Can A-League fans stand up and stay safe at the same time?

In all likelihood, the fresh and new Bankwest Stadium in Sydney will host its final game of rugby league for 2019 this weekend.

What will follow stands to be a landmark moment in Australian sport. The sky-scraping posts will come down, NRL corporate signage removed and the stadium will be transformed into the home of the Western Sydney Wanderers.

Having been lucky enough to visit the Mariners’ home venue on the Central Coast of New South Wales and Coopers Stadium in the city of churches, like many others, I can probably claim to have experienced the most pleasant football facilities in the land for fans.

Appropriateness of size and proximity to the action are common criticisms when Australian football matches are played in cavernous venues in front of moderate crowds. Both Central Coast Stadium and Coopers provide the match day feel so often missing at larger venues.

With Australian football being the beggar rather than the chooser for so long, purpose built, fan friendly venues have been something of a pipe dream. For Australia’s most populated city, that dream now becomes a reality, and the Wanderers are just 30 days away from christening their new home.

As impressive as the stadium looks on television, seeing it first hand is an experience all in itself. However, as modern and state of the art as the facilities are, it is the safe standing section at the northern end that will attract most interest from football fans around the country.

Overzealous security, an ingrained anti-football bias and a small number of fools have torpedoed active support in Australian football during recent times. Anecdotal stories of fans being asked to remain seated and requested to tone down their barracking are common.

Wanderers’ active support group the RBB felt the full force of the heavy hand of fear and as the club traversed the state looking for a pitch on which to host matches, became somewhat dismantled.

Bankwest Stadium now looms as a potential repatriation for them and a watershed moment for football stadiums in Australia. Wanderers CEO John Tsatsimas and others championed the cause, lobbying for the inclusion of a safe standing area at Western Sydney’s new home ground, that would allow fans to support in football’s traditional style.

The safe standing rails were installed in June, undertook some small scale testing, before being successfully trialled when Leeds United took on the Wanderers the following month.

Things went well. However, the acid test will be the A-League competition, when the 1,260 standing spaces available will need to be occupied by Western Sydney Wanderers fans with a full comprehension of their role in the potential change in venue design and use in the future.

Wanderers’ manager Markus Babbel was blown away by the class of the facility, citing the standing section and viewing experience as being “absolute European top style, exactly what a soccer team needs.”

Such emotive reviews have been common place yet it will be a joyous safe standing section that provides a safe and raucous environment at the Wanderers’ home matches this season, that will truly catch the eye of the Australian sporting public.

Impressive television images of 25,000 plus enjoying the Wanderers homecoming and safe mayhem in the standing section will be the best advertisement for the league and the Australian game.

Seeing other venues experimenting with the concept would be the greatest testament to the work of Tsatsimas and those who passionately lobbied for something they hope will help differentiate football support from that of other codes and thus enhance the sense of ownership and belonging so desired by fans.

Australian football stadium design and the match day experience of supporters could be changed forever when the Western Sydney Wanderers face the Central Coast Mariners on the 12th of October in Round 1 of the A-League.

Fans managing to stand up and stay safe at the same time would be a great first step.

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Football Australia announces new format and October 2025 start date for National Second Tier

Football Australia has officially announced the launch of the National Second Tier (NST) competition, a key milestone in its commitment to advancing domestic club football in Australia.

Following extensive workshops and consultations with the eight NST Foundation Clubs, Football Australia confirmed the NST will kick off in October 2025, highlighting the best in Australian club football through a modern and sustainable competition model.

Key Aspects of the 2025 NST Competition:

Commitment to Play: Football Australia, the NST Foundation Clubs, and stakeholders are committed to launching the NST in 2025, aligning with the strategic goal of connecting Australia’s football pyramid and elevating iconic clubs to a national level.

Competition Structure: The NST will feature 16 teams, starting with group-stage matches and culminating in an elimination Finals Series. This structure is designed to balance sustainability with competitive integrity and commercial appeal.

Team Composition: The eight NST Foundation Clubs will gain automatic entry and be joined by eight invitational clubs, selected from the Member Federation NPL State Premiers, forming a truly national competition.

Season Timeline: The NST season will run annually from October to December, featuring nine match day rounds and concluding with a Championship Final in early December. This timeline aligns with the Domestic Match Calendar, ensuring optimal scheduling for players, fans, and stakeholders.

Brand Launch: Football Australia will unveil the competition’s official name, brand identity, marketing materials, and trophy design in the coming months, setting the stage for a memorable inaugural season.

Football Australia CEO James Johnson shared his excitement about the NST: “The introduction of the National Second Tier is a landmark moment for football in Australia. Following productive discussions with our eight Foundation Clubs and consultation with other stakeholders, we are committed to creating a competition that not only elevates our game but also enriches the football community at all levels. The National Second Tier will provide a new platform for iconic clubs to showcase their talent and connect with fans nationwide.”

Football Australia will continue collaborating with NST Foundation Clubs, Member Federations, and stakeholders to finalise the operational details for the competition.

Over the past year, Football Australia has conducted two detailed Request for Proposal (RFP) processes to select NST clubs. With advisory support from BDO, 14 clubs across six states and territories have met the technical requirements for the NST RFP process.

Of these 14 clubs, six did not meet the financial requirements for a standalone NST home-and-away league before the June 2024 deadline. Football Australia will monitor these clubs as they strengthen their proposals.

National Second Tier
Marconi Stallions announced as a founding club of the National Second Tier.

Additionally, Football Australia will initiate a third NST RFP selection process, extending eligibility to clubs outside the initial Expression of Interest and focusing on underrepresented regions to identify additional foundation clubs.

The eight clubs announced in November 2023—APIA Leichhardt FC, Avondale FC, Marconi Stallions FC, Preston Lions FC, South Melbourne FC, Sydney Olympic FC, Sydney United 58 FC, and Wollongong Wolves FC—remain central to the NST’s future and will continue as foundation members.

The six additional clubs that have met the NST RFP technical criteria are Adelaide City FC, Caroline Springs-George Cross FC, Gold Coast United FC, Gungahlin United FC, South Hobart FC, and Sunshine Coast FC.

Further updates will be provided as the NST evolves, with a standalone NST home-and-away league remaining a key strategic goal once minimum requirements are met.

Is it time to make the A-League Women a full-time professional competition?

Newcastle Jets Women

In the last fortnight, Professional Footballers Australia (PFA) released their annual A-League Women’s report, providing an overview of the current state of the women’s game at the highest level in Australia.

Throughout the document the PFA pinpointed their key recommendation, make the A-League Women’s (ALW) competition a full-time professional league.

The association had previously earmarked this as their number one priority in the year prior, but have now doubled down – setting a timeline for implementation by the 2026-2027 season.

The timeframe has come from extensive feedback from stakeholders within the game, with the vast majority of players agreeing that action on this front must come sooner rather than later.

The report outlined in detail the difficulties players are having with the current part-time nature of the league – with most players not on 12-month contracts, minimum wages set at $25,000 and club salary caps sitting at $600,000 per season.

The representative body also highlighted the threat to the competition based on significant progress of other women’s sporting leagues here in Australia and more importantly overseas women’s football leagues.

“The global growth of women’s football presents both a challenge and an opportunity for the A-League Women,” PFA Co-Chief Executive Kate Gill stated.

“Our players recognise that the league must embrace full-time professionalism by 2026 to remain competitive on the global stage.

“Our league and club leaders must unite behind a new vision that drives professionalism, commercial growth, and investment.”

Competitions such as the UK Women’s Super League (WSL) and the US National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL), have continued to build their presence in the global landscape.

The WSL has had a 700% increase in attendances, since establishing themselves as a full- time professional league in 2018.

The NWSL has recently increased its salary cap by 40% to $4.1 million for the 2024 season, after securing a significant broadcast deal worth 40 times more than their previous one.

Alongside this, a new American professional league, the United Soccer League’s Super League (USLS) launched in August of this year – with plans underway to continue to expand the competition.

These developments will continue to affect the ALW’s ability to not only retain but also attract talent to the Australian competition, as player salaries and conditions continue to rise in overseas leagues.

Of the 106 foreign player transfers into the ALW since 2018, 63 were Americans. 46% of the imported players (across all nationalities) came directly from the NWSL. With professionalism and club standards continuing to reach greater heights in competitions in America, for example, the ALW may continue to fall behind and not be an attractive proposition for foreign players coming into our competition, but also for players already competing in the ALW.

According to 2023-2024 end of season surveys conducted by the association, ALW players have now rated the NWSL as the second most preferred league to play in, behind the WSL in the UK.

In the previous year, 56% of ALW players put the ALW ahead of the NWSL on their respective lists, but a year later only 41% of players did the same.

It’s a clear sign that these leagues overseas are offering superior opportunities for players, which the ALW needs to try to combat and minimise this impact immediately.

With full time professionalism in the Australian competition set as a clear goal by the PFA, the commercial viability of the league will be at the forefront of any discussions around this.

The ALW did increase their crowds organically in the past season by 72 percent (on the back of a Women’s World Cup on home soil) however the PFA believes there were still strategic missteps that could have led to even further growth.

Based on fan focus groups setup by the organisation, newly converted Matildas fans were ignorant to details about ALW teams and schedules – due to a lack of promotion to spectators who attended international matches.

With the Women’s Asian Cup also to be played in Australia in two years’ time, the same mistakes cannot be made and capitalising on these home tournaments is paramount.

The 2026 Women’s Asian Cup is set to be an important part of the PFA’s proposed professional relaunch of the A-League women’s competition, using the major tournament to enhance the leagues visibility.

Alongside this, the report claims that an improvement of the ALW’s match presentation is needed – from consistent match day experiences, to appropriate venues for games and better broadcast standards.

All of these factors should, alongside overall improvements to club environments, lead to an attractive product that may eventually reap commercial rewards in the future.

The question is however, will the next step of initial investment towards a professional full-time A-League Women’s competition be taken?

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