How a national second division could use mobile-only ticketing

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While mobile ticketing has been around for over a decade, its presence is only increasing with some sporting events starting to move to mobile-only ticketing.

In 2019, U.S. Soccer extended a deal with its official ticketing provider Ticketmaster. The deal included plans to use Ticketmaster Presence a platform which replaces paper tickets with digital passes.

Most MLS clubs have been moving to mobile ticketing over the last few years with the Seattle Sounders in 2016 becoming the first MLS team to go fully mobile.

The MLS offers mobile ticketing via the league’s official app and MLS club apps.

There are now many ticketing platforms which offer mobile ticketing.

Australian soccer could use a platform such as TicketCo.

TicketCo was launched in 2013 with an aim to create a user-friendly ticketing solution.

“By providing a frictionless payment journey for the public and a single point of administration for the event organiser, TicketCo is creating the best value for both users and organisers. Through TicketCo organisers can sell both tickets, food and beverages, merchandise and accommodation,” TicketCo said on their website.

Here are the major reasons why Australian soccer should consider a move to mobile only ticketing.

COVID safe

The contactless aspect to mobile ticketing makes the technology extremely important as the FFA will be looking into how to get as many fans into stadiums safely during the pandemic.

TicketCo UK Country Manager David Kenny told fc business of the tracking and tracing ability of the TicketCo platform.

“Our traceability feature can enable football clubs to accurately record the details of everyone who enters the stadium. It works by scanning the ID of the supporter, or colleague when they enter the stadium, via a smartphone or tablet,” Kenny said.

“The information would then be stored accordance with GDPR regulation for the period required by the government for tracing. Once the time frame expires the data would automatically be deleted via an automated process.”

Self-scanning technology for mobile tickets is already in place at the major stadiums in Australia. While it may be expensive for NPL clubs to put this technology in place, it can be integrated quickly.

TicketCo can be integrated into a stadium within two weeks.

David Kenny also believes that the technology is “accessible and affordable to all clubs”.

Convenience and flexibility

Some US colleges have also decided to use mobile only ticketing for their sporting events based on the convenience and flexibility mobile ticketing offers. For the 2020/21 seasons the University of Arkansas and Florida Atlantic University have opted to move to digital ticketing systems.

Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics at the University of Arkansas, Hunter Yurachek said that mobile ticketing options had been successful in previous seasons.

“Whether it is transferring tickets to family or friends, getting the latest update on gameday changes or self-scanning themselves into the event, our fans now can manage their tickets, at their convenience, by utilizing their smart phones,” he said

“No longer do fans need to worry about forgetting tickets at home or in the car. With mobile ticketing, our fans literally have all of the gameday options they need right in the palm of their hand.”

Florida Atlantic University shared a similar sentiment when announcing their move to mobile only ticketing.

“(A) new and convenient way for fans to access tickets to FAU home games directly on their smartphone. Ease and flexibility to transfer tickets to friends and family,” they said.

Live-streaming

The TicketCo platform can also be used to live-stream matches with both pay-per-view and video on demand options for TicketCo TV.

David Kenny said that the live streams can be viewed on Apple TV and Android TV.

“If stadiums remain closed live streaming will become a key issue. And once physical crowds are welcomed back clubs can simply host ‘hybrid events’ by selling tickets to the stadium alongside virtual tickets,” he said.

“Introducing a robust live streaming solution now will be a sound long term investment for football clubs.”

Either by using the TicketCo platform or adapting similar technology into its own My Football Live app the FFA could create a single area where fans would be able to access both live-streams and tickets.

This would make it very straightforward for fans to have their tickets or view live-streams for Socceroos, Matildas, A-League, W-League, NPL and the new National second division matches.

Data

The data from mobile ticketing, can tell organisers who bought tickets, who tickets were transferred to and who actually attended the event. This would be useful to help market the game.

The demographics of attendees could be analysed to give the FFA an specific idea of who their audience is.

With several benefits to mobile only ticketing, digital only tickets could soon become a reality for Australian soccer.

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Project ACL: The initiative leading the way on injury research

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Image credit: FiledIMAGE / Shutterstock.com

Launched in 2024, the research project recently welcomed two US-based organisations: the National Women’s Soccer League Players Association (NWSLPA) and National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL).

 

About Project ACL

Led by FIFPRO, PFA England, Nike and Leeds Beckett University, Project ACL aims to research ACL injuries and understand more about multifactorial risk factors.

After piloting in England’s Women’s Super League (WSL), Project ACL will expand to the NWSL in the US, reflecting the global importance of the project’s research and outcome.

“We are incredibly excited to bring the NWSLPA and NWSL to Project ACL,” said Director of Women’s Football at FIFPRO, Dr. Alex Culvin, via official press release.

“Overall, we believe that player-centricity and collaboration with key stakeholders are central to establishing meaningful change in the soccer ecosystem and that players, competition organisers and stakeholdersaround the world will benefit from Project ACL’s outputs and outcomes.”

Interviews with over 30 players and team surveys across all 12 WSL clubs provided the project’s research team with valuable information about current prevention strategies and available resources.

Furthermore, the project tracks player workload and busy schedule periods during the season through the FIFPRO Player Workload Monitoring tool, therefore gaining insights into the link between scheduling and injury risks.

 

Looking to the data

Project ACL’s partnerships with the WSL – and now the NWSL – are immensely valuable for the future of player welfare in women’s football.

Although ACL injuries affect both male and female athletes, they are twice as likely to occur in women than men. However, according to the NWSL, as little as 8% of sports science research focuses on female athletes.

In Australia, several CommBank Matildas suffered ACL injuries in recent years: Sam Kerr was sidelined from January 2024 to September 2025, Ellie Carpenter for 8 months after suffering the injury while playing for Olympique Lyonnais, and Holly McNamara came back from three ACL’s aged 15, 18 and 20.

And this is just the tip of the iceberg. The 2025/26 ALW season saw several ACL incidents, including four in just two weeks.

 

Research, prevent, protect

Injury prevention and research are vital to sport – whether professional or amateur.

But when the numbers are so shocking – and incidents are so common – governing bodies must remember that player welfare comes above all else. Research can inform prevention strategies. Prevention means players can enjoy the game they love.

The work of Project ACL, continuing until 2027, will hopefully protect countless players across women’s football from suffering long-term or recurring injuries.

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.

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