National second division finds support within the A-League’s top brass

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As a national second division becomes inevitable, key stakeholders within the A-League agree it is crucial to the development of Australian football, forging a path for promotion and relegation to become a reality.

In the past, public perception has been that A-League clubs were hesitant to allow for their positions within the competition to be challenged, however this is quickly changing as the plans for a second division continue to evolve.

A question hanging over the breakthrough is who will handle the administration of the league. Currently, the A-League is run by the Australian Professional Leagues (APL), which is controlled by current A-League clubs.

Danny Townsend, CEO of Sydney FC and the APL, explains that while there hasn’t been any dialogue towards the APL’s role in the running of a national second division, they would willingly support the competition in any way they can.

“We are responsible for professional football in Australia, and everything below that is essentially under the remit of Football Australia (FA), and the member federations in each state. If there is a view that we could contribute or play a role in supporting the second division, either under our banner or in partnership with someone, of course, we would always look to promote football,” he said.

“At the end of the day promoting and encouraging football to be as sustainable as it can be in Australia, and if we have a role to play there we would absolutely engage with that.”

Currently, the clubs that would potentially make up a second division are represented by the Association of Australian Football Clubs (AAFC), who would likely play a large role in the administration of a national second division. Currently the AAFC, the APL and FA are the three biggest players in shaping the structure of professional football in Australia going forward.

Tony Pignata, CEO of Perth Glory, expressed support for a second division featuring promotion and relegation.

“Football needs promotion and relegation. We see it overseas in the leagues, teams are promoted, and the bottom teams are beating the top teams just to survive. It does add a lot to the game, so I think a second division is warranted and needed,” he said.

He adds that the second division will launch when Football Australia can ensure the additional clubs can handle the financial burden of professional football.

“The timing will depend on the financial viability of the league, and that’s what FA are working on at the moment,” Pignata said.

With the support of the APL and A-League clubs, the largest hurdle that faces the second division is creating a structure that is financially viable for the inaugural teams, as they evolve from semi-professional to fully professional outfits. This journey has happened in reverse previously, as the former National Soccer League clubs joined their state leagues at the A-League’s inception.

One idea currently being floated at Football Australia is a structure similar to the current Champions League format –  32 teams divided into groups of four, followed by a knockout stage. The attraction of this format is to reduce costly away days for the clubs, limiting them to just three away games, unless they proceed to the knockout stages.

Whether this would be embraced by clubs within the second division – and the A-League teams who would eventually become a part of the competition through promotion and relegation – remains to be seen. The concept is seen as a stop-gap between bringing the second division into reality and creating a sustainable professional league.

With plans for the structure of a second division still in the works at Football Australia, it is important they deliver a structure that ensures the long-term financial viability of not just the second division clubs, but also those A-League teams that are relegated.

Pignata mentions that some of the hesitancy towards promotion and relegation from the current A-League clubs is due to the potential lack of representation for a state in the Australian top division.

“I’m talking as a football purist. The only issue that the A-League clubs are raising is if Perth Glory gets relegated, and a New South Wales team gets promoted, there is no team in Perth. If Adelaide gets relegated, then there is no team in Adelaide, and that is an issue,” he said.

“But saying that, we have to make sure we don’t get relegated, and that is what you need to fight for.”

Pignata believes that for football to reach its potential in Australia, the challenges of promotion and relegation need to be embraced by the professional clubs, despite potential issues that it would present for current clubs.

“I think in years to come, that is how it will be played, and we have no fear. We shouldn’t be a closed shop. If we want to make football here in Australia as in Europe, then we need to have promotion and relegation, and clubs need to make sure they don’t get relegated.”

Relegation could potentially mean a loss of income that could prove fatal to A-League clubs. One solution to this would be cash payments to relegated teams from the first division into the second, a concept that is currently employed in major leagues around the world such as the English Premier League. These ‘parachute payments’ would protect against the financial shock of relegation, ensuring clubs aren’t forced to fold.

There are several issues that Football Australia, the AAFC, and the APL will be required to resolve before a national second division becomes a reality. Unlike in the past, it is clear there is the will and desire for a national second division like never before.

Nick Galatas on addressing the link between National Second Tier with promotion and relegation

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Image credit: Preston Lions FC

The National Second Tier (NST) competition is building towards its expected start date of March/April 2025, but its final structure has not been settled.

While eight teams were initially announced with representation from Victoria and New South Wales, we are still yet to find out who will make up the rest of the ‘national’ component.

We will at least have an update on this around June 2024, as the Request for Proposal (RFP), Assessment & Review and Completion Phases are all completed.

Association of Australian Football Clubs (AAFC) Chairman Nick Galatas has been a vocal advocate and involved in establishing the NST from its inception, but despite the previously announced foundation clubs, there is still work to do to ensure the NST starts in the best possible shape.

At this stage, eight foundation clubs have been confirmed, but there is a push to increase the number to at least 12.

Despite 26 clubs advancing to the RFP phase, only 8 foundation clubs proved to be a major drop off from what appeared a healthy pool of teams to choose from.

“There were 26 clubs that looked to be in a great position to be selected to start in the new NST,” Galatas told Soccerscene.

“From those, it would be expected to get 12 for a kick-off in 2024 but didn’t pan out that way.”

A lack of structure around how promotion and relegation will work with the NPL does leave some uncertainty for the clubs left out of the NST. Many clubs remain eager to be part of the expected four additional teams to be added for the competition’s commencement early in 2025.

For Football Australia, consistency will need to be applied across the board about how clubs go up and down between the NST and NPL when promotion and relegation commences. Football Queensland has made rules that a Queensland coming into the NST will revert to the competition it was in before it joined the NST. That is inconsistent with the approach of other member federations.

For example, with Preston Lions FC competing in Victoria Premier League 1 in 2024 prior to the commencement of NST, if they get relegated is it one step below to NPL Victoria or the original league they are in now?

Galatas outlined how everyone must be on the same page to form a unified system.

“As a scenario, we can think ahead to, say, 2027 and it’s the third year of competition, which is may also have expanded by then and include Queensland teams,” he said.

“For example, if, say, Preston Lions from Victoria and Sunshine Coast Fire FC from Queensland are relegation candidates in that season, it’s untenable that those teams would face different predicaments if relegated with Preston to the NPL and Sunshine Coast to oblivion.

“Hypothetically if we talk about relegation, everyone agrees that a Victorian-based club would be relegated to NPL Victoria even if originally from a lower league.

“However, when you compare it to a Queensland club, getting relegated means that they go into oblivion, which doesn’t add up. It’s fundamental and accepted practice that a relegated team goes down one rung and it has the chance to come up again.

“Football Australia needs to discuss a relegation scenario with all of the member federations and ensure there is a consistent approach. It will run the competition and must ensure the member federations work together with it and the clubs to achieve this outcome.”

Galatas outlined what he hopes to see out of the upcoming application process, moving one step closer to an Australia-wide competition.

“Instead of the eight confirmed teams we see now, it should be 12 teams from hopefully at least four states or territories to achieve the best competition,” he said.

“I would have liked to have seen a 2024 start date with 12 teams and have all the big players ready to go, but instead we’ve had a delay. But so long as we use the additional time to start strongly, the extra year to wait is not important in the overall picture.

“Having Queensland plus at least one of South Australia, Tasmania and Canberra to include four states from the get-go is the ideal platform to build on.

“Then we can look at Western Australia and the remaining areas as we build – we are just starting. We can grow the competition without rushing into it too much from a logistical point of view.”

Robert Cavallucci discusses important Perry Park upgrade

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Image via Austadiums official website

FQ CEO Robert Cavallucci recently featured on an episode of The Subs Bench podcast to discuss an improved stadium in Brisbane in a bid to grow the game further.

Football Queensland and Football Australia’s push to upgrade the state’s spiritual home of football, Perry Park, has been a hot topic of discussion for a good amount of time.

In a submission to a federal inquiry into Australia’s preparedness to host the Olympic Games, Football Australia called for an upgrade of Perry Park to become a 10 or 15,000 seat stadium with improved internal facilities.

Cavallucci discussed why this upgrade needs to be completed following the rise of the games popularity.

“The question should be, does football require a more appropriate stadium that reflects its needs? Absolutely it does,” he said on The Subs Bench podcast.

“The city and the state needs a football appropriate that reflects football’s very unique requirements and the fact we don’t have one is symptomatic of 20 or 30 years of failure as a code to actively advocate for our needs. Thats obviously changing dramatically and very quickly.

“Perry Park obviously has a lot of suitable elements, it’s in the inner city, which is perfect, it’s on a train line which is even better, it’s on major road infrastructure. You can access it from everywhere and very quickly.

“Importantly it links in with the broader sporting spine on those train lines so you can get from there to Suncorp to the Gabba and get to Perry Park from all those places.”

Cavallucci added that this upgrade is necessary for the sport to advance in the state and shed light on how it would affect all tiers of the football pyramid.

“There’s no question it’s been on our top three infrastructure priorities for four years and we’re absolutely putting in significant work to eventually bring that to life,” he said.

“It’s important for the code and it’s important for not only professional and semi-professional levels but it’s important for women’s football but also the A-League expansion as well.

“We should have a second Brisbane team; it will absolutely mobilise a broader fanbase. It can only be brought into life if we have appropriate infrastructure.”

With the Olympics a hot topic at the moment and FQ’s push to secure more funding for a second top rectangular stadium, it will be an interesting talking point that the government will have to consider to help progress football in the region.

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