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Joined December 2021
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we need all our competitions aligned at all levels.
Participation shows the potential of our sport. It shows if our grassroots can compete with NRL and AFL playing in the same season then why cant the professional level?
Footballs strategy should be converting the grassroots fans to professional level supporters and not as much the NRL/AFL fans. Also your Aleague teams game will most weeks not clash with your AFL/NRL. The Melbourne situation will improve with Western moving out and City hopefully to Casey soon, we can work around this. None of our football clubs ground share with another football club except the Melbourne market where progress to rectify this is slowly being made.
Where should the A-Leagues expand to next?
Sorry just saw this now. 30 is good but not per global best practice where we should aim for more, at present ignoring $$ our season should be 33 games. 18 teams gives 34 games plus finals which is better than 30 plus finals for a 16 team comp. Competition alignment per the domestic match calendar is an FA task and with their share in the greater good of the game need to encourage the Aleagues to move to a full year comp i.e jan/feb o oct/nov min 9.5/10 months min 36+ games. We have taken on these other 3 codes in all our other levels of the game and our participation numbers are greater. Why are we scared? There is competition in summer months too from Aus open, F1, BBL,NBL, AFLW, I think we should focus on ourselves and play in the most suitable conditions to ensure our game is at its maximum. Alignment is crucial. Stadium deals can be sorted out this is not a reason to not go for it. The ACL change was very recent
Where should the A-Leagues expand to next?
it’s been very good, and im quite confident they are aware and working on the areas that need improvement – i.e non match day content such as magazine and analysis shows plus other football shows, pause/rewind feature, quicker uploading of content, better match day analysis from commentators with more detailed statistics, everything should also be on P+ and more on 10 to build visibility
How do you rate the A-Leagues' new broadcaster so far?
the competition must be expanded to at least 16 teams and we need 36+ games per season (excluding finals) to ensure our development is occuring rapidly enough to compete with Europe. Alignment and growth of calendars is essential with NPL and below. We need football to be played minimum 9.5/10 months per year, the long offseasons do not benefit the player, fan, referee, coach etc. It would be ideal if the competition can grow into Tasmania, Canberra, North Qld, Gold Coast, Northern Territory, and additional teams in big states/population bases that only have 1 or can sustain more
Where should the A-Leagues expand to next?
I think the article raises a valid question – whether youth coaches overlook technical qualities for physical attributes?? We need a bit more evidence to come to this conclusion as players can easily slip under the radar and this is normal to occur, it just needs to be minimised. How do we address the overlooking of technical qualities if this is the case (or even if it is not) ?
1) Domestic Transfer System to drive development focus across all levels of the game – I think the sooner the FA implement this the better. This will also address my below points as it will educate clubs and give them incentives for developing players so they will naturally aim to be better
2) Proper pyramid via 2nd division, Pro/rel and links to Aleagues and NPLs and under – this is key to ensure more opportunities at a higher level to ensure development occurs for players, coaches, scouts, referees, administrators, facilities, fans etc. This along with the domestic transfer system are key to improving the below as it gives clubs incentives to invest in improving
3) Increase and alignment to football calendar – it is clear we are not playing anywhere near enough football and this is impacting development across all areas of the game. I suggest a minimum 9.5-10 month season (eg Jan/Feb – Oct/Nov). Significant work must be done for this overhaul. It is not easy to do, however this big change is necessary and must be stressed as our sport is global and to compete this is required. Players at all levels must be playing a minimum of 36 matches a calendar year as is seen in all top performing nations worldwide. Aleagues and all the levels below must play to this same calendar for alignment , continuity and ease of movement between leagues
4) Aleagues Youth Academies and at all clubs at all levels- these are relatively new and we are starting to see the fruits of these come to life. Investment must continue into these for improvement as well as more games for these players such as expanded Aleagues Youth including reserve players
5) I think we must ensure our coach education systems are rolled out to as many potential managers as possible and are affordable and encouraged
6) I also think talent identification/scouting network needs significant work in Aus. For example, at each level of the game there should be scouts from the division above looking for the next talent or someone who stands out and can make the jump up. As a player, it feels at times that no one is watching us and no real pathway.
7) Trials for players – there must be a significant increase in opportunities for players to have trials. If you look for eg on Football NSW website, there are hardly any opportunities for players to have an open trial at a club, especially higher ranked clubs. This helps build the network and clubs improving their talent base. Many clubs seem to just keep the same team from the previous year or max 1-2 positions available, meaning players who might not have a club are at a significant disadvantage when finding a new club with extremely limited options or are being overlooked because they hadnt played at a certain level the year before. We must increase opportunities for players to get noticed and show them with hard work they can be noticed
Cristian Volpato and Josh Nisbet: Does Australian football even know what talent is?
A key point for FA and APL for the overall game which is the toughest but most necessary – increase both the grassroots season and Aleagues/NPL to run for full year/minimum 9.5/10 months rather than just 6-7 months AND fully aligned as well as 2nd tier and pro/rel throughout. Football must use its power through far superior participation numbers than any other code to push for this as this is necessary for our players to compete internationally and raise standards. If the season runs from Jan/Feb-Oct/Nov this could work. All of the top countries are playing way more games than us with more teams and this is impacting our development. This will also increase and improve our fan culture/engagement as long offseasons can impact peoples love, development and continued support of the game in Aus.
The football culture needs to grow more in these key areas:
– People loving their clubs : outside of match day (ie content for fans, community engagement, museums, fan club gatherings, TV shows etc) , during match day (ie team that represents the area with youth from academy, active support, looking after fans, appropriately priced tickets and rewards for members especially long term, etc)
– More critical analysis of players / teams: we need to see from prominent news outlets and TV Coverage like Ch 10/P+, KEEPUP, SMH etc an analysis and rating of each player and team each week to build discussion and raise standards. Detailed analysis is key like what Ante Jukic delivers on ESPN
– Marketing push for ticket sales and membership numbers each week to push for growth. Show people amount of tickets sold and membership numbers with targets and rewards for reaching a certain level so people will want to join
– Growth of platforms like KEEPUP, Ch10/P+ etc to tell the stories of the game and keep users engaged through getting to learn about players background , facilitate dialogue and lots more
– Links with the whole football pyramid through both competition structures and enhancing communication around how through football you can reach incredible heights like playing in World Cups, champions league etc – ie highlighting pathway potential linking grassroots to Aleagues to National Team to a big club in Europe
Why aren’t people turning up to the A-League Men?
Women is a different story and ideally Aleague Women should be full year professional like the men. We never aligned with AFC previously, while it would be ideal to align with AFC we must play when it is most suitable here which is a calendar year from jan/feb – oct/nov. If we change to align with AFC, then we should look at bringing NPL and below into line as well. We cant have our game playing in different times depending on what division you are in.
Your point about grassroots players following NRL/AFL over Aleague isnt backed up by any stats but im sure there are some that are like this, in any case we should be confident to convert them to Aleague fans and this is key to gain traction in the market. We must be bold and make strong moves.
Where should the A-Leagues expand to next?