There's a lot to like about the 2011/12 A-League draw - the later start avoiding the AFL and NRL finals, the grand final rematch on the opening day of the season, blockbuster features spread across the opening few rounds, regional visits, more consistent timeslots, and midweek matches dramatically reduced and condensed into the summer holiday period.
But the 'innovative' new feature in the draw, a midweek marathon of back-to-back games on January 4, drew most attention and set some tongues wagging.
To comprehend what the A-League marathon is, here's how the statement from the FFA described it: "In a Hyundai A-League first, Wednesday 4 January, will see a football bonanza with five matches, back-to-back, starting in Wellington and moving through Melbourne, Newcastle and Gosford before finishing off in Perth for an amazing 11 hours straight of Hyundai A-League action, all live and exclusive on Fox Sports."
Interesting... Kudos to the FFA for pinpointing the summer holiday period as a critical stage of the home and away season to get crowds out to A-League fixtures. But the key point here is that Wednesday January 4, 2011 is not a holiday. In fact, it's the day working folk who haven't taken annual leave or don't have holidays have to return to work.
The first match in the marathon kicks off in Wellington at 3pm (1pm AEDT), followed by Melbourne Heart hosting Adelaide United at 3:15pm AEDT, then Newcastle Jets versus Gold Coast United at 5:30pm AEDT. The following two matches kick-off at 7pm and 7:45pm AEDT. So three of the five matches fall into a time of the day when those who are back at work will be unable to attend matches, and unable to watch.
While the FFA and defenders of the marathon will claim many people take time off in the first week of January, extending out their summer holidays, many don't or can't. So why schedule such a unique feature into the calendar based on an assumption that 'a lot' of people will be taking annual leave or sickies on that day?
While the marathon may be a dream ticket for Fox Sports - 11 hours of scheduling locked in for that day - the FFA must not loss sight of the pattern that's emerged over the first six seasons of the A-League, namely providing excuses for people not to attend matches. The A-League draw should be making it as easy as possible for fans to attend, not producing roadblocks.
It would have been far more effective to spread those three 'day' midweek matches throughout January and February, into more friendly night timeslots. After all, the school holiday period can only truly be maximised if kids not old enough to get to the games on their own have parents, guardians, older siblings, etc free to take them.
Hopefully for the FFA's sake there are a few planning on turning January 4 into a public holiday, otherwise the novelty of a marathon A-League day is wasted.
