Support grows for National Second Division ahead of AAFC meeting

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The Australian Association of Football Clubs (AAFC) will take the next step towards its plans to have a national second division in place by 2022, holding a meeting this week with interested member federation clubs.

Over 50 clubs across Australia are set to be a part of the discussion on Tuesday, which will centre around the criteria of the proposed second division, with a working title of ‘The Championship’.

AAFC will provide a public statement on the progress made throughout the meeting the following day.

This is welcome news for football fans who have been pushing for a proper football system, with AAFC also providing possible timelines, something the game has been crying out for.

The organisation would have been heartened to hear of Melbourne Victory owner Joe Mirabella’s comments recently, who fully backed the implementation of a national second division.

He told The Age: “We need it (a second division) because it is a point of difference to our game and to other sports. We need competition in the A-League. We need our grassroots to eventually play into a B-League and then play towards winning a spot in the A-League.”

“I don’t care if it is Victory, Sydney FC or Melbourne City. It is about merit.”

Mirabella’s comments are not revolutionary, but are significant, because of who he is.

A Melbourne Victory owner publicly admitting the game needs promotion and relegation might go against his own interests, based on the current A-League model, however, he realises it is for the betterment of the sport in this country.

It will provide the game with more opportunities across the board and will embrace what makes football unique.

“I have discussed this with a lot of football people,” he continued.

“When you get journalists, commentators and fans of the game, ex-players who have played for the country and they are all in favour of the second division then you can see there is a groundswell of support going.

“My family is a football family. But when they are saying the A-League has become boring you have to do something.”

Ultimately, the decision to implement a connected football pyramid will come down to the FFA, who continue to be in discussions with AAFC.

The ‘XI Principles’ document which was released at the start of July, highlighted various agenda points in the game that the governing body would look to fix or improve.

Detail on the second division was light, with just one passage of the document stating “consider the development of a second-tier competition”.

In saying this however, the XI Principles is a living document, meaning amendments will be made to it in the future, as the FFA assesses the best way forward for the game in financially difficult times.

Following the results of a survey of the Australian football community based on the XI Principles paper, showing 99% of respondents insist the game undertakes a major overhaul, FFA CEO James Johnson spoke about the possibilities of a national second division.

“Could there be a second-tier competition, with 10 or 12 teams that play 20-odd rounds home and away or do we look at a second-tier competition with conferences based in different states around the country that play half the season at state level and then end up playing at national level in a group stage, similar to how the Brazilian league operates,” he told News Corp.

“There’s two parts to the season that starts at state level, then a qualification process that goes into a national level of competition.

“This is something we could look at because someone of our challenges in Australia are similar to Brazil – where you have competition that are strong at state level and you have a very big country geographically, so their solution was to use this sort of format.”

Whether you believe the Brazilian system is suitable for Australia or not, it is important for football fans to see those in charge of the game continue to debate the merits of various models, led by an administrator who is a football person.

With the greatest respect, what was the likelihood of former FFA CEO David Gallop speaking about the Japanese footballing model as opposed to the Brazilian model in the public eye?

The national second division is coming, in what form we are unsure, but the consensus seems to be when and how, not if.

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More Than One in Five Football Australia Staff to Lose Jobs Amid Growing Financial Losses

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Image Credit: ESPN

Australian football finds itself in a curious position.

From the outside, the game appears to be riding a wave of momentum. Attendances, visibility and public interest have all experienced significant uplift in recent years, while major international tournaments and growing discussion around football’s future continue to place the sport firmly within the national conversation.

Yet behind that momentum, Football Australia is now confronting a far more challenging internal reality.

 

A compounding deficit

Chief Executive Martin Kugeler has reportedly indicated the governing body’s projected financial losses for 2025 are expected to exceed the organisation’s reported $8.5 million deficit from the previous year. Accompanying the financial outlook are substantial organisational changes, with reporting from Tracey Holmes indicating more than one in five Football Australia employees are expected to lose their positions through restructuring measures.

The figures represent more than a difficult balance sheet. They point toward a significant period of recalibration inside the organisation responsible for overseeing the sport nationally.

 

Losing the wisdom of existing staff members

For governing bodies, restructures are often framed as strategic necessities for future sustainability. However, workforce changes on this scale also raise broader questions around the challenges of such a transition.

People are often the carriers of knowledge, relationships and long-term strategic understanding. When organisations undergo significant structural change, the effects can extend beyond immediate financial outcomes.

 

Contradicting timing

The timing is what makes the developments particularly notable.

Football in Australia has spent recent years discussing expansion, growth and long-term opportunity. The conversation surrounding the game has increasingly centred on future potential. Often headlining stronger pathways, larger audiences, infrastructure development and greater visibility.

Against that backdrop, news of deep financial losses and substantial staffing reductions creates a different conversation: one focused not on where the game wants to go, but on what may be required to sustain that journey. Therefore, this announcement points toward stagnancy, rather than growth.

Further detail surrounding Football Australia’s strategy and long-term direction will likely emerge over coming months. For now, the developments serve as a reminder that growth stories are rarely straightforward.

Often, the periods that appear strongest from the outside can also be the moments organisations face their most significant internal tests.

New ‘Unfiltered’ Episode with Paul Klisaris and Oscar Yildiz

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Image Credit: One-Nil Media

The ‘Unfiltered’ podcast by Soccerscene promises honest, thought-provoking conversations about football culture, identity and the stories fans don’t usually hear in mainstream coverage.

In the latest episode, Mihaila Kilibarda sits down with passionate councillors Paul Klisaris and Oscar Yildiz to debate the role of policy in shaping infrastructure, career opportunities and on-field success in the Australian football landscape.

From exposing flaws in policy making, to critiquing the A-League, Paul and Oscar discuss the future trajectory of football in Australia. With strong views on the disconnect between decision-makers and grassroots communities, this is an unfiltered look at the issues holding the sport back—and the urgent need for change.

“Bring back Preston, bring back South Melbourne, bring back that culture into the game. There was nothing wrong with that. Bring it back. Regulate it better, police it better, like they have in Europe. There is rivalry and that’s healthy!” says Paul Klisaris in this episode.

Oscar Yildiz agreed that “We might need to throw a bomb. There is no incentive for clubs to aspire to. You know, you can finish last and still stay in the league. They need to have people from state, from federal, people, again, who know the game, who genuinely know the game. And, it means understanding the politics around the game.”

Listeners can expect Unfiltered to go beyond match reports and transfers. Each episode will dive into the ideas, people and cultural forces that make football one of the world’s most compelling sports. Episode 2 is available now, hoping to challenge, entertain and inspire.

Listen now on Spotify: 

With Unfiltered, Soccerscene is giving fans a space to think, feel and debate about the game they love. Further, it is encouraging conversations that are as engaging as the football itself.

Stay tuned for future episodes, featuring more voices shaping the beautiful game.

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