you  is...
a neo golden dawner

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

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 :)

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????

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.

So

Another closed shop

FA killing it before it starts

"Plausible Deniability" is the phrase I beleive

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

will post

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.

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

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.

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.

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 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

"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 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.

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

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

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

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?

• 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.

https://www.footballaustralia.com.au/news/football-australia-opens-expressions-interest-national-second-tier-mens-competition

I'd also love to see both teams in a 16 team NSD.
I'm still a doubter in terms of the financial realism of the NSD (don't get me wrong - I'd absolutely love to see the NSD get up and running, with existing clubs and P&R going both up to the A-League and down to the state leagues).

My guess is, if the NSD ever does happen, there would be only one WA side in it

there will always be some excuse or road block from it starting. 

i wont believe it until i see it. 

In all fairness Paulie, the fact that in 6 years a bunch of volunteers have at least "progressed" the issue to the point where it *almost seems like it is going to happen is remarkable.... The Aleague, in 18 seasons, for comparison, is still only at 11 Australian franchises and the future of 2-3 of those seem very shaky indeed. The wheels of soccer in this country move very very slowly.

Not at all

The FA had a choice to help or hinder. 

And given their failure to create a viable top tier along with FIFA's ongoing monitoring of the lack of opportunity for anyone else, FA's only option was just to delay it as  long as they can without looking absolutely inept or corrupt.

Such a shame that it took the threat to make the FA to crawl to this point.

All that makes sense. It appears the clubs have been prepared to forgo time, so their statement of urgency 'with or without' was a fake

Not really

The FA have to approve it, they don't have to run it, same as the APL.

The FA have chosen to take charge of its creation, structure etc as they regard that as their responsibility 

In return for it being collaborative rather than adversarial, theoretically there is more chance of success.

However If the model FA choose is ridiculous, the AAFC have the option of boycotting and trying to do their own thing.

Looks like it will be a single division with a settling period for the initial entrants, followed by P/R with the state NPL, and the AAFC will go with that rather than pushing an abrasive alternative

I continually laugh at that as well. I guess the tough little clubs find it more difficult and costlier than they assumed to executive their "without" bit.

Just an AAFC proposal.

Comments since haven't sounded like FA was going to go with it

Will be interesting how similar/different the final model ends up being. That report was probably more of a wish list. There will almost certainly be compromises as the FA will own and operate the league.