian Football.
(Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)
It seems that the APL administrators made their decision in mid-December in an invisible room, and it still seems that way now.
With the CEO of the APL, Danny Townsend nowhere to be seen from Wednesday’s press conference, instead, it was up to new A-Leagues Independent Chairman Stephen Conroy to attend the press conference with New South Wales Premier, Chris Minns.
It seems as though Townsend wants to control his image and how he is perceived. We saw evidence of this when he was interviewed by reporter James Dodd on KeepUp shortly after the disastrous decision was made.
He responded to the difficult questions like any experienced CEO or powerbroker, adding his own perspective to each answer. This approach left fans feeling frustrated and perplexed.
Sporting administrators should be held accountable, just like politicians, when their decisions upset fans.
We should cherish Wednesday’s decision and enjoy Round 1 of A-League Men and Round 2 of A-League Women.
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