APL committed to selling A-League grand finals to Sydney for next three years

Boycott threats from fans, board resignations and disapproval from players and clubs have not been enough to change a controversial A-League move.

APL chief executive officer Danny Townsend announces the selling of the A-League grand final to Sydney for the next three years. Picture: Mark Kolbe / Getty Images for APL

The decision to sell the A-League grand final to Sydney is part of a “four-year rehabilitation plan” to rescue clubs and ensure the future of the competition.

Australian Professional Leagues chief executive Danny Townsend said football in Australia was not in a position to turn down a substantial amount of money – understood to be about $20 million – from the NSW government for Sydney to host A-League men’s and women’s grand finals for the next three years.

And while the matter will again be discussed at a club owners’ meeting on Thursday, Townsend said the decision would not be changed, after the APL board met on Tuesday to “reaffirm” its support for the deal, despite mounting backlash from some clubs and fans who have threatened to boycott Saturday night’s Melbourne derby, as well as the entire A-League finals series.

Townsend said the “commercial model” the APL inherited from Football Australia during the sport’s unbundling last year was “unsustainable” for A-League clubs, hence the need to seek such deals and partnerships.

“Every dollar that the APL makes, at the moment, goes back to the clubs – that was the point of unbundling,” Townsend told News Corp Australia

“We’ve got a four-year rehabilitation plan that we’re running our game through. It would be fiscally irresponsible of us not to ensure that the way we run this game will be to ensure this game will be here for our fans for many years to come.

“My responsibility ultimately is to ensure that this league continues to grow and remains to exist into the future, and the only way that we can do that is to continue to think commercially and ensure we enable our clubs to continue to invest in the product that our fans all love.

“There’s got to be compromise on that and unfortunately for our fans in this case, this (the grand final) is one of those things that is a valuable asset, and finally we have a government that is willing to pay us good money for that asset.”

Townsend said that the decision to sell the grand finals to Sydney wasn’t meant to "disenfranchise” supporters.

“What it’s designed to do is to make sure they’ve got a great football club to support into the future and a great league that we can all be proud of,” he said.

“We need to keep driving commercial outcomes to ensure that we can distribute money to the clubs, so that they can continue to pay their players, they can build a better product on the pitch, and they can invest in youth development.

“Our owners have put in $50 million into their youth development academies which ensured that 65 per cent of those players who everyone cheered on (at the World Cup) in Qatar have come through their systems which they have privately funded at a deficit.

“They’re losing money, but they are continuing to make significant contributions to the game. They can’t keep doing that and lose money unless the league fixes the commercial paradigm.”

pic.twitter.com/in1alKT9OP

— Isuzu UTE A-League (@aleaguemen) December 13, 2022

On Tuesday, Melbourne Victory chairman Anthony Di Pietro resigned from his role as an APL director in response to the grand final decision.

“It has become clear that in order for me to act in the best interests of Melbourne Victory and football in Victoria, I needed to resign as a board member of APL,” Di Pietro said.

“My resignation was ultimately driven by the decision announced (on Monday), that sees the next three grand finals being hosted in Sydney.

“While I know first hand the decision by APL was made with a view to growing the game and creating financial sustainability for the league, the fan and member sentiment has been overwhelming and I cannot support maintaining a decision which is not in the best interests of the loyal Melbourne Victory faithful and football.

“We have urged APL to pause this plan and consider an alternative that supports the growth and stability of the league while also allowing both the men’s and women’s A-League grand finals to continue to be played in the city of the highest-ranked qualifier.”

Melbourne Victory Chairman, Anthony Di Pietro and Managing Director, Caroline Carnegie have issued the following statement on the APL's Grand Final decision.

— Melbourne Victory (@gomvfc) December 13, 2022

I wanted to clear things up publicly. I may be in the video for the @aleaguemen choice to host Grand Finals in Sydney, but I do not support it.

I am a player, but I am also a fan. pic.twitter.com/e451tZcR98

— Craig Goodwin (@craig_goodwin11) December 12, 2022

Victory and Melbourne City fans intend to boycott Saturday night’s Melbourne derby 20 minutes into the contest

“It’s the duty of anyone inside the stadium who cares about the integrity of the game in Australia to support this action,” the Victory’s main active support group, Original Style Melbourne, said in a statement.

City Terrace 🤝 Original Style Melbourne 🤝 Western Service Crew

We are Melbourne.

— Alexander Milas (@AlexMilasM8) December 13, 2022

Original Style Melbourne has announced a boycott of the final series for the next three seasons, both home and away games, should the decision not be reversed

They have called on other supporter groups within the league also participate in said boycott

— Neal Symons (@neal_symons) December 13, 2022

Originally published as APL committed to selling A-League grand finals to Sydney for next three years