We Are The Reds

The NPL Clubs of Australia are getting organised to participate in the creation of a second division.

NSL giants Adelaide City and West Adelaide have been invited to be part of an independent Australian soccer association intent on setting up a national second division.

SA’s national premier league clubs MetroStars, Western Strikers and Para Hills have also responded to being part of a master plan to give all clubs sanctioned by Football Federation SA and Football Federation Australia a relevant voice at board level.

A proposed meeting between some of the leading powerbrokers from what were Australia’s most successful clubs before the A-League kicked off in 2005 is due to be held in Melbourne on March 20, with a new national second tier competition potentially on the agenda.

Is this old news down there?
Could pressure be building on the FFA regarding reforming the football leagues?

The NPL Clubs of Australia are getting organised to participate in the creation of a second division.

NSL giants Adelaide City and West Adelaide have been invited to be part of an independent Australian soccer association intent on setting up a national second division.

SA’s national premier league clubs MetroStars, Western Strikers and Para Hills have also responded to being part of a master plan to give all clubs sanctioned by Football Federation SA and Football Federation Australia a relevant voice at board level.

A proposed meeting between some of the leading powerbrokers from what were Australia’s most successful clubs before the A-League kicked off in 2005 is due to be held in Melbourne on March 20, with a new national second tier competition potentially on the agenda.

Is this old news down there?
Could pressure be building on the FFA regarding reforming the football leagues?

No this is a relatively new development.
It's more than high time the FFA stopped sitting on their hands on this. A hell of a lot of flack they are copping ATM would cease if they at the very least outlined what they would like from hopeful bidders. I can't for the life of me understand why they can't even do that? Obviously even if an entity hits all the marks on the criteria that still doesn't mean the FFA have to allow them in, but at least it would offer bidders a framework to build on and then that would be something everyone can focus their attention on. ATM all the attention is on the FFA's inability to make a basic decision in the face of huge and prolonged public outcry.

If a second tier emerges and football can become a viable career path for more guys then watch the standard of the aleague and socceroos explode.

So many players have devloped late and almost fallen through the cracks .

I really hope this is not just another pipe dream

The FFA have dropped the ball!

Nice idea but I really can't see it being viable. NSL v 2.0

Australia is not Europe, football is not the dominating number one sport here (sadly) there is a lot of competition for limited sponsorship dollars, the population is small, distances are huge, the media is not interested at best, hostile at worst, and most "football fans" here are EPL/La Liga/Serie A fanboys dismissive and unsupportive of the local game.

Love to be proven wrong though.

Nice idea but I really can't see it being viable. NSL v 2.0

Australia is not Europe, football is not the dominating number one sport here (sadly) there is a lot of competition for limited sponsorship dollars, the population is small, distances are huge, the media is not interested at best, hostile at worst, and most "football fans" here are EPL/La Liga/Serie A fanboys dismissive and unsupportive of the local game.

Love to be proven wrong though.

Interest is IMO there it just needs to keep fresh and be consistently available to people. IMO football still has a huge amount of people un-engaged by the HAL( (I think I read somewhere that around 70% of people involved in Football aren't engaged by the HAL). Football is still the number one played sport in Australia. The HAL has a huge inside track to engaging all those people.

One thing I think needs to happen much more is reaching out the the registered juniors. Every half time of a HAL game show see hundreds of kids on the pitch having a kick around. By engaging entire squads we'll see friends and teammates coming along to HAL matches and having a great time. All these kids should get free entry too. Its not like any HAL matches sell out so there is plenty of room to accommodate 100-200 kids. They could even give these groups their own bay and set up food and drink stalls near by, fun activities to keep them entertained and they should get a shirt or something for them to remember the day and hopefully get a couple of signatures on.
I reckon something like that would cost bugger all especially as the seat the club would be giving up would be empty anyway. A big baulk order of small t-shirts would probably cost $5 a shirt. Clubs would make that back on the ticket sale of the parent coming along too. Get a sponsor involved and the cost would probably be negligible.
The bay all the kids sit in could be in a position in view of the main TV camera so the ground looks fuller too.
These are the sort of things the FFA need to spend then new TV revenue on.
I recall the time I went to Hindmarsh and played, it was HT of a West Adelaide game. We all got to check out the change rooms, welcome the players back on the pitch and I scored a goal in front of the big new Western stand! Its one of the reasons I love the game as much as I do now I'm sure.