A-LEAGUE boss Damien de Bohun insists there is NOTHING bigger in Australian football than winning the Championship.
In the official Hyundai A-League 2013 Grand Final souvenir programme - available to buy here now - de Bohun reveals the season's showpiece is the blockbuster climax to the A-League.
And no matter what the AFC may say - who rated the Premiers Plate higher when it came to Champions League places - the Premiership will always be second place to the Championship in Australia, according the the FFA.
"With crowds growing, and the atmosphere at many games becoming electric, it also makes for a better broadcast spectacle. The support of FoxSports has once again been tremendous.
"The work they have put into producing a world-class broadcast of the Hyundai A-League this season has no doubt had a significant impact on the excellent growth in ratings this year.
"It is now well known that SBS will be joining us a free-to air broadcast partner next year, which will undoubtedly compliment the excellent on-going relationship with FoxSports and help build on the strong platform that FoxSports have established through their broadcast over the last eight years."
And he paid tribute to the work done both on and off the field at Western Sydney Wanderers after the FFA gave it the green light just 12 months ago and then financed the fledgling side.
"I have heard David Gallop say a number of times now that the Western Sydney Wanderers fairytale is unprecedented – possibly anywhere in world sport," said de Bohun. "In many ways, this says it all.
"Whilst the FFA was instrumental in helping establish the 'newest oldest club' in football, it is very important to note that the Wanderers now have an independent Board and Management and are run like any of other nine clubs in the Hyundai A-League separately from the FFA.
"To this end, much of the credit for the early off-field success of the newest club in the competition must be taken by the Wanderers Board, and the management and staff led by Executive Chairman Lyall Gorman.
"The appointment of Tony Popovic as the inaugural coach has clearly proven to be a masterstroke as one of the clubs first major decisions.
"The playing group was virtually cobbled together on the eve of the season, with most available Hyundai A-League players already committed and contracted to their existing clubs.
"To say that the players have exceeded all expectations so far would be an understatement. For all their hard work, though, the biggest prize of all still awaits them on Hyundai A-League Grand Final day. "
Read the rest of the interview and plenty more - including features on fans from all the A-League clubs, key players, skippers and coaches, a season review, analysis of this year's tactical battles plus profiles of all the players involved in the grand final - in the new programme.
Snap it up at Allianz Stadium on Sunday or order your copy HERE now!
But hurry - stocks are limited...and the one you get at the match may end up destroyed, so order a back up copy now to make sure you have your own slice of football history.
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