The future of the professional game in Australia: One-on-one with Sydney FC CEO and APL Managing Director Danny Townsend

Australian football finds itself at a rare inflection point. Not because of a single appointment, but because of two. With Martin Kugeler set to commence as CEO of Football Australia on 16 February 2026, and Steve Rosich now installed as CEO of the Australian Professional Leagues, the code has, perhaps for the first time in a long while, a genuine opportunity to align governance, commercial ambition and strategic execution across its two most powerful institutions.

This moment matters. Not symbolically, but structurally.

Kugeler arrives at Football Australia with a background that is markedly different from many of his predecessors. As former CEO of Stan and a senior leader across finance and strategy roles, he brings a media-native, commercially fluent mindset into a federation grappling with modern realities. Football Australia’s most recent financials tell a complex story: record revenues of $124 million, alongside a record $8.5 million loss. Chair Anter Isaac has been clear that grassroots programs and national teams will not be impacted, and projections suggest a return to surplus by 2026. But the message beneath the numbers is unmistakable: football can no longer rely on participation alone to sustain its future.

This is where Kugeler’s skillset becomes relevant. His mandate is not simply to steady the ship, but to modernise how Football Australia thinks about audiences, digital platforms, commercial partnerships and long-term value creation. Increasing commercial revenue, improving digital engagement and strengthening the federation’s market relevance are not optional objectives; they are existential ones.

Crucially, Kugeler does not inherit Football Australia in isolation. His tenure begins alongside Steve Rosich’s leadership of the A-Leagues, and that duality could become Australian football’s greatest advantage, if handled correctly.

Rosich, as previously outlined in my last CEO opinion, is not a caretaker. He is a commercial operator forged in high-pressure environments: the AFL, the Melbourne Cup Carnival and elite corporate sport. He understands sponsorship activation, broadcast value, governance discipline and the language of major brands. Where Kugeler brings media and platform intelligence, Rosich brings commercial deal-making and entertainment-led strategy.Together, they represent something Australian football has often lacked: complementary leadership at the federation and league level.

 

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For too long, the relationship between governing bodies and professional leagues has oscillated between tension and tolerance.

The recent Football Australia AGM made clear that, at least publicly, the relationship with the APL is currently characterised by “complete cooperation and collaboration.”

That sentiment must now be operationalised, not merely stated.

The $4.1 million expected credit loss linked largely to monies owed by the APL is a reminder that financial alignment, transparency and shared accountability are not abstract governance ideals. They are practical necessities. Disagreements over historical balances cannot be allowed to morph into structural dysfunction. Kugeler and Rosich must treat alignment not as diplomacy, but as strategy.

The real test of that alignment may arrive sooner than expected in the form of the Australian Championship.

The inception of a national second-tier competition is, in principle, a positive and necessary evolution for the game. But early signs should concern anyone paying attention. Clubs have already borne the brunt of operational and travel costs. Broadcast timings have been questionable, with examples such as Heidelberg United playing 1pm Sunday matches that clash directly with family and community priorities. There has been no major commercial sponsor announced, no broadcast-led narrative strategy, and no licensed merchandise program attached to the competition.

This is not sustainable.

Australian football has lived this movie before. The National Soccer League did not fail because of a lack of passion or history. It failed because of structure, economics and misaligned responsibility. The Crawford Report in 2003 was unequivocal in its findings: when Soccer Australia directly controlled the NSL’s operations, funding and commercial arrangements, inherent conflicts emerged. The governing body lacked the specialist commercial expertise to run a financially viable league, while the league itself became a financial burden that distracted from core responsibilities such as governance, development and national teams.

The solution then was clear: a licensed, semi-independent league model, aligned but not controlled. The A-Leagues were born from that logic.

The Australian Championship must not drift into the same structural grey zone that doomed the NSL. Kugeler will need to assess, early and decisively, where this competition sits within the ecosystem. Who carries the commercial risk? Who controls broadcast strategy? How are clubs protected from cost blowouts? And critically, where does the revenue model come from?

This is where alignment with Rosich becomes essential. Football Australia should not be attempting to commercialise a national competition in isolation, just as the APL should not be expected to absorb costs without strategic clarity. Joint sponsorship frameworks, coordinated broadcast planning and shared commercial storytelling are not nice-to-haves. They are safeguards against repeating history.

More broadly, the opportunity for knowledge-sharing between Kugeler and Rosich extends well beyond one competition. Both bring deep corporate networks. Both understand boardrooms, not just dressing rooms. Both speak the language of partners who expect return on investment, not goodwill.

If leveraged properly, this dual leadership can reshape how football presents itself to government, broadcasters, sponsors and global stakeholders ahead of the 2026 World Cup cycle. It can also restore confidence internally, among clubs, administrators and fans who have grown weary of fragmented strategy and reactive decision-making.

The warning is simple: alignment must be intentional. History shows that Australian football suffers most when roles blur, responsibilities overlap and commercial logic is secondary to sentiment. The promise, however, is equally clear. With Kugeler focusing Football Australia on governance, national teams and commercial modernisation, and Rosich driving the A-Leagues as a serious entertainment product, the code finally has the chance to operate as a coordinated system rather than competing silos.

Two CEOs. Two institutions. One code.

If they learn from the past, share expertise openly and resist the temptation to repeat structural mistakes, this period could mark not just a reset, but a genuine maturation of Australian football.

The opportunity is there. The question now is whether the game is ready to take it.