Fan Made, FFA Abused

The marketing push for A-League Season 6 has begun, and once again the message is confusing.

The Pyrmont based advertising firm utilised by the FFA to create and market the campaign, BMF, has the following blurb on their website describing the commercials.

“Developed by BMF, the campaign puts Hyundai A-League fans on centre stage.

The ads celebrate the “Fan Made” nature of football in Australia, and recognise that behind every creative fan moment is a real fan story.”

There’s no denying that our little league holds a unique place in the Australian sporting landscape when it comes to supporter culture. I am yet to be to a stadium where it has been rival supporters to ruin the experience of living and breathing the responsibility of being the collective 12th man for your team. That’s not to say that my match day hasn’t been ruined more often than not, but it’s never been at the hands of the fans. Not even the Adelaideans.

This is why I find the message in these ads confusing. I cannot understand why the FFA are now deciding to exploit and cash in on the very small section of their consumer base that has been targeted for extermination by the FFA both directly and indirectly since day one.

As an active supporter of Melbourne Victory over the past five years, I have seen the real fan stories behind creative fan moments both home and away - and vary rarely are they stories that do not begin with the active suppression and oppression of fans wanting no more than to support their team in a unique, creative and passionate way.

If you’re not an active supporter, or support one of the (no disrespect intended) smaller clubs in Australia; this may sound like the ranting of a paranoid conspiracist with a nice new hat formed from aluminium foil and for that I apologise. Perhaps you’d also like to consider why the FFA employ a crack team of security “consultants” to lead a continual operation of surveillance, data collection and harassment of active fans.

Ever been on a terrace, been a mate with an active supporter or made eye contact with someone that is? It’s likely that you’re on Hatamoto’s list of high risk supporters.

Don’t worry if you never saw a camera, it’s much more likely that they took your photo from Facebook if they couldn’t get one of you on game day.

So as supporters of A-League clubs, what are we in the eyes of the FFA? Are we criminals and bloodthirsty thugs can’t be trusted to build an atmosphere based on colour and noise, or are we sweet little cherubs who are capable of no more than stealing your clean white (and floral) sheets from your clothesline?

If the past five years are anything to go by, I’m suggesting it’s the former.