Can Yoshi make Australians care about the A-League?
MEET Yoshi. He’s 10 years old, and he’s also the face of a new advertising campaign that has $40 million riding on it.
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MEET Yoshi. He’s the 10-year-old with a massive task.
He’s the face of the new advertising campaign for the A-League, which kicks off on Friday night when Brisbane Roar host Melbourne Victory.
The campaign “You’ve gotta have a team” is aimed at attracting some of the two million Australians who participate in or support overseas football clubs, but don’t have an A-League team.
In the campaign, Yoshi visits all 10 A-League clubs as they make pitches for his support.
Basically it’s after kids who play football on the weekend, but may support an AFL or NRL team rather than the local A-League side.
Or the football fans getting up in the middle of the night to watch Manchester United or Real Madrid but turn their noses up at the local league.
“Our challenge is to unite the two million people who have expressed their passion and love for football as a player, coach, referee, parent, son, daughter, supporter, administrator or fan and engrain them into the Hyundai A-League so they can enjoy the unique atmosphere that can only be felt inside the stadium on matchday,” FFA chief executive David Gallop said.
So young Yoshi has a big job. And it couldn’t come at a more important time for Football Federation Australia.
This is the final season in a four-year TV deal the FFA has had with Fox Sports and SBS to broadcast the A-League.
It’s fair to say FFA has been pretty disappointed with the SBS coverage, with the public broadcaster moving its Friday night game from its main station to the secondary SBS2.
After September 30, the exclusive negotiation period for the next TV deal ended with Fox Sports.
So the FFA is able to shop around for the best TV deal, with hopes that new players beIN Sports and Optus (that won the English Premier League rights from Fox Sports) show some interest in the rights.
The FFA is hoping for a deal of $80 million a year — double the current deal.
And the FFA’s hopes rest on Yoshi’s shoulders, but also Socceroos legend Tim Cahill.
After a decorated career, our greatest Socceroo is finally playing in the A-League.
He’s the sort of star power the league hasn’t had since Alessandro Del Piero played for Sydney FC for two seasons from 2012.
And he has something that the FFA is hoping brings some of the two million Australians through the turnstiles — widespread appeal.
Most Australians know who Cahill is, whether they follow football or not.
If he starts scoring goals for Melbourne City, TV ratings will increase and more people will come to watch him play (home and away).
So it’s a big season for the A-League.
With Gallop saying at this week’s season launch the A-League wanted to expand to 12 teams sooner rather than later, the FFA needs a big TV deal to fund that expansion.
The season will start with a bang when Western Sydney Wanderers host Sydney FC in the first Sydney derby at ANZ Stadium on Saturday. A crowd of more than 60,000 is expected at the Olympic venue in what will be a record A-League crowd.
The FFA will be hoping big crowds at marquee games like the Sydney and Melbourne derbies, Cahill punching a few corner flags after scoring and Yoshi’s hunt for a team will help the A-League go to the next level.
It’s a $40 million gamble.
Originally published as Can Yoshi make Australians care about the A-League?
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