Gold Coast backs A-League expansion, or risk losing ‘generations of fans’
“I think we’ll have one more go at it, if we don’t get it right it won’t get a third.”
Local Football
Don't miss out on the headlines from Local Football. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Football Gold Coast general manager Damien Bresic has declared the region has the talent and long-term prospects to launch a return to the national stage.
However much like a marriage, he said its success would hinge on a symbiotic relationship between club and community or risk remaining out of A-League contention permanently.
In light of the Cbus Super Stadium securing the clash between the Brisbane Roar and Leeds United this June, calls began for the Glitter Strip to make it’s A-League comeback.
While former United chairman Danny Maher has spearheaded a bid to secure a license for a new franchise, supported by overseas investors, Bresic believed the initiative would need the community behind it or else suffer the same fate as the last time.
With almost 1000 new participants registered through the Gold Coast football clubs since 2018 — despite the obstacles caused by the Covid-19 pandemic — Bresic said the community had the talent pool, coaching and pathways to harness a top tier outfit long-term.
However he said the region needed to embrace and get behind the team for it to have any chance of success, while those who joined its ranks in turn needed to engage more deeply with the grassroots.
“You need a decent business model behind you and corporate support, but then you also need to have the community engagement,” Bresic said.
“You’ve got 9000 or so registered players, plus I think we’ve got 800 or 900 registered coaches, and 150 or 160 referees.
“But don’t forget, we’re simply talking Gold Coast figures, you’ve then got Northern New South Wales … and then the southern part of Brisbane.
“It’s then the community engagement and making it affordable so mum and dad can take two to three kids to the game … and getting out to club land so you’re players are meeting the grassroots people.
“It’s like a marriage, it’s both ways. I feel that the club itself whether it’s players or management has to be open about it, and then almost bring the community on for the ride. “The club needs to provide the bus, then it’s up to the community to jump on the bus, as long as it’s comfortable and airconditioned. If it’s a rickety bus with broken windows nobody is going to get on.”
When Gold Coast United first took on the national competition, only twice did a home game exceed 10,000 spectators, often with attendance figures dropping below 2000 in their final two seasons.
However Bresic said based on the growth of participation, and the strength of the NPL Queensland sides with United and Knights both in top four contention, a passage to the elite had strengthened for local prospects and greater interest had been generated.
A bonus in the Gold Coast’s favour, according to Bresic, could be the untapped supporter base in the region.
Where NRL and AFL fans may have long supported other sides prior to the Titans and Suns coming on board, Bresic does not believe the A-League has had the same impact.
But Bresic also warned that any pitch for the Gold Coast to make its A-League return needed to be planned for the long-term, or risk never getting another chance.
“We’ve definitely grown, there’s no two ways about it, but maybe not as high as we would like. Coming out of the pandemic, it’s pleasing,” Bresic said.
“Even that proves there is an affiliation with the game and there’s people who will support it, so it’s just the old case of if you build it and they will come.
“But I think we’ll have one more go at it, if we don’t get it right it won’t get a third.”
‘We’re ready to go now’: Push for A-League comeback gathers steam
A powerbroker behind an ambitious Gold Coast A-League bid says “we’re ready to go now” and has warned the code could lose a generation of fans across the city if the Glitter Strip is ignored in expansion talks.
Former Gold Coast United chairman Danny Maher stepped aside from his role at the end of last year to put all of his attention into pushing for the region to make its national comeback, with a women’s outfit also firmly on the agenda.
Last week, upon the announcement Leeds United would take on the Brisbane Roar at Cbus Super Stadium in July, Major Events Gold Coast CEO Jan McCormick said she believed the region deserved to make its A-League comeback.
Now Maher has said the club bid team and investment firm 42 Ventures had forged a partnership with American consortium Benevolent Capital, whose CEO Brett Johnson has fingerprints scattered across world football.
Johnson is the co-chairman of Phoenix Rising FC in the United States, as well a director of Danish 1st Division side FC Helsingor and English side Ipswich Town.
Maher said this backing not only came with huge financial support, but would also open up a plethora of avenues for young players to pursue the game all over the world.
The Gold Coast bid chairman said as it stood the region had the largest potential catchment of athletes for a centre without an A-League franchise, and the Australian Professionals League — who will oversee any expansion of the national competition — should have the city high on their radar.
“Groups like (Benevolent Capital), that’s who they need in the game. That’s what we want for the Gold Coast; a professional, multinational group which the Gold Coast franchise is a part of,” Maher said.
“They have clubs at levels below the A-League and levels above. It’s a great pathway for our youth, you can play in Denmark or Ireland or somewhere and continue to develop, then come back and play for Gold Coast.
“In terms of the number of fans it is quite a lucrative area. This is the largest area in Australia without an A-League team, and the fastest growing area of Australia.
“We’d like to see them (APL) identify the Gold Coast as the priority region, and we believe we’ve done the work to make that happen.”
Maher confirmed the team behind the push have had full financial and operational plans in place for more than 12 months, and a successful expansion would then ideally be followed by a women’s side.
While a successful bid in the short-term would involve a Gold Coast side playing home games out of Cbus Super Stadium, Maher said the ideal scenario would be to have a boutique stadium built to bring down the cost of opening a venue, as well as creating a more vibrant atmosphere.
And he said that concept would be financially backed by the club’s investors, and would hinge on infrastructure approval and a suitable location.
“They’re very happy to fund it, so you’d be looking for council in particular to provide the appropriate location,” Maher said.
“We’re ready to go, we’ve got everything in place. We’ve got a stadium there already at Cbus, but we do believe it’s too big and want to see a boutique stadium which we’re willing to fund.
“We’re not asking for money, we’re asking for permission to put money in, and if we don’t get permission we’ll lose generations of fans. This is the growth area of Australia.”
At this stage, no timeline has been set in stone for any expansion.
Is the Gold Coast ready for an A-League comeback?
“I hope that before too long we get a soccer team back in the city, I think we deserve to have one”. That was the declaration of Major Events Gold Coast CEO Jan McCormick after the region secured a blockbuster clash between the Brisbane Roar and Leeds United.
The English Premier League outfit will grace Cbus Super Stadium on July 14, as part of the Queensland Champions Cup tour which will include clashes including Aston Villa.
MORE GOLD COAST SPORT
Titans utility reveals where his future lies
Rookie Radar: Breaking down the young guns inspiring ‘changing of the guard’
QAFL Team of the Week: Round 4
With such a spotlight set to be on the sport now comes the chance to capitalise on the excitement for the city to push for an A-League return.
A professional side has not been based on the Glitter Strip since Gold Coast United’s license was revoked in 2012.
However upon the club’s resurrection in 2017 into the NPL Queensland competition, and the addition of the Gold Coast Knights the following year, a competitive presence has now been in place for junior participants to aspire for. It is now a matter of how far they could go remaining in the region.
In November, Australian Professional Leagues CEO (managing director at the time) Danny Townsend said the long-term objective for Australian football was to have at least 14 teams competing — up from the current 12 — to cement a complete home and away season.
And McCormick believed given the sport’s popularity and the number of people moving to the region, the Gold Coast was primed to make its A-League comeback.
“Soccer is so important to this community, you just see it on Saturday mornings – there’s lots of littlies running around. And I hope before too long we get a soccer team back in the city, I think we deserve to have one,” McCormick said.
“I think the city has really grown up in the last two years, and of course the movement of people coming in from interstate and starting to move I think that need is here.
“The city has an eclectic mix of people now, and it needs to have diversity. Bringing a football team here gives us diversity.”
The opportunity to showcase to Gold Coast audiences a team in the global calibre of Leeds presents a chance to gauge how palpable the reception of professional football in the city.
And the expansion theory has the approval of a man who will take on the Premier League unit.
Brisbane Roar midfielder Jay O’Shea believes the introduction of a local derby has the makings of a recruitment tool for players and spectators alike.
Of the past 37 A-League fixtures, only two have surpassed 10,000 live attendees — both crosstown rivalries between Sydney FC and Western Sydney Wanderers, as well as Melbourne Victory and City.
O’Shea said the pandemic had offered a bittersweet consolation for Australian football — a host of young talents had been given the chance to shine on the national stage as the game and club’s took a financial hit.
He said the clash with Leeds had ensured the Brisbane squad would return to pre-season training earlier than normal, and give those emerging athletes an opportunity to develop even further.
“There’s a lot of talent in Queensland, you’re seeing a lot more of it now,” O’Shea said.
“Since Covid hit, a lot of young players are getting a chance because there’s not as much money in the league.
“It would be great competition for us if there was another club in Queensland, it would only push us and then we could maybe have a derby.
“If there’s two clubs in Queensland it would only make for better interest in football in Queensland.”
Originally published as Gold Coast backs A-League expansion, or risk losing ‘generations of fans’
‘Special moment’: Territory footballer to make debut in AFLW opener
A young Territory star will get to show off her skills on the big stage after being told she will make her AFLW debut for the Gold Coast Suns. Read about her journey here.
REPLAYS: Corinda clean up, Kelvin Grove hit eight on huge finals day
Corinda State High pulled off a huge double success at the Queensland Schools Premier League football finals, but they weren’t the only stars of the show. Catch up on all the REPLAYS.