November 9 2016 - 6:25PM

 

  FFA set to introduce A-League expansion framework after meeting with Tasmanian bid

   

• Dominic Bossi

     

Football Federation Australia will fast track the expansion of the A-League and invite bids for new licences after meeting representatives from Tasmania this week. An FFA spokesman confirmed that a meeting with representatives of a Tasmania bid took place in Sydney where it is understood the governing body decided against granting the state its first professional football team of any code and signposted the criteria for a successful bid.

These include broadcast appeal, financial strength driven by membership and fans, as well as servicing football player bases. Sources described the negotiations as "a real discussion" between the FFA and a bid that was brought to the table with heavy financial backing and government and corporate support but which was not enough to convince the governing body to award the group a licence for next season. As revealed by Fairfax Media last week, Tasmania's submission had no shortage of experience in football administration with Melbourne Victory shareholders Harry Stamoulis and Robert Belteky and former Tasmanian NSL player David Clarkson leading their charge.    At the meeting, the representatives produced a letter of support from the Tasmanian government for an A-League licence as well as a pledge to refurbish stadiums at costs between $20 million and $30 million.

The team would have primarily been based out of Hobart, while also playing matches in Launceston, but that appears to not have allayed the FFA's concerns particularly about infrastructure and broadcast appeal.Representatives of the Tasmania bid were the first of what is expected to be an influx of parties ready to meet with the FFA in the hope of gaining an A-League licence. While the door was not shut on the Tasmanian bid following the meeting, being one of six regions that have already signalled their interest to the FFA prompted the organisation to introduce a set of criteria for expansion that will be unveiled by early next year. 

The FFA has not provided a specific framework for interested bidding parties but is now prepared to open the process to the market and will invite bids from across the country for inclusion in the A-League by as early as January. Expansion of a 10 to 12-team competition will likely occur in the 2018-19 season coinciding with the introduction of a new broadcast deal next season. Any new entrant into the A-League will likely have to prove a strong connection to a grass-roots player pool, the ability to promote a sense of passion and tribalism within its region as well as attract TV audiences. It's for this reason Brisbane, Southern Sydney and Geelong are considered the frontrunners for inclusion in the next stage of A-League expansion. But that could change once the process is opened to bids with specific criteria. It's understood bids from Western Australia and South Australia will also be put forward to the FFA next year. Head of the A-League, Greg O'Rourke told Fairfax Media last month that any new entrants to the competition will not be placed "surgically" by the FFA.  ​"We need any new team to be successful in its own right but also be providing a benefit to the whole competition. That will mean that broadcast and commercial sponsorships will be enhanced by the additional team or teams. Applicants will need to provide a solid mix of both commercial and football business plans," he said. "In the short to medium term we should expect the league to expand via selection of 'fit for purpose' licences against a commercial and football criteria  that sees growth for the whole of game."

http://www.theage.com.au/sport/soccer/ffa-set-to-introduce-aleague-expansion-framework-after-meeting-with-tasmanian-bid-20161109-gslo04.html

So bye bye Tasmania, very disappointing.

Tasmania was never going to be picked by the FFA, maybe down the line though. 

Yep, they were never getting in whilst there's still a potential for 2nd/3rd teams in big cities

Yep, spot on.

its not close enough to sydney for the ffa

No its not it might be a smart decision. it needs to add to the appeal of the whole league and provide real value not like what wellington are doing which is literally squatting on a licence giving nothing back and instead bringing the league down as a whole.

Tasmania by the sounds of it will have to earn their place in the future once pro/rel gets in.

If the options were tasmania, geelong, sth sydney or brisbane its clear as daylight that tasmania is last choice. 

I think the tasmania bid is interesting for novelty reasons but ince a couple of seasons go.by and we see a club struggling to pull ratings and attendances all it will do is become a burden to future growth of the league. There are at least 4 other places that would bring more to the table than Tasmania.

and regional teams are out.

Canberra out then. Auckland in.........

With government backing and stadium development it is crazy to reject Tasmania, although the article did say the rejection was for next year.

Really don't get how the A-League will be any better with Geelong over Tasmania. Not much more the Tassie bid could really do. Strong financial support privately and with the government plus a guarantee of $20-30million in infrastructure. Would've met every benchmark talked about in that article in regards to community and grassroots support.
Really feel the FFA have shot themselves in the foot here.

Agree, but I'm biased.

They said 'broadcast appeal'. So Auckland, Christchurch, Stewart Island are out.

See above post.

Address all the "specified criteria" you want. At the end of the day, they will choose the bids they want.

This so much

We have a stadium pledge, strong financial backing and support from the state government.

FFA: that's nice, but are you a corrupt as fuck mining magnate who doesn't give a fat rats about football? 

By 'they' you mean Fox right?

Smart decision, maybe in the next round of expansion. 

Broadcast appeal :) as in appeal to the broadcaster not the actual broadcast appeal

Broadcast appeal is important but is far from the only factor at play. A viable team situated in Tassie delivers a return on investment in many ways...not to forget it would be bloody good for the game.

I don't think you have any idea what you are talking about.

I take solace in your thinking that...long may it continue.

#metrics

-PB

Nah

#SuccessFactors

#DerbyCash

2 Tasmanian teams it is

#FoxSports

Some reasons if they rejected Tasmania for lets say Geelong. One it would create 6 more big matches in the league, it targets a big market in Melbourne getting more support in a major state, which in return may take some control over AFL.

True but why put a cap on it, if we have enough viable teams to run a 20 team comp then let's do it.

As long as the comp is viable and the clubs are viable then let growth occurs where it can.

Initial money injection i imagine and need to ensure that the teams will be somewhat competitive.

I wouldn't have unlimited new teams Joffa. As an example look at Rugby where they had three Aust teams in Super Rugby, they now have 5 and the standard has turned to crap, and the lack of tough weekly competition has carried throughto the National team. Same when the Super League war ended - the NRL with 20 teams was of very poor standard. I would limit expansion to say, two teams now, and perhaps two more in a couple of years. I reckon the standard of the AL is well and truly on the rise and I reckon we need to be careful not to risk that.

I agree there has to be a line, and playing standards should be a factor, but the FFA need to get their act together and propose the framework for expansion in the A-League as mentioned here in the article, and for a second tier for that matter, or bids are going to continue to be disappointed.

Yeah that's nonsense.

Super Rugby standards in Australia fell to shit because Aus has a tiny player base, it can't compete with Europe for wages and the ARU doesn't allow teams to bring in foreign players.

 The NRL has a bigger player base but a lack of a foreign transfer market.

That doesn't apply to football. We have a shit tonne of local players and a whole worldwide market. If standards fall, you can increase VISA players.

Not to mention more exposure on major newspapers and radio shows etc, all being delivered throughout all of melbourne to millions of people. Thats the benefit of having more teams in major cities.

What is broadcast appeal?I thought it meant people want to watch the team on TV?How does FFA measure that?
I would want to watch a team from Tasmania much more than one from Syd,Geelong or Canberra.Doesn't it really come down to the actual team and how it plays?
Most likely it means viewers in metropolitan big cities.
Tasmania has 500k and Geelong 200k.So it cant be number of fans.
WP and CCM have less than 500k people.
I think secretly they want derbies first.Most of the other criteria are arbitrary,with no guarantee of success.
Canberra,Geelong,Tasmania,Wollongong are all unknowns for tv appeal.But FFA are kidding themselves if they think a third Syd team or second Bris,Adel or Perth teams are guaranteed to be successful also. A poor performing team can easily end up a NZ Knights,which had $1mill people.

So a bid shouldn't be ruled out on broadcast appeal,unless they define what that is.Because. Tasmania with Ronaldo and Messi would have broadcast appeal as would Dubbo.

They measure it via ratings.

City Sam.
If the major factor is ratings,then it is completely guesswork.
It doesnt matter where the team comes from ,there is no guarantee the ratings for that team will be acceptable.Melbourne Heart had crap ratings for a long time and are only improving with their marquee names.WSW was a one off.There are no other regions that offer such upside.
A third Sydney team looks a good idea,for derbies.But I struggle to see why neutrals anywhere would want to watch them in big numbers over any other regional team.
It really comes down to how fans nationwide view the team.That is why FFA need to get their metrics right.The idea of derbies is good.But seriously there are only two derbies and the competiton is full of teams with no derbies.
I hope there are Football people in FFA that can cut through the economic rationalism of the the corporate bean counters like Gallop.
The bean counters focus on where the biggest potential returns are for short term monetary gain and are prepared to cut the smaller or lower returning parts of the business ,so the balance sheet looks good and their bonuses keep coming.That sacrifices goodwill to a lot of the Football community that don't fit in with the short term focus.
By taking a long term view ,monetary gains may be reduced short term ,as the base is built by maximising national footprint.But goodwill is created which will provide long term security and future success.
Let Tasmania United live! :)

They will live, just not as early as next season.

Tasmania will have a team, but what the league needs next is a big attraction team. They don't want to throw another team struggling like CCM or the Nix, another big city team would create bigger interest in the league in a far bigger state. If that happens it means more money for the league for future expansions.

Tasmania may be a good 13th or 14th team, but right now the aim is too expand the popularity of the sport in big cities, and that is Melbourne and Sydney, that is where the biggest sway is.

What i expect to happen is a 3rd team in Victoria somewhere, then we'll get a Brisbane team followed by another Sydney team. By this stage almost every week there'll be a big match worth watching which will boost crowds and ratings, then they'll use the money from a better TV deal to get clubs like Tasmania in.

Spot on!

Geelongs TV ratings are counted in the Metro Melbourne

A positive step. Those with long memories may recall last year when I posted that Ffa needed to work out their selection criteria and release that to prospective a league clubs
/consortiums so the clubs knew what they had to do to maybe get a place in the league. It's been a while coming but it looks like thats what ffa is doing (soon).

One can only hope that the no for Tasmania is just for joining next year and it will get the green light sooner than later.

If they're going to go on ratings and appeal I'd imagine South Melbourne would have more appeal than Geelong especially their ratings vs Victory would be higher aswell.

Out of Launcestons 'The Examiner' tonight.

Financial support behind Tasmanian bid for soccer's A-League

Rob Shaw@TheShawThing

9 Nov 2016, 8:30 p.m.

Were they ever going to be approved before any other club was given the opportunity to bid?

If they give up now then it was never a serious bid. Joining the league is the prize not the club joining the league.

This.

about time they stepped towards some transparency with the criteria for entry.

it will end up as vague as the guest marquee rule. also, 2018/2019 is way too long. they need to pull their timid little fingers out.

What's annoying is that for ages the only thing the FFA cared about was having enough Rich blokes on board to cover losses. It didn't matter how shit the bid was, if one of Lowy's mates were on board then they were a good shout to get in.

 This bid has a plan, it has private equity behind it, a local media push for it to happen and is a popular option amongst existing fans and pundits. It even has a government commitment to infrastructure behind it to the sum of $20m-$30m which is just bloody incredible.

Not even 2 years ago this bid would be considered perfect but now FFA can't their hands of their dicks at the thought of Fox Sports Friendly Derbies.

I am not surprised that they did not make a decision at the time, but I sure hope they just want Tasmania to submit their bid formally once they have their process set in place. They obviously want to have a look at all their available options before making decisions. That is understandable. If they have come out and flat out rejected the proposal then that is poor form by the governing body who could be arguedare working against their purpose of enhancing the game in Australia as awhole. It would prove another case why the league needs to be run separately from the governing body.

So these same two guys will go back to the office and return with a Geelong bid?

Don't really care tbh - we all know the FFA will fudge the 'criteria' to get what they want.

I'm glad they are starting to list the criteria and player base is one of those considerations but #metrics will clearly dominate.

As for the Tassy bid, perhaps the FFA said not yet and we should see the others first.

Either way, happy that they are forced to increase the comp and set out the criteria so people can build a business case for it.

if they lay it out and actually show in real terms what they are looking for there can be no more excuses.

That's what they're afraid of.

x2

Its not going to be "do x, y & z" and you are in. It will be show us how much you think you can contribute value in respect of x, y & z, and we will make our own internal assessment and then choose who we think is the best option.

So from what i can gather this is where we are at:

-The FFA have met with the Tasmania bid
-The FFA have knocked them back for next season only, they can still lay out a bid once the framework is set out. 
This isn't a bad thing as it gives the bid more time to prepare and gather momentum
-Tasmania have publicly set the bar & precedent for the other bids. What other bid can offer government support to the tune of 20-30m?
-This will give a kick up the ass to any other region that is considering to bid and make them really up their game
-So far we know the FFA has had 6 EOI's for the #11 & #12 spots
-If due to Tasmania's public bid, increases more demand from more regions to EOI this creates an arms race from the regions to get a license (the more demand the better)
-If somehow we start to receive 10 EOI's from other regions, we may have just found ourselves a footprint for a second division for aspiring clubs looking to crack it into the big league

Exciting times indeed to be a football fan in this country

Missed this.

By better half said she heard something on the  ABC about it, but I  googled and nothing came up in print.

good post

Why would you consider Geelong? They are a smallish area. Very close to Melbourne that has 2 teams. They already have a AFL club that would take a large pie of any local sponsorship revenue and they are fanatical about it. I really don't see much angst between Melbourne and Geelong that would make football fans there not support one of the two teams 1 hour up the road? Now if i lived in Tasmania or Canberra, i can totally get not caring all that much about any team in the A-league. 

I do like the idea of ensuring that the new clubs already have the community support. I'd be really interested to see, that if there was a campaign of pledging memberships towards a new team in Geelong, Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Sydney and Tasmania, which would get the most. Might not suit the FFA's agenda though. Derbies worked for them last time so they probly think its a sure thing this time too./ 

Honestly, I think the fact that a smallish town has fanatical support for a successful sporting team already gives greater credence to allowing another code to work in the region. Not to mention that Geelong ticks a lot of the boxes that other bids don't:

-Existing stadium infrastructure at Kardinia Park (long term goal to have a boutique rectangle, but Kardinia Park more than adequate to get the team up and running)
-Council support
-Strong football history (produced international footballers such as Josip Skoko, Steve Horvat, Joey Didulica and Matt Spiranovic)
-Melbourne TV zone
-Booming amateur participation
-Geographical difference with existing Melbourne clubs whilst still being close enough to draw on the booming growth of Melbourne's west
-History of successful professional sports clubs

Really, the only thing that makes it an unattractive proposition to most is the small population of the immediate area (approx ~220k as of last year) - this ignores the fact that Geelong is going to be swallowed by Melbourne in the coming decades (much like Frankston has been) so why not beat the punch and have a team that will be competitive on and off the park with limitless upward growth?

I know the FFA wants money asap, and I know the money is generated by big city derbies. I realise that. However, there is no reason why a Geelong bid can't be considered as your 13th expansion side.

In regards to the stadium, Kardinia Park is not good enough in my eyes. It's far too big and the atmosphere is horrible.

Spot on. I would even argue that it could be included in the current expansion too.

Adding on all those points you made, I think getting in now actually sets them up better for the future as the population of Melbourne continues to expand, things will only look better for them moving forward. Not to mention its not completely encroaching on City and Victory for their growth either, but would certainly provide 6 more massive games for the state.

What other sports club was successful in Geelong? The history and fanatical element of their connection with the Cats won't be recreated with football. Victoria isn't all that like NSW. There's not a huge identity difference between which area that would make tens of thousands of football fans currently in the Geelong/Ballarat area not support Victory or city if they were LTTP. 

The stadium is bad for football, TV zone is not really an issue at all unless a 2nd WA or NZ team. I don't see a 3rd team in Vic being viable. Saying that, i'd be happy to see how many people would put down money to commit to being a member to a Geelong team. How many did Canberra get? in the thousands i believe. 

Or it could be that the FFA don't want to commit to anything until the next TV deal is done?? 

South Melbourne have been quiet 

Yea, that is very strange, surely they would be putting their hand up again.

Maybe not that keen to lose money forever

They were keen to lose it before, maybe they have wised up.

Will the details be made public?

You can bet on it.  At some point, somebody will get the shits with the way their brilliant bid has been rejected. At that moment the whole lot will be leaked and represented as racist, parochial, bigoted, financially corrupt, and many such other concepts by the party with the wounded ego.  The net will respond with thoughtfully posted lizard faces. 

Is there a Greek lizard yet ?

I can't see another melb team.City are struggling for support.I am sure they will have pushed FFA for no new team for years.They have the money and clout to influence FFA.
It really comes down to who puts forward the most complete proposal.It's pointless talking bout where there should be a team,like South Syd,unless someone actually subits a serious funded proposal.That is a proposal which deals with funding should the team struggle for years.There is no guarantee that any preferred location will be successful based on location alone.If Tasmania ends up with the best bid,they should come in.

Strikers or Geelong and Wollongong.

Tasmania in the A2.

West Adelaide's first Success Factor

This is 10 times worse than the Jon Bon Jovi/Melbourne Heart alliance.

Gene Simmons has Greek-blood in him, right?

Imagine if West Adelaide and SM got in :lol:

What that basically means is we are looking for 4-6 clubs bigger than Tasmania, and looking at introducing them in the next 3-5 years

Once the knuckleheads at the FFA realise this isn't the AFL / NRL they would understand that Tasmania is perfect for a low cost unbalanced sport that is viable instead of commercial

Or maybe the FFA actually realise that Tasmania would be a bottom team in the league with low interest, so that means Tasmania will be in once more big teams come into the league.

Another, Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne team come in, which creates far more bigger matches which therefore makes the sport even stronger in those areas which is great for the league as it is more money. Then with more money from a better TV deal due to increased popularity, it allows for teams like Tasmania to get an initial financial injection in the league and due to there location, will be a stable club when they are undoubtedly near the bottom. If FFA are thinking even further ahead about relegation, Tasmania wouldn't be a bad team to get relegated as it wouldn't hurt the league nor their support.

But it is simple right now, they want another top end team, not another Wellignton Phoenix or CCM because another bottom team wouldn't help the league right now.

I can see why the FFA would knock this back. I mean every single expansion team in a regional area has failed, and every regional team in the league has for the most part struggled financially. The backers don't mean much for an expansion team (see palmer, matheson for reference). Maybe they could offer up a 4 million bond to ensure if things go south they wont pack up and leave the club pennyless.

I will say though, in terms of TV dollars, its not so much as where the team is from, as to who is in their squad. If they have a quality squad and one or two big name marquees, they will more than pull their weight in terms of TV dollars. 

I personally think Brisbane is a must, and then Wollongong as they would get a lot of good away support, come from a region screaming for a team (ala WSW), and have a potential derby with the Glory

What would Geelong bring that Tassie wouldnt? Derbies?? South Melbourne maybe but would Geelong really be a derby to the Melbourne teams? It would be a one sided ivalry no more than Tassie v Victory would be. I get that Geelong would be part of Melbournes TV zone but Tassie is a whole state of untapped potential with its own tv setup. In case you havent taken any notice of what the Tassie bid has stumped up staright up they have strong private backing(you know just a couple of guys that in the past happened to prop up aruably the strongest team in the HAL) plus strong local commercial and GOVERNMENT support and a written guarantee of $20-30 million from stadia infrastucture!! Ive noticed some people stating that Tassies no good because of playing out of a oval but Geelong?? Yeah Kardinia is fine! Tassie wouldnt cost the FFA anymore or anyless than what evey other team in the HAL would cost them.


Majorit seems to think otherwise but same could be said for Macarthur over Sutherland/South Sydney?? or even Tassie!?



I would be interested to see what other bids could match what Tassie has offered first up.

Tassie may lack infrastructure at the moment but financially we'd be up there with the best financially.

At the end of the day though you blokes arent the ones that need convincing.