Fox Sports warns A-League bosses extra teams will mean fewer rounds
IT’S the unintended consequence of expansion that is causing A-League bosses a serious headache – how many rounds to play when two new teams are added, probably next season.
IT’S the unintended consequence of expansion that is causing A-League bosses a serious headache – how many rounds to play when two new teams are added, probably next season.
Assuming expansion goes ahead, Confidential can reveal that Fox Sports will inform Football Federation Australia their preference is to broadcast a 22-round regular season, with every club playing each other home and away, followed by the finals series.
That equates to almost exactly the same number of games being broadcast – 137 in a 22-round competition plus finals, as opposed to 140 this year with 10 teams - but it will mean between two and three fewer home games for each club in terms of revenue.
Some had assumed the league would expand to 33 rounds, but at roughly $80,000 production costs per game, that would cost Fox an extra $2.5m – money the broadcaster has made clear it cannot afford.
However, a 22-round league puts FFA on a collision course with the Asian Football Confederation, whose rules around which countries can take part in the Asian Champions League state a minimum of 27 games for the top division.
That can include cup games and finals, but A-League teams would only be guaranteed a minimum of 23.
No wonder FFA CEO David Gallop and his staff are scratching their heads. “We haven’t fully determined the number of rounds in a 12-team competition but obviously we would not want to see our clubs and players playing any less football,” Gallop told Confidential. “We are already playing less than the international benchmarks.
“However we intend to talk to our media partners who do a great job of juggling the period when all codes are operating. The current three round structure is not ideal and the matter gets a lot easier when we have 14 teams.”
Thankfully a 22-round season also rules out the prospect of an AFL-style fixture list, with select games such as derbies and the Big Blue played for a third time at the whim of the competition’s schedulers.
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Sydney FC Hall of Fame Member Terry McFlynn got a surprise when he was asked to show his drinks pass on ordering a beer – at his own bar.
After Sunday’s Big Blue loss the club legend and football operations manager took himself for a frothy one at McFlynn's, the matchday pub at Jubilee Stadium. Despite the fact his face was plastered all over the walls, one extra-diligent barman asked him to prove his credentials.
The unassuming Irishman duly produced his pass and helped the chap laugh off his embarrassment after bystanders pointed out his innocent oversight.
Also spotted at the bar was Western Sydney coach Markus Babbel and his assistant Jean-Paul de Marigny, quietly casting an eye over Melbourne Victory.
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THE Wanderers deserve a pat on the back – and our support – for an initiative ahead of the Sydney derby on December 15, where they will ask supporters to bring along non-perishable food items for collection by the charity Foodbank NSW & ACT.
The donations will be used to help struggling families over Christmas, and Western Sydney staff and players are also volunteering next week at the charity’s Glendinning distribution centre.
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NEW FFA chairman Chris Nikou has wasted no time in trying to hear the views of fans and stakeholders in the game. We hear Nikou has accepted an invitation to speak at the first Football Writers Festival to be held in Jamberoo next March. It’s hard to imagine his predecessors taking part.
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DOES NSW sports minister Stuart Ayres know something we don’t? When Ayres officially announced Western Sydney will host Leeds United next July he clearly wasn’t aware United haven’t played in the Premier League for 15 years.
“I can’t think of a better way to open the Western Sydney Wanderers’ account at the new Western Sydney Stadium than to take on a fantastic EPL team with such strong Australian links and heritage,” he chirped. At least he was right about the Australian links.
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EXPECT an influx of footballing union types into Sydney next year. The annual FIFPRO General Assembly in Rome this week – gathering together all the major player associations from around the world – will conclude with the news that next year’s event will be held in Sydney.
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When Julie Dolan was inducted into the NSW Hall of Champions at a Sydney gala dinner this week the Matildas legend noticed a key difference between her 'video' career highlights and those of her fellow, slightly younger inductees Catherine Cox, Jana Pittman, Melanie Roche and Mark Skaife. “I was a bit concerned when I was watching because everyone else has moving pictures,” Dolan quipped, drawing laughter from the hundreds in attendance.
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None other than Ange Postecoglou will be back in Australia next month to launch Trevor Thompson’s new book Playing for Australia. The former Socceroos coach, who will be at Gleebooks on December 12, could be in for a busy few weeks with overseas reports suggesting David Villa could be set to join Postecoglou’s Japanese club Yokohama F. Marinos.
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