Case for Gold Coast United's A-League inclusion
As the current season is drawing to a close with the final series still to play and lots of excitement to come in April,…
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Joined March 2012
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Freelance writer and commentator.Football is my passion. Used to be involved in club administration in the 70's. Played in my younger days.
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As the current season is drawing to a close with the final series still to play and lots of excitement to come in April,…
I agree with your last sentence and that’s why Western Sydney is a natural choice.However GC is like a satellite city of Brisbane and thus it qualifies for a second team and derby.To drive to and from Robina to Brisbane is probably quicker and easier than from Western Sydney to Moore Park. I’ve done both and speaking from experience.
The market research is not just about populations but grassroots, economic factors and sponsorship opportunities.
As I pointed out in the article sponsorships opportunities-wise the GC is second to none. The fact that it hasn’t been sourced because a billionaire put up all the money was a big mistake but it can be rectified.
Sponsorship is simply a business tool to increase revenue and high profile. How much coal did the paying public buy seeing “Minerology” on front of their eyes? Zilch, so it was not doing the job it was designed for.
There are plenty of goods and services which can be promoted on the GC which are all consumer items.Call it discriminotory spending. Sell more TVs,put up “Sony” as another team or spruick Westpac as a bank of choice. In the Gold Coast sell tourism services. It’s not rocket science, really.
Case for Gold Coast United's A-League inclusion
We’re partially on the same page.I didn’t say we should have relegation at this stage but sometime in the future. In the unlikely event that both Victorian teams would be relegated it could be a by-law that other teams from that state have to take their place. It’s a matter of how you set this up within your rules.
The other option would be of having two conferences divided into Eastern and Western ones and that would reduce travel and expenses. This is a good option because it’s unreasonable to travel back and forth from Perth to Wellington for instance.
If the state leagues were more integrated with the A league they could enter a state select 11 from their comps which play in a different season(winter).
The salary cap is a different issue. We could have an exciting competition at this salary level because star players with inflated salaries don’t always deliver. Berisha delivers and he came from a lower German division.
With regard to population, our big cities have large populations rivalling many British cities and they have many teams in different leagues. I know that association football is second nature to them but that’s what we have to aim for here. Otherwise we’ll always be also rans in regard to other codes. Our code has world wide appeal and we don’t milk that enough.
Case for Gold Coast United's A-League inclusion
I don’t think the FFA can sell players from a youth league for a substantial price. Don’t forget that the GCU youngsters had to come good and show their real worth when they got promoted to the top league.
All other clubs have their youth teams and academies plus plenty of youngsters coming through the Institutes and local clubs. A Gold Coast youth team without a senior side will wither. There’s a nexus between a senior team and the youth team. Injuries and suspensions give the youth opportunities but under your proposal this wouldn’t happen.
Where to now for football and the Gold Coast?
If a nine team competition attendences will drop because of less games. Home games of other teams against GCU with thousands of people.
A ten game competition is a minimum must.However the FFA should look at this as a potential 14 team competition.Then we’ll have a viable season. A 10 team competition is too short and the break is too long so continuity for the code is missing. Out of sight= out of mind.
After a 14 team competition the next aim should be for 18 teams with relegation but it’d need a second tier league. Similar to the J League.
It’s time to bring in the State leagues initially via an FA Cup knock out competition.
The code in Australia is somewhat fractured. It need not be. There are tens of thousands of fans who attend state league matches and not A League. Marketing on multiple levels with combined tickets to your 2 favourite clubs in each competition could help more participation.
Case for Gold Coast United's A-League inclusion
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2012/jan/16/indian-football-premier-league
“60 million Indians tuned in to the English Premier League’s 2009-10 season.”
In West Bengal 100000 people watch a local derby.
I don’t know if you’d noticed how many Indians travel these days as well as ME tourists?
The Gulf states invest huge in their local leagues and overseas players. A hook up with a ME club seems like a good idea too. $5 million is chickenfeed to them.
Case for Gold Coast United's A-League inclusion
I do support them but more importantly I support the code.My article was written from strictly a business view though. As a business model as outlined it is a viable enterprise. Customers will come when a product is well presented,attractive and promoted. This was lacking when Palmer had it.
I’ve lived here on the Gold Coast for the past 2 years and I find a lot of residents here are migrants from other states and NZ.The demographics for potential fans is no different from the rest of the country. The tourists angle is the key to this business called GCU.
850000 overseas visitors and 3.5 million interstate visitors a year and I’m talking about overnight stays if you add to this daytrippers it’s 10 million! Upwards of $4billion is spent by them.
No other city in Australia is so dependent on tourism as its main source of revenue.This must be part of a business plan for the Gold Coast franchise.Do I care what is the make up of those punters who seat on the bleachers at Skilled Park? Not really, we have a hard core of 2000 and as indicated by earlier attendences a possible 5000 if nurtured,the rest can be temporary visitors on the Gold Coast. When you watch the game on Foxtel you’re not going to analyse who is what among the crowd. With the Commonwealth Games coming to the Gold Coast the code will get a high profile promotion which will be a boost for the rest of the teams in the comp too.The Gold Coast can be awarded a major international sporting event yet not worthy of an A League team?
Kevin’s suggestion is not bad either.We may want to tweak the exact figure on a lifetime membership but the proposal is in the right direction.I believe a community model is beig worked on right this minute.
Case for Gold Coast United's A-League inclusion