A-League clubs told Tasmanian FIFO games over, homegrown soccer team the priority

Updated about 3 hours ago

The CEO of Football Federation Tasmania has issued a bold statement to mainland A-League clubs: "We don't want you anymore".

Mike Palmer said his organisation will no longer pursue A-League content for Tasmania, after years of trying.

Instead, it will pour its efforts into supporting a bid for a standalone Tasmanian A-League club.

"We're not looking to go down that path anymore," Mr Palmer said.

"We don't want to be seen as a place that is happy with just a couple of games. We want to be a place with our own team."

"To some extent, spending a bunch of money on getting one of the A-League teams down is counterproductive cash wise, and also in the message it sends."

Previously, Football Federation Tasmania has been in commercial arrangements with the Melbourne Victory and Melbourne City A-League clubs.

The Melbourne Victory deal included naming rights sponsorship of the state league, pre-season fixtures and community camps, while the City deal focused on player development.

But, Mr Palmer said deals with fly-in fly-out clubs were no longer the best way forward.

"We've really gone away from the idea of the occasional game. We're not sure it gives us the real long-term value that we are seeking.

"We did from time to time have an A-League game, but now our focus and support is squarely behind getting our own A-League team."

Expansion of the A-League could still be some way off, with FFA still at loggerheads with the A-League and NPL clubs over control of the game.

Mr Palmer said the Tasmanian bid, led by a consortium of Melbourne businessmen including Harry Stamoulis, was still alive and had been discussed with both major Tasmanian political parties ahead of the looming state election.

"It's been opened on a couple of fronts. We've discussed it with the major parties, but the real work is being done by the consortium," Mr Palmer said.

"The consortium that came forward a year or so ago is still very, very strongly in play working behind the scenes to get an A-League license"

A-League clubs told Tasmanian FIFO games over, homegrown soccer team the priority - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Is this the same guy that used to not back Tasmania getting its own team?

Same as EPL visitors sucking the life out of local theater goers  market

Good on you Tassie, FFA are just making the wrong moves continuously and playing you for suckers. As if your satisfied with afew crumbs of A League content anymore.

Yepppp

After such a long period of inertia, stakeholders are no longer content with scraps from the grown-ups table and making themselves heard. Keep it up.

build a rectangular stadium first - then get your team

He mentioned discussions with both major parties ahead of the state election, you can be sure that was a key part of it.

if they can pull it off , then the metrics ( gosh that sounds like gallop ) stack up....
if they decided a team to play at an oval or decide to upgrade an oval. it will only benefit AFL

Great to hear and the timing perfect with Gallops recent interview stating they need to find a way to turn footballers into A-League fans.

Give us a team of our own.

FNR interviewed Robert Belteky on the Footballs bosses show last night, and he said they have support from all sides of government for a team and a rectangular boutique football stadium built in Hobart, only thing stopping it is the FFA.

Worth the listen.

All this seems to be following on from all the drama in the AFL at a local level down here recently and So many people are disgruntled with the AFL.

If you mean visiting club vs all stars then yes
If you mean visiting club vs A League club, that's just football

Tasmania don't care who the opposition is. As long as the home team is a Tasmanian team

Good on them. Exhibition matches don't serve a purpose in this day and age

Excellent to hear this, Football Fed Tas.

Gallop's attitude when in the state was  confrontational, paternalistic and patronising, regarding Tasmania getting a HAL team.

Then the excellent Belteky/Stamoulis bid was so good, it was difficult to refuse. Gallop then told the bid group they could have a HAL team anywhere else except Tasmania.

Apart from the Asian Cup organisation for a successful tournament, Gallop has achieved nothing for the progression of football. Others said he was diffident in an interview with Gerard Whately in Melbourne. He wasn't when he was down here. This guy is so Sydneycentric.

Gallop has aslo exuded considerable hostility to success in the ACT and West Aus about Socceroo attendances too.

Why is this so important, when Victory have played out of Etihad's oval stadium for years?

Because Etihad is soulless and ruins any atmosphere (what's left anyway) that the club has - ask any Vuck member what they prefer and 99% will tell you that AAMI Park is the way to go. Etihad continues to be used simply because the break even mark for the club is ridiculously low, thus ensuring a guaranteed profit for a standard Vuck crowd - it's economic more than anything, but with pretty much every club playing in nice, rectangular stadiums these days (very jealous of the Parramatta redevelopment) I can't see the Etihad days lasting too much longer than the current contract (2025 I think?)

I was very privileged to be at the AAMI Park grand final for the 14/15 season and, even though there was 'only' ~30k there, the atmosphere was very special. That is how good football can be in this country - unfortunately, it's done nothing but go downhill since then.

Really pleased to hear this - regions need to stop accepting scraps from head office and make it seem like they're doing something positive for the game. Either give them full representation or none at all.

I don't doubt what you are saying. I've attended games at Etihad too.

The difference is why is no Tasmanian HAL team allowed to even enter the comp for not having a rectangular stadium, whilst another team, Victory, has operated out of one for 12 years?

FFA admin ( Gallop and Lowy) will keep changing the criteria for HAL eligibility to disallow a Tasmanian team, or one from anywhere else, they don't want.

This isn't just about Tasmania. It is FFA's attitude to regional football in Australia per se.

I've been disgusted by Gallop's comments about the ACT. They draw 20 0000 to a Socceroo game, and Gallop claims it isn't good enough.

On the other hand, in Sydney or Melbourne, 23 - 25 000 attend some Socceroo games and it is acceptable!

good luck with getting an AL team in under this FFA.  it's going to be sydney and brisbane. and its not  going to happen for years.

Im not sure it is, because FFA admin are alienating almost all stakeholders in football. To have a state FFA revolting is astonishing!

To play devil's advocate I don't want a few big  HAL clubs dominating the sporting landscape and sucking all the money in the game for their own interests either.

 I've seen this happening at NPL level and there are constant disasters with egotistical financial backers of bigger NPL clubs making bad decision after bad decision, that takes  football backwards. I'm worried there could be little money to fund national teams if we have a national organisation  dominated by big clubs and a Tony Labozetta type  becomes CEO again.

In this case, as I understand it, Football Fed Tas's CEO's Mike Palmer's salary is paid by FFA's Gallop. He could easily be sacked for his and the Football Fed Tas board's actions.

Will never get in as they don't meet the imaginary ffa metrics.

Hope they have a crack at the 2nd division but I know stamoulis and beltecky won't throw money at it.

Got a link?

1) Victory can actually fill or nearly fill Dockland's capacity on occasion, and

2) Docklands has movable seats.

Hopefully once the FFA lose control of the A-League they'll lose control of expansion too. I wonder where the HAL CEOs will prefer the new clubs to be and when they will come in?
May well be good for Brissie, Canberra and Tassie and less so for rubbish bids like 'southern china fc'. Will be interesting their preference for Melbourne too.

Hurry up FIFA and kick out these muppets

https://m.soundcloud.com/fnr_footballnationradio/fnr_football-football-bosses-14-february-2018

Tas, canberra and woolongong are no brainers taping into new markets to make new fans....

The ffa needs to restructure its business model so that clubs are affordable without needing 15k at every game. It happens abroad but because of the sh it tv deal and ffa management seems hard here. Hence their insistance that any expansion must be like wsw, so no expansion just talk

By the sounds of it, if di Pietro, Sage et al get their way, you won't have to worry about 'southern china fc', you will probably get the real thing.

https://twitter.com/brentcostelloe/status/963682179804028928?ref_src=twcamp%5Eshare%7Ctwsrc%5Em5%7Ctwgr%5Eemail%7Ctwcon%5E7046%7Ctwterm%5E3

FOX are funding any expansion teams on the proviso they choose where, so it will be Brisbane Melbourne or Sydney

Tasmania's best bet is to stop pissing in the HALs pocket, making them look desirable.

 and start demanding a Promotion pathway.

That imagined kit in the photo on the side looks magnificent.