Victorian A-League clubs can benefit from unique home grounds, this is how.

AAMI Park in Melbourne

What makes a sporting venue unique?

Is it A). the respective fanbases that cheer for what seems an eternity in the hope their team will win?

Is it B). the overall quality and look of the venue, on the field and in the stands?

Or, is it C). the location of the venue that gives the team and its fans a sense of identity?

If you answered with C, congratulations. You won the jackpot. Go off and celebrate with Jamal Malik. Or Charles Van Doren, it doesn’t really matter.

Whilst there are cases that can be made for A and B, having a venue located appropriately for both the club and its supporters goes a long way to creating the most unique sporting venues across the planet.

European teams all have their own venues, which they have used for years to great effect, giving their sides genuine home ground advantages.

For example, FC Barcelona, arguably the biggest club in the world, uses the Nou Camp for home fixtures.

Any rival team would be rightly justified in being slightly overwhelmed at the prospect of playing against not only a world class team, but in front of nearly 100,000 Catalans.

There’s no one else, but you and your 10 teammates. If that can’t be classified as daunting, then nothing can.

But when we compare the European leagues to that of our own A-League, the differences are night and day.

For years, we’ve become accustomed to clubs playing at venues which are either shared with another club or simply not suitable for their supporters.

Melbourne Victory and Melbourne City often share AAMI Park for league fixtures. Sydney FC and Western Sydney have sometimes shared ANZ Stadium for larger fixtures.

By doing this, the local and state governments are ignoring the possibilities that come with individual home grounds.

It has worked for European teams and for a long time, it even worked in the Australian Football League. North Melbourne would play at Arden Street, Hawthorn in Waverley, Collingwood at Victoria Park, Carlton at Princes Park and so on.

By having unique venues, clubs would not only give back to the community, but they would attain a unique and distinguishable identity.

Picture this.

We are used to seeing London-based sides playing at their own locations. Crystal Palace have Selhurst Park, Arsenal have the Emirates, Chelsea have Stamford Bridge, Tottenham have their new Tottenham Stadium. The list could go on forever.

Now, take away all those stadiums, Every single one of them. Except for Wembley Stadium.

Now imagine all fixtures for London-based Premier League sides being hosted at Wembley and Wembley only.

It seems an incredibly stupid concept, doesn’t it?

That’s how it feels when both Melbourne sides are forced to share AAMI Park.

Sure, Wembley is a great stadium but soon, teams would slowly start losing their congruity and relationship with their fans. By having grounds in relevant and discernable locations, fans feel like they’re at home.

It’s not a club, it’s a large family.

That’s what having unique stadiums/locations for each side can do. It makes them feel at home, because in a way, they are.

Melbourne Victory could achieve something like this, should they invest in their Epping facilities. It is currently used for their NPL2 West fixtures, but it could be so much more.

Yes, it’s a downgrade from AAMI Park in terms of capacity and probably quality, but over time, fans will associate themselves with the ground and it can become a genuine home ground.

Sydney FC used Jubilee Oval in the city’s south to great effect in recent times, making it a tough ground to win at.

But also, it is located in the suburbs. With the people. With those who are the only reason the club is around today.

Now, Western Sydney will have the Bankwest Stadium as their unique home ground, starting next season. It will work as they are, once again, catering to their fanbase and community.

The Melbourne-based sides should take notes from this.

In Football Victoria’s strategic plan laid out earlier this year, FV said they would be look to be “expanding and improving all facilities and providing infrastructure to increase access, utilisation and sustainability”, by “building strong relationships with Local, State & Federal Governments.”

Creating a A-League quality stadium in Epping could go a long way to achieving this.

Clubs know that the fans are the most important stakeholders and that by adhering to them, they will become an infinitely better club.

History suggests that when clubs have their own distinctive venues, they perform better both on and off the field.

With time and money, more clubs across Australia can turn the A-League into a league on par with the MLS.

And yes, money can be a significant factor when it comes to this issue. Understandably, the governing bodies will not be wanting to make a move on this without money-back guarantees.

No one would agree to any sort of deal without guarantees that in time, their investments would be worthwhile. But the proof is in the pudding. It’s been done elsewhere, it can be done here. If the Sydney-based clubs can make it work, there’s no reason that other states can too.

Should this become a reality, more marquee players will want to play here, more youngsters will want to play the sport and overall, the sport of soccer in this country will thrive.

And who knows? With the right management and oversight, we could dare to dream even bigger…

 

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The A-Leagues Final Series important status also a secret hinderance

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The Isuzu A-League finals series is a huge event in the footballing calendar, though its contribution to stagnant attendance numbers in the league is something to be said.

If the 2025/26 finals series follows similar patterns to those before it, it will gather huge traction and strong ticket sales.

It is the largest event for the domestic league, bringing in massive amounts of viewership through media and gate receipts.

Finals series from years past have shown this, with the 2024/25 final, a Melbourne derby, being sold out within 48 hours and gathering significant viewership online.

The idea of a finals series lies within the Australian sporting ethos; the other sporting codes have had this tradition for most of their existence, especially in recent history.

Football, though, is different from the rest of the sporting codes in Australia, unique even. This has historically contributed to its inability to integrate into the same supported status as other codes.

Many in the Australian footballing community, supporter groups, players, coaches, and even the new Director of Football Australia, have voiced concerns over fan numbers in the league competition.

It wouldn’t be absurd to say that maybe, though profitable now, the finals series is actually taking away from the league itself.

Consider the media image: the league winner is called the “minor premiership,” and ticket sales and viewership figures reveal a huge disparity between the two parts of the A-League.

It must be said that an alternative that could work in unison with the league and possibly increase viewership of the league itself would be a great advantage.

It would allow the league to gain more jeopardy and drama, which could build greater interest in attending league games.

One alternative is already here.

No other sporting code in Australia has both a league competition and a cup competition. Football in Australia does.

The Hahn’s Australia Cup is our equivalent to the FA Cup in England or the Copa del Rey in Spain.

These are competitions that offer a finals option in a different competition entirely. They generate huge traction while never diminishing the importance of the league and, therefore, its popularity.

These cup competitions cannot be discussed without acknowledging some obvious differences.

They don’t face the same popularity issues that football does in Australia. It’s obvious the Hahn’s Australia Cup doesn’t yet gain the traction that the finals series does.

However, for a healthy footballing environment with increasing fan numbers, it should.

The idea of elevating the Hahn’s Australia Cup and scaling back the finals series is a complex question, one that is treated like a “no-go zone” by many in the Australian footballing community, and that is understandable.

Though big changes like this might, in the end, be credible options for the future of the sport in this country.

Larger plans must be set in motion, strategies that can be worked towards and refined along the way. It is the process by which all large organisations, business models and even national governments build their strategies.

Such a shift will be scrutinised and pushed back against.

Though with further fine-tuning and smart investment in development, not to mention the introduction of promotion and relegation and the possibility of changing the footballing calendar.

It could replicate the success that these two-competition models already enjoy in other leagues.

The added importance that the premiership would gain, the reality that every game matters, could alongside other strategies entice fans to more games, increase viewership and ticket sales, and create more dedicated fan bases. It works in other nations, very well in fact.

The possibility of two teams lifting a trophy, rather than one single event defining it all, sounds like a strategy that could deliver more engagement over longer periods of time.

Maybe Australian football doesn’t need to answer this question just yet. It is complex, difficult and it would require a great deal of work, including significant investment into the game, which is another issue entirely.

Yet as low attendance numbers persist in the A-League, even alongside increased media viewership, something needs to change for football in Australia.

The rise in popularity of this game and its dedicated community deserves bold ideas and forward thinking.

Ideas like this could eventually begin to change the landscape of the beautiful game in Australia for the better.

Media Mega-Mergers, Minor Leagues: Why Global Consolidation Should Be a Wake-Up Call for Australian Football

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Image Credit: Profimedia.cz

The approval of a reported $113 billion merger between Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount Global is being framed as the creation of a “next-generation media and entertainment company.”

But beyond Hollywood headlines, the deal signals something far more consequential for sport: a global media landscape rapidly consolidating into fewer, more powerful hands.

For Australian football, particularly the A-League, this is not just background noise. It is a structural shift that could define the league’s future.

 

A shrinking marketplace, a growing imbalance

The merger brings together an enormous portfolio of assets, such as film studios, broadcast networks and streaming platforms, under a single corporate umbrella. It reflects a broader industry trend: scale is no longer an advantage in media, it is a necessity.

Yet with that scale comes concentration. Fewer buyers now control more platforms, more audiences, and more capital. Critics of the deal have warned that such consolidation risks reducing competition and narrowing the range of voices in global media.

For sport, the implications are immediate.

Broadcast rights are no longer negotiated in a diverse, competitive market. Instead, leagues are increasingly competing for space within vertically integrated media ecosystems. This is because decisions are driven not just by audience demand, but by global strategy, bundled content offerings and long-term platform growth.

 

Why the A-League is particularly exposed

This shift lands unevenly across the sporting landscape.

Leagues like the Australian Football League (AFL) and National Rugby League (NRL) remain dominant domestic products, commanding billion-dollar broadcast deals and consistent mass audiences.

The A-League, by contrast, operates from a more fragile commercial base.

Despite its global game status, the league continues to face:

  • Inconsistent crowd figures
  • Fluctuating visibility
  • A comparatively modest broadcast deal with Paramount

In a fragmented media environment, this is manageable. In a consolidated one, it becomes a vulnerability.

Because as the number of broadcasters shrinks, so too does the margin for leagues that are not seen as “must-have” content.

 

From open market to closed ecosystem

The critical shift is not just economic, it is also structural.

In the past, leagues could leverage competition between broadcasters to drive rights value. Now, with fewer but larger players, the balance of power tilts toward the platforms.

Content is no longer simply acquired, it is curated.

And in that environment, only properties that deliver one (or more) of the following will thrive:

  • Guaranteed audiences
  • Global scalability
  • Year-round engagement
  • Strategic value within a broader content ecosystem

This is where the A-League faces both its greatest challenge—and its greatest opportunity.

 

The overlooked strength of Australian football

While often positioned as a “developing” product domestically, football offers something no other Australian code can replicate: global alignment.

As the world’s most popular sport, football operates within an international ecosystem that extends far beyond national borders. Australia’s geographic position, bridging Asian and Western markets, adds further strategic value.

For a global media entity like Paramount, this matters.

The A-League is not just local content. It is potentially exportable, scalable and aligned with global football narratives. It also taps into younger, more digitally engaged audiences, who are increasingly driving subscription-based streaming growth.

In a media environment defined by platform expansion, that is not a weakness. It is an underutilised asset.

 

Why consolidation should drive MORE investment

The instinct in a consolidating market is often caution by tightening budgets, focusing on proven performers and minimising risk.

But for Australian football, that approach is self-defeating.

Because without investment:

  • Production quality stagnates
  • Storytelling weakens
  • Audience growth plateaus
  • Commercial value declines

And in a system that rewards scale and engagement, stagnation is equivalent to irrelevance.

Instead, consolidation should be seen as a trigger for strategic investment:

  • Elevating broadcast presentation
  • Strengthening club identities and narratives
  • Expanding digital and streaming integration
  • Positioning the league within the broader global football conversation

In short, making the A-League indispensable, rather than optional.

 

The real risk: being left behind

The emergence of media giants like a merged Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount Global signals a future where content is filtered through fewer, more powerful gatekeepers.

In that world, leagues that fail to assert their value risk being sidelined, not because they lack potential, but because they fail to meet the evolving demands of the platforms that distribute them.

For the A-League, the danger is not collapse. It is marginalisation.

A slow drift into irrelevance while larger codes capture the attention, investment, and audiences that define modern sport.

 

Conclusion: a defining moment

This merger is not about Hollywood. It is about power.

Power over distribution. Power over audiences. Power over what gets seen and what does not.

For Australian football, the message is clear.

In a world of media consolidation, visibility is earned through value, not assumed through presence.

And if the A-League is to secure its place in that future, investment is no longer optional.

It is existential.

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