Uncovering the landscape of youth football in Western Australia

Western Australia football landscape

The recent inclusion of seven Perth Glory NPL players in the extended 28-player Joey squad for the upcoming AFC U-17 Asian Cup has sparked curiosity to explore the state of junior football in Western Australia (WA).

In this article, we will delve into the intricacies and nuances of the local youth football scene, shedding light on its current status and inherent flaws.

To gain a comprehensive understanding of the system, it is crucial to examine its structure. The JNPL initiates at U13’s. From U16’s, up until senior football, teams are not subject to promotion or relegation. Instead, the league placement solely revolves around the standings of the Men’s first team.

As a result, we often see a jumble of constantly changing allegiances among players, fuelled by the success of clubs in the season prior. This dynamic leads to a lack of loyalty and makes establishing clear pathways into the first team difficult.

Armadale SC’s U18 JNPL team perfectly depicts this problem. They currently occupy 12th place in the table with only one point, having conceded 54 goals in 11 games. It’s clear that they fall short of the playing standard. However, as it stands, they won’t be relegated due to the Men’s first team’s current third-place position.

To address this well-recognised issue, recommendations have been put forth by both the NPL and Junior Standing Committees (last in 2020) to restructure the current framework.

The NPL Standing Committee proposed a solution involving the establishment of two leagues within the JNPL: JNPL1 and JNPL2. The objective is to foster more closely contested competitions throughout the year. This can be achieved by either aligning all NPL teams with senior NPL teams or structuring the leagues based on finishing positions from the season’s previous Championship rounds, followed by divisional stages.

On the other hand, the Junior Standing Committee recommended that the future competition structure of the Junior NPL be merit-based, promoting a meritocratic approach. This would entail clubs being promoted or demoted based on their performance at the end of each season.

Both suggestions were noted but not implemented by Football West at the time.

Returning to Glory’s Academy success, their flourishing talent production line can be attributed to a plethora of reasons, including but not limited to:

  • A clear elite player development model and age-specific curriculum
  • Sole professional team in the state
  • Ample opportunities for youngsters
  • Talent absorption within the region
  • High-quality youth coaching

Furthermore, when analysing the cohort of Perth-based players chosen by Brad Maloney for the upcoming Asian Cup, a noticeable pattern emerges; with the exception of two individuals, all of them are current members of the Perth Glory NPL (U21) squad.

This leads us to two significant conclusions. Firstly, it suggests that the overall standard of football in Western Australia is comparatively inadequate, as these 17-year-olds are excelling in the state’s premier competition at such a tender age. Secondly, it highlights the distinct approach of Glory, who are actively providing opportunities for these young talents.

At present, Football West is conducting a comprehensive assessment of junior football in Western Australia, and starting in 2024, implementation plans will be put into motion based on the findings.

Both players and clubs will be eagerly anticipating the rectification of the fundamental deficiencies that have persistently plagued the junior system.

The Junior Review WA Survey 2023 can be found here.

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Inter Miami CF partners with Splendor Water

Inter Miami China Tour

American football club Inter Miami has confirmed Ecuadorian company, Splendor Water, as the club’s Official Premium Water.

Through the partnership, Splendor Water will have significant advertising at Inter Miami’s home, Chase Stadium. Additionally, the company will become an entitlement partner of Chase Stadium’s East Club in 2025 and will initiate fan giveaways at Inter Miami home games.

As Inter Miami transforms the football scene both in the United States and worldwide, Splendor’s award-winning mineral water will be there to hydrate and refresh the Club’s devoted fans on gameday, enhancing their experience as they take in the action on the field.

Inter Miami CF Vice President of Partnerships, Euan Warren, was enthusiastic for the collaboration.

“We welcome Splendor Water with open arms as our club’s Official Premium Water,” he said via press release.

“We are proud to have another prominent international brand within our family of partners that will not only enhance the gameday experience at Chase Stadium for our passionate fans, but also shares a strong commitment to offering the best.”

Inter Miami’s collaboration with Splendor Water is a move that continues to build the club’s list of high-quality brands.

Splendor Water Director of Growth and Operations, Sara Couch, outlined the compatibility of both partners.

“The Splendor team is honored to join the Inter Miami family of partners at a time when both our brand and the Club are seeing increasing excitement and success,” she said via press release.

“We feel Inter Miami’s values and dedication to the growth of their team and athletes align perfectly with our mission and dedication to sharing this incredible water with the world, and providing access to all who seek its superior hydration and replenishment.”

Splendor Water commits itself to authentic, premium and sustainable products. Its water is volcanic artesian mineral water, which flows through the Cotopaxi Volcano before collection in La Maná, a part of the Andes rainforest.

Splendor’s water features a rare blend of natural colloidal gold and silver nanoparticles, in addition to electrolytes such as calcium, magnesium and potassium, providing a mineral rich compound to consumers.

Splendor has earned significant praise for its environmental efforts, becoming a Smart Planet Certified brand and an Official Conservation Ambassador of the Galapagos Islands through the company’s work with organisations such as 1% for the Planet.

MLS soccer wraps up record season

The 2024 Major League Soccer regular season was the most successful for the American-based football competition yet. The regular season wrapped up in October and shattered several records, proving that the competition is in a healthy state and set up for long-term success.

More fans are consuming the MLS product than ever before, and it is experiencing year-over-year growth. Growing soccer in America has proven to be challenging, but the record-setting attendance highlights the breakthrough MLS is achieving.

The attendance average for the MLS season was the highest in the league’s history, at 23,234 fans per regular-season game, a +5.1% increase from the 2023 MLS regular season. In total, 11.4 million fans attended matches during the regular season, smashing the 2023 number of 10.9 million.

These figures will grow throughout the 2024 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs, from October 24th to December 7th. Based on their regular season numbers, MLS has projected that they will be in the top three across all soccer leagues globally in terms of attendance average after the 2024 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs, alongside the English Premier League and Bundesliga.

Due to the successful season, the league has experienced a 13% sponsorship revenue increase and a 13% club sponsorship revenue increase compared to the 2023 MLS season.

Ten out of the 29 clubs beat or tied their regular season attendance average, this statistic highlights communal growth beyond the Lionel Messi effect and keeps the league in a healthy spot going forward.

MLS social media grew faster in 2024 than the rival major men’s North American sports leagues, which consist of the National Basketball Association, Major League Baseball, and the National Hockey League.

  • MLS TikTok saw a 26% growth in followers
  • MLS YouTube saw a 21% growth in subscribers
  • MLS Instagram saw a 10% growth in followers

The MLS x Adidas Archive Collection was credited with huge financial success, and on July 16, 2024, the MLS retail store had its most successful day in history.

Beyond the American audience, MLS has been making waves in the European market. Attempts to expand the league overseas were pioneered by opening 800+ MLS retail stores across France, Spain, Germany, and other major European countries in partnership agreements with Primark and Bershka retail stores.

The broadcast deal between MLS and Apple TV, signed in 2022 for 10 years and worth 3.7 billion dollars, has injected valuable funds into the league to improve its overall product from broadcasting and on-field standpoints.

Apple TV, which broadcasts all MLS games, invites fans to easily access the league while airing MLS content beyond the live match broadcast. The investment has shown success since 2023, but fans have criticised the league for its match scheduling, Apple TV broadcasts in 100 countries, so the platform opportunity for MLS is substantial.

The mass financial figure has been credited with being a key reason why the league has been able to sign the likes of Lionel Messi, an 8-time winner of the Ballon d’Or and the captain of the 2022 FIFA World Cup-winning side Argentina.

The bigger picture for the MLS competition will be the continual rise of quality international players choosing to sign into the MLS and improving the match quality. The 2024 MLS season had a very successful summer transfer window, including star players Olivier Giroud, France’s all-time leading goal scorer, and Borussia Dortmund and Germany international Marco Reus.

Common fan complaints have been centred around the season’s kick-off in February and the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs finishing in December. The lengthy season means that the league is miserable to attend during winter from a fan’s perspective, the freezing and windy weather hurts the product, while thunderstorm delays have been common for the league in these cold months.

MLS games being played in Canada and Northeast America during the winter months will continue to jeopardise the product and growth of the sport.

Additionally, the gripes come from the lack of pauses throughout the 10-month season, which leads to a mass exodus of players from MLS teams during the international break, again hurting the product.

Given that the competition has 29 teams, broadcasting the matches in the evening on Saturdays and Wednesdays, with rare occasions when matches are played in other time slots, has made it challenging for football enthusiasts to follow the league as a whole.

Hosting games in earlier windows invites a family aspect to the matches, with Saturday/Sunday afternoon games working for the Premier League.

A huge positive of the Apple TV broadcasting deal is MLS 360, which takes fans all around the league with live coverage of the matchday. MLS 360 showcases the best action of every game, from goals to saves, play-by-play and analyst breakdowns of teams.

The analyst and play-by-play team consists of 60 people broadcasting in English and Spanish. Key football minds hosting the MLS 360 are Kevin Egan, Sacha Klejstan, Kaylyn Kyle, and Bradley Wright-Phillips.

As the MLS prepares for the 2024 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs, a recent change in playoff formatting kicked off in 2023 and proved to be a successful business model. The format was changed to include a best-of-three series with no ties and a mix of single individual knockout matches.

Also, allowing 19/29 MLS teams into the playoffs from a business standpoint meant more matches, more revenue, and more opportunities to grow the league as a whole.

Each MLS team has a fluid salary cap, this is to keep the league fair for all teams and give each team an equal opportunity to win on paper. There are ‘designated players’, such as Messi, who each team is allowed to sign even if it breaks the salary cap in an attempt to boost the league’s big-name talent. 

The absence of a regulation/promotion system and a player draft awarding lower-ranked teams with better talent is a welcome site for struggling teams to rebuild faster. This system improves the quality of the MLS competition and is a tool to prevent lopsided affairs. 

Garber has credited MLS teams’ business approach to investing in soccer-specific stadiums with the growth of team evaluations. Investing significant funding into building these stadiums for teams to risk relegating would harm the league and its revenue/team sponsorship. 

The 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America is gearing up to be a potential takeover opportunity for American soccer. MLS is expecting mass residual effects from this, similar to Australia and New Zealand hosting the 2023 Women’s FIFA World Cup.

The MLS’ business-savvy approach to running the league and ability to adapt to the sporting landscape surrounding it in an oversaturated sports market has worked in favour of the league. There’s a lot to be excited about looking at the future landscape for the MLS.

This league’s continual growth and development have fans in the box seat to enjoy some of the best football action in the world.

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