• A new national tier of football between the A-League Men competition and the National Premier Leagues, with the opportunity for promotion and relegation to be considered once mature 
• A home and away league structure with finals, comprised of between 10 and 16 teams and featuring between 24 to 36 games
• Successful Respondents to the Application Process would be required to depart their existing football competitions for the National Second Tier
• National Second Tier Clubs will enter into a Club Participation Agreement setting out the terms of participation, including but not limited to the following requirements: 
• professional playing contracts for all players, with salaries paid 52 weeks of the year; 
• ‘off field’ operations run by employed staff throughout 12 months of the year; 
• investment in and operation of a full talent development pathway within their club structure; and
• access to a suitable high-quality match day facility 12 months of the year.

wow so it won't be semi pro but fully pro

that could be a good thing as long as the minimum wage is the federal minimum wage. Promotion and relegation to a semi-pro npl might be harder if semi-pro teams are forbidden from the nsd

perhaps one day we need a 3rd division with no requirements

Is "P&R" to be considered once mature referring to p&r between npl, the a league or both?

Looking good.
Time to put up or shut up now.
Very exciting times

apparently if there aren't enough clubs they will do a champions league format....that sounds a bit irritating but hopefully non consequential if there is enough clubs

I guess forbidding a semi-pro comp might be justified by the fact it feels a bit exploitative to have grown men travelling around australia all year round to not be paid for their work.

In a smaller country, it is feasible to have a semi-pro national comp as you can do all the travel on the weekend and work full time. In our country, it is a full time job or bust

I thought the champions league mentioned would be a suitable “plan B” however the goal has to be a minimum 10 teams meet the specified criteria in the final NST assessment stage.

"A new national tier of football between the A-League Men competition and the National Premier Leagues, with the opportunity for promotion and relegation to be
considered once mature."

It would have to be both. No reason to mention the A-League if it wasn't part of the P&R discussion. That being said, all it says is it will be considered. That could mean as little as two blokes may have one conversation about it at some point in time.

I don't see why 10 should be the minimum when the a league started with 8. In any case, hope they get 10 or more

If they get 12+ then the pressure for p&r will be enormous from day 1 you would think since they are both full time professional competitions. If the worst attended a league club is getting around 3k and the top nsd are getting 5k, it makes no sense to forbid p and r. 

If the nsd was semi-pro you could probably delay it a few years

yeah I guess I wondered if p and r would happen right away with npl but then be "considered" with the a league later

I reckon they have set these requirements in such a way that there will be a relatively small amount of applicants. Probably just enough to get the league started. They would have a pretty good idea of who the top applicants will be and what position they are in. They would just set the criteria to ensure only the ones they want are eligible. The fully-pro players was always going to happen, but the full-time staff will probably rule out a lot of clubs that were considering applying.

Having a fully pro NST might make it harder for semi pro NPL teams to achieve promotion but might also make it easier for fully pro NST sides to move to the top tier (either through expansion or promotion) should the model allow for it in future.

Whether semi or fully pro I am just excited to see an opportunity for talented 16-22 year olds Aussies to strive to play in a high quality second tier and hopefully over time it provides greater development opportunities than in the current NPL.

Hopefully from 2024 the FFA Cup also expands beyond 32 teams to allow 10-20 NPL/State League teams to have the ability to themselves against the NST and top tier sides.

Interesting and good luck to all those who will be expressing an interest into the NSD. 

I'd expect P&R would not just be based on on-field performance, but all the other requirements for the Tier.
You'd might be the best team by a mile in the tier but if you can't say get the financials in order for example, then no promotion.

I think this is big enough news to get its own thread

will post

So

Another closed shop

FA killing it before it starts

"Plausible Deniability" is the phrase I beleive

So the NSD process has officially begun, great stuff.

Now we get to see who has the capacity to be part of this competition, I wish the clubs applying all the best too because this is exciting stuff for the sport here.

I got some questions which intrigue me,

I wonder if we will see some mergers from NPL clubs especially away from the eastern states to share crucial resources together if the costs will become a obstacle, rather than go alone?

Also it will be interesting to see if a-league clubs reserve teams apply to get in, they always said they would wait to see what the NSD would look like before considering recommencing the NYL (Y-League) again, will put their put into the ring or would they not allowed to get in anyway?

And also will we see the clubs apply their interest publicly go on the front foot early? After all it now becomes a competition for the clubs on who will get in and make their first impressions clear not only to Football Australia but also to the public?

Also hopefully this lays the seeds for pro-rel within the a-league more closely too...

Either way a great step forward for the sport, anything to grow the game especially raising the standard should only be encouraged.

Yeah Im not a big fan of the "pro/rel to NPL once the competition is mature" but I guess thats JJ hedging his betts waiting on Who/How many apply????

Very interesting point on all fronts...... I am hearing that quote a few "statemenmts" are being prepared... Hold on its going to be a bumpy month :)

Its a glorious day indeed mate.....off to the new thread for me :) .... Does that make me a "New, New Dawner" now? hahahahahahahah

you  is...
a neo golden dawner

3 years tops :hehe:

you is...
a golden shower recipient?

Nah mate, the Aleague will survive a little longer than that :P

See you at the Hellas v Juve game next year? Beers on me.

One closed shop with ethnics banned

One closed shop with ethnic entry criteria

We Unique

When United can play Hellas again in a 1st (or 2nd division if we both suck) then I will 100% buy the first round

Even better :)

Count me in Davide, nothing like a bit of Roman Sparta contest, we'll bookend Mono - salute !

That's sounds interesting mate.

Pretty much.  Considering the A-League is it's own thing and not under the purview of the FA it have to be for the APL to be agreeance for any promotion/relegation to occur.  Tell me as those club/franchise owners over the years have essentially been paying-to-play in the top flight how likely does anyone think that promotion/relegation is going to occur soon. It won't.    Saying when the 2nd Division "matures" is the same sort of vague bullshit that is the reason why 7 years after this thread was created that we're still not at a 2nd Division & promotion/relegation like a real football country. 

As I've always said,  I'll believe it when I see it.

I was more talking about NST to NPL state tiers below.... I would prefer imediate pro/rel but get that the FA have to first figure out how to do it and also how many teams will be readay in time.... "A few years when it matures" is a bit a slowly slowly response for my liking but I dont think there will EVER be pro/rel with the APL.....