FFA lays foundations for national second division, promotion and relegation

Football Federation Australia have laid the foundations for what could eventually lead to promotion and relegation in the A-League, recommending a national second division be introduced in two years' time.

The organisation has taken its biggest stride yet towards introducing a second tier to sit below the A-League, releasing a blueprint paper on Thursday outlining the key principles of the new national competition.

Back to the future: NSL giants Marconi and South Melbourne could return with the national second division.Credit: Greg Ford

The plan is to have a second division operating by 2021, with a season running alongside the A-League during the summer. Thus far, the proposal is to have no movement between divisions for the first five years before eventually opening up the doors for promotion and relegation with the tiers below and then later, involving the A-League.

"That first five-year window is their incubation window," FFA director Remo Nogarotto said. "If some of them want to step up and put their hand up for A-League expansion, all well and good I say. The five to 10 year window is when we have a realistic conversation around the more difficult subjects around promotion and relegation."

Before any of that can happen, the competition must prove to be financially viable and sustainable but already there are disagreements over costs. The Association of Australian Football Clubs, representing state league teams, believe second division clubs could operate of a yearly budget of $2.5 million per season, more than half the forecast of the Australian players' union, PFA, suggesting minimal annual running costs of $5.4m.  The uncertainty over Fox Sports' long-term commitment to Australian football raises further questions over the broadcast of the potential second division which must also buck the trend of second tiers in other codes by attracting  considerable commercial partners.

All of those matters are set to be addressed by the steering committee that will oversee the project of establishing the competition, due to report its findings by November this year. That committee was one of the recommendations from the white paper released by the FFA, which is not in itself definitive but aimed at starting formal discussions about the way forward, including potential clubs, timelines, competition format and objectives.

"The development of a blueprint for a national second division which all stakeholders are aligned with is critical to better connect the various levels and pathways throughout the Australian football ecosystem," FFA chairman Chris Nikou said. "There is general consensus between the stakeholders involved in this process, the Association of Australian Football Clubs, Professional Footballers Australia, Member Federations and FFA that a sustainable national second division would be a significant step forward for football."

A second division would enable football to improve player pathways, offer more opportunities for Australian players, increase the footprint of professional footprint while also repair relationships with clubs and communities that may be disengaged with the A-League.

The white paper did not identify preferred markets for clubs but the steering committee will look at including teams from non-major cities as well as potentially reviving failed bids from the recent expansion round, such as Canberra, Wollongong and Tasmania. There is also an expression from former National Soccer League clubs, such as South Melbourne and potential interest from Marconi.