ABC to screen A-League in new soccer deal

ABC to be free-to-air home of Australian soccer under deal with Football Federation Australia and Fox Sports.

Sydney FC celebrate after beating Perth Glory in the 2019 A-League grand final. Picture: Getty Images

ABC will become the free-to-air home of Australian soccer as part of a new deal with Football Federation Australia and Fox Sports.

As part of the new two-year deal, reported by Media Diary on Monday, ABC will broadcast the Hyundai A-League for the first time in the competition’s history, as well as a number of Westfield W-League, Socceroos and Matildas matches.

The deal marks the end of the FFA’s four-year $160m broadcast deal with Fox Sports and SBS.

Judith Whelan, ABC’s director of regional and local, said the agreement would form the “cornerstone” for the broadcaster’s sports coverage.

ABC and iview will broadcast 29 live matches of the A-League Season at 5pm on Saturdays, as well as delayed broadcasts of one elimination final, one semi final and the 2020 Grand Final. It will also broadcast 14 rounds of the Westfield W-League season at 4pm on Sundays and the final series.

ABC also has the broadcasting rights to every Caltex Socceroos match, in addition to the rights held by Fox Sports, as well as upcoming international games between the Westfield Matildas and Chile, and the Women’s Olympic Football Tournament Qualifiers.

“The ABC has unrivalled reach into every corner of Australia and we will be using that reach to help build the profile of football,” Ms Whelan said. “We plan to use all our platforms to drive audiences to our coverage on ABC TV and iview.”

Fox Sports will continue to broadcast every match of the A-League and W-League as well as the finals.

Head of Fox Sports, Peter Campbell, said the new deal will open up “greater opportunities” for football fans.

“For 15 years, Fox Sports has delivered Australia every match of the Hyundai A-League,” Mr Campbell said. “Now, the Westfield W-League and one game per week of the Hyundai A-League on ABC will find new supporters to showcase Australia’s best footballers – both men and women.”

APFCA chair Paul Lederer said having the A-League and W-League on a free-to-air network was an “important evolution” of broadcast strategy.

“The nature of the agreement and the negotiations leading to it are testament to the benefits that exist for all of the parties involved,” Mr Lederer said.

FFA chairman Chris Nikou said the ABC deal would complement the offering on Fox Sports, Kayo and MyFootballLive app.

“ABC is the home of iconic programming that Australians have grown up consuming and we look forward to working with the network to deliver more football content and cross promotion,” Mr Nikou said.