Mods please close if this really doesn’t warrent a new thread but I actually want to centralise the discussion based around some new ideas and concepts, and if it would actually work, or flop.

We all know Australian sporting culture knows only one system, a closed shop top tier with centralised funding In a non-competitive salary capped league designed to keep interest in a boring model by sharing a novelty trophy from club to club every 3-5 year cycle. League structures are designed to maximise revenues in this system by having half the teams play off for a post season cup called a finals series, so even if your the 8th best club in the league, you can still be champion. And even if you come last every season you have a safety net of no relegation. The only issue for clubs who struggle financially in this setup is once they fail. They have no where to go, thus fold entirely disengaging entire communities, cities, volunteers, playing, juniors and development pathways that came with it.

Now with an open league system, you would have a competitive open top tier where clubs are now driven to invest in pathways to increase their financial stability, revenue streams, and development pathways and facilities in order to maximise the income they generate to reinvest to either stay in the top tier comfortably, or challenge for the title frequently and be at true pinnacle of the sport in the country. At the bottom, teams would now have every game being a competitive fixture where every game, every second, every point matters in the fight for relegation. Teams are driven to invest in development to onsell. This increase in competitiveness increases passion and talk in fans and media circle therefore automatically giving extra and much needed publicity and promotion to every single game throughout the season. Instead of having 1-3 weeks at the end of the season on back pages, we could see 5-7 weeks of back page news as clubs will be battling relegation during the last 5 rounds of the season, adding much needed interest and hype in the league.

Now this is where it gets interesting.. promotion from the second division.. a new team would be a fresh of breath air, and would increase interest and curiosity amongst media circle and fans. It also increases potential for massive levels of investment in second tier football from new owners wanting to invest in the football ecosystem and gain promotion to a lucrative first tier. This increases development for national teams and gives far more opportunities for youngsters and fringe players and players who see no future in the game from a young age and turn away once they start studying or working because of the limited opportunities in a closed system.

This has me curios. If promotion and relegation actually works in Australian football, and increases huge amounts of investment and capital as a result, would the other codes look at it as a viable option? I can’t really see nrl being feasible outside nsw/qld. But the afl has a strong presence in VFL, SANFL, WAFL and Tasmania.... call me a dreamer but could football actually be the catalyst for a change in mentality in the Australian footballing landscape ?