Axess makes game day run seamlessly 

Axess serves as a leading international manufacturer for ticketing and access management systems - a trusted process for sports clubs. 

Axess serves as a leading international manufacturer for ticketing and access management systems, putting in place a trusted process for sports clubs. 

The company has already achieved substantial reach and with an office in Australia (Currumbin Queensland)their services are right on our doorstep.  

Headquartered in Austria with production taking place in the city of Innsbruck, Axess currently has 20 offices in 16 different countries. 

Axess are specialists in individual solutions for ticketing and access management, software products to integrate own business areas and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems to manage consumer data. 

As Axess are able to cater for customers all around the world, they are also versatile with a variety of industries – their solutions are used by ski resorts, fair & convention centres, stadia & arenas, leisure parks, museums, sightseeing attractions and touristic transport. 

Axess can look at the unique fields and identify how to implement their expertise, with complete resort solutions, customer registration and customer loyalty programs with social media integration – as well as numerous standardised interfaces to third-party systems. 

To meet the needs of organisations, Axess will use the very best innovative hardware and the most modern software modules. This means they can offer a tailored service for every area of application. 

The hardware that Axess offers are suitable for any sporting event at a stadium, with customised areas to ensure a smooth process on game day. 

Venues are supported from start to finish by Axess, who provide systems that includes a layer of security so that it’s easy to know who is entering the stadium. 

As people arrive, Smart Gates can be used to verify exactly who is accessing certain parts of the venue. For example, to access a VIP area, a person would only be allowed in if they have an appropriate pass or accreditation, which would be scanned to give them the green light. A venue could even look at the Smart Security Gate for extra security protection to block ineligible patrons. 

This solution can be used in a similar manner for car parks, as Axess provide entrance and departure gates for those with motorised vehicles. This allows clubs to section off a particular area of their parking and reserve it for players, coaches, match officials and media personnel. 

When it comes to ticketing, Axess can assist clubs with both printing needs and digital implementation. They accommodate for fans at a personalised level, with a range of options available to collect their tickets for an event. For example, Axess offers a Pick Up Box that is accessible for people to collect the tickets they ordered online, meaning they’re not required to line up at tills.  

The Ticket Kiosk and Smart Printers by Axess are quick and easy solution for all parties, as customers can source what they need and therefore reduces crowded areas outside ticket kiosks in peak times, especially within half an hour of a big event starting. The technology on offer by Axess can print tickets in no time, covering a range of formats. 

However, as we know it has become important for patrons at an event to ‘check in’ using a QR code to register that they were there for Covid tracking purposes. Axess provides the option for people to purchase their tickets online and receive a code to enter the stadium. This gives all clubs the chance to implement this very important technology that becomes tracking software to identify anyone with symptoms of Covid-19.  

A QR code is also present on Axess’ Smart Cards, where they are more relevant to regular visitors of a stadium – members of a club. With an integrated chip, the card stores data of an individual for fast entry and is highly durable, so there’s no need to worry about replacing it.  

Whether it be those who like it old-fashioned or now tech-savvy, tickets by Axess come in all forms to create a user-friendly experience. 

The modules and equipment that Axess brings are state-of-the-art to match the ever-growing changes to technology. They are a flexible partner of access management, always looking for ways to be innovative in how their solutions can best fit any organisation. 

For a more detailed look into Axess’ products, as well as their latest news and case studies, you can find them here. 

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Mingle: Elevating your grassroots club

Founded in 2021, Mingle is a Dutch sports start-up aiming to elevate grassroots clubs through its impressive technology portfolio.

Mingle’s core product, the Mingle Sport app, strives to be a one-stop place for club members to easily access every piece of information they need.

The company offers three packages for clubs to use, from a basic free package to an extensive pro tier.

Team Management 

At its core, the Mingle Sport app is an easy to use, extensive and fluid way to organise a team. Users can implement a highly detailed schedule to track games, training sessions and other events.

This schedule can then be synced to a range of digital calendars, including Google, Outlook and iCloud. Through the schedule, players and coaches can RSVP and set up reminders.

To help identify how healthy a club is, Mingle also allows users to track attendance over a season by identifying trends.

Line-ups

One of the most important and enjoyable aspects of coaching is creating the team line-up, knowing this, Mingle provides an incredible degree of creativity within its native line-up builder.

The Mingle Sport app offers a range of formations for teams that are not only 11-a-side but also 7-a-side and lower.

Additionally, if the available formations are not to the liking of the user, Mingle enables users to drag and drop players to a desired location.

During a match, the line-up builder can also be used to track substitutions.

In higher tiered packages, match minutes can be live tracked, enabling users to see how many minutes each player is getting.

Team Communication 

The Mingle Sport app ensures club information is quickly available and accessible through its team chat.

Members can message through individual channels, or sub-groups can be created to deliver information quickly to multiple people at once.

Mingle’s line-up builder allows for team sheets and line-ups to be shared through the app to players, preparing them for games ahead.

Furthermore, notes and comments can be added to media posted on the app, allowing for updates and fun discussion to take place.

Performance Tracking 

The Mingle Sport app caters to a wide range of performance tracking, holding both quantitative and qualitative data.

Users can use the app to score keep, tracking stats such as goals, assists, and cards.

The app can then be used to measure trends, such as win rate, goal scoring, and goal difference. Additionally, members can rate matches from one to five.

Furthermore, Mingle Sport can be linked with Mingle’s Homebase, a desktop app focused on deeper analysis.

Mingle Sport also enables every team member to vote for three players of the match, for three different awards – MVP, Playmaker and Workhorse.

These MVP awards feed into Mingle’s monthly awards, where players can be awarded for receiving the most MVP awards within a month.

In addition, Mingle features leader boards which can track a range of stats, such as goals, assists and even attendance. These awards and leader boards act as a way to further motivate players into training harder and performing.

Content Sharing 

Mingle understands not everyone can access every game, so the app provides a live feed option in its premium tiers.

Users can customise the live feed to include the score, line-up, commentary, videos and blogs.

The live feed can then be enhanced by sharing updates and push notifications to members on key match moments.

Fortunately, the live feed is not exclusive to club members, outside fans can access the live feed through a shared link.

Besides the live feed, Mingle allows for a range of content sharing, users can post videos and photos in the app, which can be commented on. These can then be collated into albums, such as an end of year highlights package.

Conclusion 

Through its doctrine of ease, simplicity and accessibility, Mingle has proven itself as an incredibly and innovative successful start-up.

For any grassroots club looking to streamline and elevate their club communication, the Mingle Sport app is a perfect solution.

PFA Annual Report Highlights Key Concerns for A-League Players

The Professional Footballers Association (PFA) have released their 2024 Annual A-League Men’s report. This analysis has highlighted key successful areas of last season and importantly areas of growth in the league.

This review uses a wide range of data but importantly uses a strong player-based approach.

A key tool for data collection for this report is the A-League Men’s end-of-season survey conducted voluntarily online between May 7-31, 2024. This survey received 191 player responses, a record number with at least 13 players from each club.

The survey provides a comprehensive and representative source of player insights for policymakers, offering robust comparisons across the league.

Categorised below are some key factors of the report.

International Benchmarking

The Twenty-First Group’s World Super League model provides insights into the A-League Men’s (ALM) competitive positioning.

The analysis employed a machine learning approach, rating team strengths based on performance and player movements from ten relevant leagues over six seasons. The ALM ranks eighth among these competitions as a second-tier Asian league.

The salary cap system contributes to the consistent team strengths, with a slight overall decline in score over six years likely attributed to league expansion. Despite this, the ALM’s league ranking remained stable.

From a player development perspective, the analysis offers guidance for international transfers to leagues that offer promising development pathways for Australian players looking to progress in their international careers.

Transfer Revenue

The Australian A-League Men (ALM) has experienced a remarkable transformation in its transfer market dynamics as a significant talent production and export market over recent years.

In 2024, ALM clubs received at least $17.5 million in transfer fees, with the total value potentially exceeding $20 million, significantly up from the approx. $10 million in 2023 and the $2.5 million average in past seasons.

This growth represents a fundamental shift in the domestic men’s football economy. For the first time, transfer revenue is now surpassing broadcast revenue.

In the context of the broader market, while ALM revenues have grown quickly, they remain a fraction of those in slightly more advanced leagues.

AFC Club Competitions

Previously, AFC competitions were often more costly than beneficial.

However, in the new 3-tier continental club competitions for 2024, the AFC Champions League Elite (ACLE) qualifying for the eight-match group stage guarantees $1.23m, with an additional $150k per win. Champions can earn at least $18.5m.

The ACL2, Which CC Mariners won last season, provides $462k for group stage participation and $77k per win, with champions potentially earning up to $5m. ALM clubs receive one berth in both the top two tiers.

Under the current Collective Bargaining Agreement, players will receive an increasing share of prize money from the Round of 16 onwards.

Player Profiles

The PFA conducted a comprehensive analysis of match minutes across six leagues: A-League Men (ALM), J1 League, K League 1, MLS, Scottish Premiership, and Belgian Pro League.

The analysis revealed that Australian and Belgian leagues stood out, with over 10% of match minutes played by under 20s, compared to less than 5% in the other four competitions.

The introduction of scholarship players outside the salary cap has notably reduced the league’s average age, emphasizing its commitment to youth development.

Attendance

Average attendance for regular season matches has increased to 8,076 from 7,553 in 2022-23, but crowds have still not recovered to their pre-COVID levels.

Excluding the lowest attended teams of Western United and Macarthur FC the average attendance last season was 9,232, 14% higher than the 8,076 overall average.

Though the overall bias against crowd attendance can be assumed to be not as prevalent as people think, identifying this can help deal with the situations that hinder attendance.

Competitive balance

Competitive balance overall was strong with 7% of matches featuring a margin of four or more goals and 7% decided by three goals.

There was a tight race for the top 6 and the bottom two teams from 2022-23, Macarthur and Melbourne Victory, both made the finals, demonstrating the strong competitive balance of the ALM across seasons.

CBA Progress

Total player payments were around $57.8m in 2023-24, down slightly from the all-time high of $58.8m the previous season with the average payments per club being around $4.8m. This was well above the salary cap of $2.6m.

The vast majority of exempt payments from the cap were those to Marquee and Designated players. The average spend on Scholarship Players was just under $300k per club.

This report describes how revenues from transfer fees and a more lucrative AFC Champions League present new financial opportunities for our clubs.

Player Perceptions

According to the PFA end-of-season survey, 50% of ALM players were dissatisfied and 27% were very dissatisfied with how APL has performed in its management of the competition.

46% of players had ‘low trust’ in APL regarding developing a vision to improve the league.

The PFA was rated highest by the players, with 91% satisfied with its performance regarding ALM and 64% having high trust in the PFA to develop a vision.

In issues of the league, trajectory players outlined fan core experience as a centre stage with more than half including Broadcast (58%) and Atmosphere (51%) in their top three with Visibility and Branding/Marketing coming in second.

Workplace Safety

The PFA end-of-season survey uncovered concerning findings regarding the safety of ALM players’ workplaces.

11% of ALM players felt their club environment was either physically or psychologically unsafe and one in five players (20%) said they or a team-mate were unwilling to discuss issues with coaching staff and 16% with club management. 7% of players reported instances of players being forced to train alone at their clubs.

Though only a few clubs were reported on this, is still regarded as an industry issue.

Extreme weather

Last season one in six ALM matches was impacted by extreme weather with extreme heat the main culprit. 58% of players indicated the conditions impacted the players’ performances and 9% of player performances were hindered overall.

Club Index

Sydney FC was rated as the league’s best-performing club in the overall Club Performance Index, after placing in the top three for the sub-indices for Operations, Facilities, and Culture.

Pitch and atmosphere ratings

A-League players rated Wellington’s Sky Stadium with perfect marks for its pitch quality also and a four-star average for the match atmosphere.

Adelaide’s Coopers Stadium, AAMI Park, where also highly rated by ALM players with an average around the 4 stars mark. Victory home matches received an average of 4.4 for atmosphere.

The lowest rated were Newcastle’s McDonald Jones Stadium and Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium, averaging just 2.1.

Though other factors are included for pitch quality like other events, Players should still not be subject to substandard and potentially dangerous conditions.

Conclusion

Though the report shows that in many aspects the sport is moving in the right direction, the responses from players on their welfare and on the need for more attendance is a worrying sign for the management.

This assessment is a strong example of the PFA’s dedication towards the sport in Australia and maintaining the strong relationship between the Football industry and the players themselves.

The key points of this report should be central to plans within A-League and Australian Football itself.

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