South Africa is the key to breathing life into our moribund domestic competition.
Those who were not worried by last weekend’s paltry average A-League attendances of 6,198 find themselves located in that famous Egyptian river – denial.
Anyone bemoaning the AFL Grand Final and rugby league finals should take note that the A-League taking place on such a weekend is nothing new, but previous years have never seen such a large detraction.
Last year’s crowds on the corresponding weekend averaged 11,281 (7,618 taking away Melbourne being at home). The same clash weekend in 2007 is even more revealing as crowds averaged 12,291 – with Melbourne on the road. Newcastle Jets attracted 11,179, Wellington Phoenix 12,127 and Queensland Roar 16,582. We also didn’t witness a sharp rise (more moderate) in attendances once the NRL and AFL seasons were tied up.
There is no single sickness or remedy to the poorly nature of A-League crowds. More a medley of factors stopping different fans for different reasons from attending. Lack of promotion, an eroding novelty factor, global financial crisis, rising tickets prices, poor scheduling, popularity of rival codes, the list goes on.
What’s the answer? Countering some of the above? Encouraging attacking football? Or a factor more out the FFA’s hands than they’d like to admit?
The brand value and popularity of the Socceroos is what keeps the game alive in this country.
While the A-League was launched just prior to the euphoria of John Aloisi’s World Cup-making spot-kick, the past four years the A-League and a hard World Cup qualification slog through Asia has been a muted encore in comparison.
When the Socceroos travel to South Africa next year, they not only have the weight of unreasonable expectations on their shoulders – they quite possibly have the future of the A-League too.
A quick glance at the efforts of our American cousins is a sobering endorsement for the importance of national team success. It is a worthy case study from another “soccer” country dominated by established native codes.
The MLS (Major League Soccer) was launched in 1996 in the wake of the States hosting their first World Cup finals two years prior. A 10 team league was formed, expanding to 12 in 1998 (ring any bells?). At the 1998 World Cup in France the USA failed miserably – getting knocked out in the first round and finishing last. The team was made up of largely MLS players and resentment grew towards their domestic players' efforts on the world stage.
That echoes the anger towards the failing of an A-League-based Asian Cup qualifying team this year, results which ultimately damaged the A-League as it exposed the shallow talent pool of the competition.
As attendances and interest plummeted, the MLS was then forced to cut the league back to 10 teams again in 2001, dropping both Tampa Bay Mutiny and Miami Fusion.
Along came the MLS’s saviour – the USA excelling at the 2002 World Cup where they reached the quarter-finals claiming the scalps of Portugal and rivals Mexico along the way. Four months later the MLS Grand Final between New England Revolution and a pre-Beckham LA Galaxy attracted a record 61,316 fans.
It created a snowball effect. The MSL began expanding again both in terms of attendances and teams, and today the league has 15 teams, the most recent addition of which is Seattle Sounders earlier this year. They now average 30,000 fans, the sort of crowds many European teams would be happy with.
The 2006 World Cup finals may have been a weaker tournament for the USA, but they have spent the past few years in the top 10 of the FIFA rankings (currently 11th) and beating European Champions Spain as they reached the Confederations Cup final earlier this year would have aided the MLS too. Despite the Socceroos reaching a lofty FIFA ranking themselves, it wasn't done on the biggest of stages against the world's best teams.
So, over to you Socceroos. As page impressions on this website attest when Socceroos games are played, local interest rockets. There is a whole raft of Australians who follow the Socceroos, but have found little affiliation with the A-League franchises.
Getting out of the knock-out stages in South Africa is a minimum for the Socceroos. A headline clash with England or a global heavyweight after the group stages will catch the public imagination in a way that can be harnessed into an extended interest in the A-League.
No pressure lads.
Those who were not worried by last weekend’s paltry average A-League attendances of 6,198 find themselves located in that famous Egyptian river – denial.
Anyone bemoaning the AFL Grand Final and rugby league finals should take note that the A-League taking place on such a weekend is nothing new, but previous years have never seen such a large detraction.
Last year’s crowds on the corresponding weekend averaged 11,281 (7,618 taking away Melbourne being at home). The same clash weekend in 2007 is even more revealing as crowds averaged 12,291 – with Melbourne on the road. Newcastle Jets attracted 11,179, Wellington Phoenix 12,127 and Queensland Roar 16,582. We also didn’t witness a sharp rise (more moderate) in attendances once the NRL and AFL seasons were tied up.
There is no single sickness or remedy to the poorly nature of A-League crowds. More a medley of factors stopping different fans for different reasons from attending. Lack of promotion, an eroding novelty factor, global financial crisis, rising tickets prices, poor scheduling, popularity of rival codes, the list goes on.
What’s the answer? Countering some of the above? Encouraging attacking football? Or a factor more out the FFA’s hands than they’d like to admit?
The brand value and popularity of the Socceroos is what keeps the game alive in this country.
While the A-League was launched just prior to the euphoria of John Aloisi’s World Cup-making spot-kick, the past four years the A-League and a hard World Cup qualification slog through Asia has been a muted encore in comparison.
When the Socceroos travel to South Africa next year, they not only have the weight of unreasonable expectations on their shoulders – they quite possibly have the future of the A-League too.
A quick glance at the efforts of our American cousins is a sobering endorsement for the importance of national team success. It is a worthy case study from another “soccer” country dominated by established native codes.
The MLS (Major League Soccer) was launched in 1996 in the wake of the States hosting their first World Cup finals two years prior. A 10 team league was formed, expanding to 12 in 1998 (ring any bells?). At the 1998 World Cup in France the USA failed miserably – getting knocked out in the first round and finishing last. The team was made up of largely MLS players and resentment grew towards their domestic players' efforts on the world stage.
That echoes the anger towards the failing of an A-League-based Asian Cup qualifying team this year, results which ultimately damaged the A-League as it exposed the shallow talent pool of the competition.
As attendances and interest plummeted, the MLS was then forced to cut the league back to 10 teams again in 2001, dropping both Tampa Bay Mutiny and Miami Fusion.
Along came the MLS’s saviour – the USA excelling at the 2002 World Cup where they reached the quarter-finals claiming the scalps of Portugal and rivals Mexico along the way. Four months later the MLS Grand Final between New England Revolution and a pre-Beckham LA Galaxy attracted a record 61,316 fans.
It created a snowball effect. The MSL began expanding again both in terms of attendances and teams, and today the league has 15 teams, the most recent addition of which is Seattle Sounders earlier this year. They now average 30,000 fans, the sort of crowds many European teams would be happy with.
The 2006 World Cup finals may have been a weaker tournament for the USA, but they have spent the past few years in the top 10 of the FIFA rankings (currently 11th) and beating European Champions Spain as they reached the Confederations Cup final earlier this year would have aided the MLS too. Despite the Socceroos reaching a lofty FIFA ranking themselves, it wasn't done on the biggest of stages against the world's best teams.
So, over to you Socceroos. As page impressions on this website attest when Socceroos games are played, local interest rockets. There is a whole raft of Australians who follow the Socceroos, but have found little affiliation with the A-League franchises.
Getting out of the knock-out stages in South Africa is a minimum for the Socceroos. A headline clash with England or a global heavyweight after the group stages will catch the public imagination in a way that can be harnessed into an extended interest in the A-League.
No pressure lads.
