Why Australian football needs a promotion/relegation system to survive

Promotion and relegation is one of the few constants in nearly every single soccer country across the globe. It makes the sport unique and it gives each team something to play for each season. It also makes it one of the most cutthroat sports on the planet. Why is that? Well, to prove this statement, let’s take a look at the Australian Football League.

Teams will often rise up and drop down the ladder over the years, with no club recognised as the club to beat every year (like Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United). It’s much more of a lottery. Yes, coaches, players, fans etc. would suffer as a result of a club doing poorly. But unlike soccer leagues across the world, there’s no punishment for poor performance. If you finish bottom of the ladder, you get rewarded with the number one draft pick.

The system works but imagine if the same system was implemented for a soccer competition. Would it work as well as it does in the AFL? The answer is simple, no.

For starters, fans wouldn’t be as invested as we see in the European leagues. Even if their club is fighting off relegation, fans will come in droves to cheer them on. In Australia’s A-League, if a club is struggling, you’ll very rarely see packed out stadiums.

The league itself would feel like it was coming off a conveyer belt each season. It would be the same teams, the same stadiums and the same league each season. Again, we see this in the A-League, but they also have the FFA Cup and there are new teams entering the competition, starting with Western United next season.

These two factors are what makes the European leagues so successful. Who would’ve thought that Bournemouth, a club that not too long ago was non-league, would now be a mainstay in English football? What about how Huddersfield Town, who despite already being relegated this season, would’ve had the season from heaven to get promoted to the top flight.

It’s the beauty of European soccer, that there are the big teams that have been the benchmarks for so long as well as the battlers who scrap their way through the divisions.

This is where the A-League is losing so much potential to create a strong, multi league soccer country that is outside of Europe. FFA Chairman Chris Nikou recently suggested that promotion and relegation may not enter Australian soccer for up to 15 years, a suggestion that could harm the sport’s future in the country.

 

Soccer has grown exponentially in the last few seasons in this country, especially at the community and grassroots levels. Junior participation is at an all time high and interest in the National Premier Leagues across the states has never been greater. If anything, the next few seasons would appear to be the perfect time to implement some sort of promotion/relegation system.

The FFA, in refusing to create a system, is neglecting the people that have madder soccer in this country what it is today. Those at the grassroots and community levels are the heart and soul of Australian soccer and have been ever since the early NSL days. Clubs such as South Melbourne and the Melbourne Knights defined Australian soccer for decades and now, when they, along with a host of other clubs want to change soccer for the better, the FFA neglects them.

The FFA should take a leaf out of European leagues books, but sometimes the evidence is right in front of them. In the last two seasons, the NPL in Victoria has seen some crazy final days and some clubs in promotion and relegation fights that are simply unbelievable.

In 2017, the Melbourne Knights struggled and finished third last on the table, entering the promotion/relegation playoff against Dandenong City. Despite winning 3-2, to see such a historic club almost leave the top flight was a massive surprise. 2018 however, was far more remarkable.

Green Gully are another revered NPLVIC side who have won titles in years gone by. They finished third last and entered the promotion/relegation match against Moreland City. They were down 2-0 in the 90th minute and looked a certainty to be relegated.

But through sheer force of will, they scored two quick goals, sent the game to extra time and scored a late winner to secure safety in the top flight. That level of drama has never been seen before at the NPL level and if the FFA could open their eyes to the possibilities a pro/rel system would create up, we could see it in the A-League.

Instead of going through the motions, every A-League season could have extra meaning with clubs knowing that there is always something on the line. Because in recent seasons, the desire from players, clubs and officials behind the scenes appears to have been non-existent.

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What does the Federal Budget mean for the Future of Football?

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What does the Federal Budget mean for the Future of Football? Image Credit: Shutterstock

While Canberra spent Budget night arguing about negative gearing, capital gains tax and the politics of broken promises, Australian football was left reading between the lines.

Since ‘Sport’ falls under the jurisdiction of the State level, there was no headline “football package” in Treasurer Jim Chalmers’ 2026–27 Federal Budget, but the Federal budget marks a significant shift in the nation’s economic directive. No billion-dollar infrastructure splash for the world game. No new national facilities program. But for football clubs, players and families, the Budget may still shape the sport more than many realise.

From housing affordability to NDIS reform, fuel prices and women’s participation, football’s ecosystem sits directly in the path of the Government’s economic agenda.

The dominant story of the Budget has been Labor’s overhaul of negative gearing and capital gains tax concessions: reforms that immediately triggered political backlash and dominated national coverage.

Yet beneath the noise, football communities are likely asking a simpler question: what does all this mean for the people who actually play the game?

The answer starts with cost-of-living pressure.

The Budget forecasts inflation hitting five per cent in 2026, largely driven by global fuel shocks linked to conflict in the Middle East. Fuel prices matter enormously to grassroots football, particularly in suburban and regional Australia where families often drive multiple nights a week for training and matches.

The Government’s temporary fuel excise cut which reduced petrol prices by roughly 32 cents per litre may offer short-term relief for clubs travelling long distances and parents already struggling with registration fees.

But the broader economic outlook remains difficult. Slower growth, persistent inflation and rising household pressure could threaten participation rates, especially among lower-income families.

Football Australia and state federations have spent years warning that the game’s biggest barrier is affordability. Boots, rego fees, transport and facility access continue to price players out. A tougher economy only sharpens that problem.

Housing reform may indirectly affect the football workforce too.

The Government argues its negative gearing changes are designed to help younger Australians into home ownership, with Treasury estimating an additional 75,000 first-home buyers over a decade.

That matters in football because the sport’s backbone like coaches, referees, volunteers and young families, is overwhelmingly younger and suburban. If housing affordability improves even marginally, it could stabilise participation in growth corridors where football demand already outstrips infrastructure.

But there are also risks. Critics argue the reforms could reduce investment and tighten rental supply. For many semi-professional players, academy coaches and casual sports workers already locked out of ownership, rising rents would further squeeze disposable income available for sport.

The outlook for differently-abled football

The Budget’s NDIS savings measures may prove even more consequential for football.

The Government says it is “returning the NDIS to its original intent” as part of $63.8 billion in savings and reprioritisations. Disability advocates have already raised concerns about access and participation impacts across community activities.

That includes sport.

Across Australia, football programs have increasingly become entry points for social inclusion and disability participation, from all-abilities leagues to multicultural community initiatives. Any tightening of disability support funding risks flowing directly into reduced participation opportunities for players requiring support workers, transport assistance or specialised programs.

There were, however, some quieter positives for the game.

The Budget continues significant investment into women’s economic participation, childcare and workplace reform. That matters for football at a time when women’s and girls’ participation is booming following the legacy of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

Expanded childcare access, stronger paid parental leave and support for women in the workforce may all help sustain female coaching, volunteering and administration pathways that football has historically struggled to retain.

Still, the clearest takeaway for football may be what the Budget did not contain.

Despite football being Australia’s largest participation sport, there was little direct mention of community football infrastructure or long-term sporting investment beyond broader transport and productivity measures.

For a sport preparing for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2026 and pushing for future global tournaments, that silence was notable.

Everyone else may be talking about negative gearing. In football circles, the bigger concern is whether families can still afford Saturday mornings at all.

NSW Football Associations Unite Behind AED Mapping Project for Statewide Safety Network

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Twelve football associations across New South Wales have joined a statewide effort to map and register Automated External Defibrillators across sporting facilities, in a project that its organisers say will significantly improve emergency response times and save lives at community sport venues.

The Heartbeat of Sport AED Mapping Project, backed by funding from the Minns Labor Government to the Heartbeat of Football Foundation, represents the first comprehensive research into AED placement across NSW sports grounds. The data collected will be provided to NSW Ambulance and its GoodSAM team to enrich the existing AED registry available to ambulance and public first responders, and will feed into NSW Health’s newly released public AED map.

The project has drawn active participation from associations spanning the breadth of the state’s football community, including Eastern Suburbs, Manly Warringah, Granville, Southern Districts, Nepean, Northern Suburbs, Football Canterbury, Bankstown, Hills, Sutherland Shire, North West Sydney Football and Football South Coast.

When seconds matter

The urgency behind the project is not theoretical. At Doyalson Wyee Football Club, a 70-year-old player survived a sudden on-field cardiac arrest because an AED was available on site. The outcome of that incident – and the many others like it that occur across community sport each year – depends entirely on whether a defibrillator is accessible, charged and registered in the systems that emergency responders rely upon.

Sudden cardiac arrest kills without warning. The survival rate drops by approximately ten percent for every minute without defibrillation. In a community sport setting, where professional medical staff are rarely present, a registered and accessible AED is the difference between a player walking off a pitch and one who does not.

The mapping project addresses a gap that has existed largely unexamined. More than 2,400 defibrillators have been deployed across NSW sports and recreation facilities through the Local Sport Defibrillator Grant Program, with grants of up to $3,000 available to eligible organisations. But a device that exists without being registered in emergency response systems provides significantly less value than one that is accurately mapped and immediately locatable by ambulance crews responding to a call.

By encouraging clubs to complete AED registration surveys, the twelve participating associations are ensuring that the equipment already on their grounds is activated within the broader emergency infrastructure – translating a physical asset into a functional one.

Regional communities and the equity of safety

The project’s expansion of the #HeartHealthMatters Program, which brings CPR and AED familiarisation training to sporting organisations with a particular focus on regional areas, addresses a dimension of safety preparedness that often receives less attention than equipment access alone.

Knowing a defibrillator exists on site is insufficient if the people present during an emergency do not know how to use it. Regional clubs, which frequently operate with smaller volunteer bases and less access to formal training programs, face a compounded risk – less equipment, less training, and longer ambulance response times due to geography. The program’s regional focus acknowledges that safety infrastructure, like sporting infrastructure more broadly, is not evenly distributed.

The data gathered through the mapping project will also guide future investment decisions, identifying facilities that still lack AEDs and providing the evidence base for targeted grant funding to address those gaps.

Football associations that have already contributed AED data have demonstrated, in the words of the project’s organisers, strong sector leadership and a shared commitment to safeguarding participants at every level of the game.

For a sport that involves hundreds of thousands of players, officials and volunteers across the state each week, the ambition of the Heartbeat of Sport project is straightforward – that no preventable death occurs on a football ground because the right equipment was not there, or could not be found.

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