A comment was made on the Ecuador game topic that its not worth putting a team in Tasmania because the AFL don't think it's viable.

I would suggest that type of thinking is one of the reasons the A League hasn't flourished like it could have over the past 10 or so years. We have done things like the AFL/NRL, and not embraced our differences to them. We are different! We live and breathe an international game with all the nuances and flavours that brings, some good and not so good.

It's great that South Hobart have put in an EIO for the National Second Tier. If their proposal stacks up, they should be in the NST, even if their are some better credentialled teams from Sydney or Melbourne. We need to embrace our geographical spread. And allow teams to sink, so that if South Hobart don't perform on the pitch, they are relegated.

On promotion and relegation, I believe that the first 2 years of the NST for the purposes of relegation points should be accumulated and the bottom 2 clubs over the 2 years be relegated. There would still be a champion duly lauded for winning each year, but the onerous relegation could be deferred and based on the 2 years. If deemed appropriate, the NPL champions and runners up could be added in year 2 to the NST to increase the amount of teams if less than 16 are initially chosen. Having been promoted, they would not be relegated after their first year.

Each new entrant into the NST would be required to pay the $500,000 or whatever the amount is licence fee to be part of the NST, and relegated teams would be refunded their fee.

I thought that Tassie team had hit a bit of a road block because there is too much opposition to building a billion dollar stadium in Hobart.

I forecasted they will not make the NST 1st cut unless it goes to 16 teams.
Even though their geographical location is a definite positive, too many others ahead in the pecking order. 

Bringing a team to Tasmania presents many challenges, including the costs of travel, transportation, and the infrastructure needed to host matches. In addition, the opposition of some football leaders contexto and fans is also an issue. 

You mean 'all this time' ie. since the A-League's inception..💡

That thinking has broader issues within the mentality of this sport and has validity from holding the sport back reaching its potential.

Eg, we don’t play enough or have enough teams especially in all areas that has player participation but apparently the egg ball codes dont play this much or don’t have teams from everywhere so do we need to do this? 
Not playing in the winter and connecting with the NPL but we can’t because of the egg ball codes compete in our space
Not embracing the transfer system and having a salary cap but the code all codes have this so do we?
No pro-rel? Well we know the rest…

The previous regime did try to copy the footy code model but we know after so many years it just doesn’t cut it in a competitive and global game like football.

I could go on…but this sport needs to think more for itself if it wants to realise the potential for the sport especially where our interests lies overseas in an ever competitive market for our national teams, clubs, players and coaches who compete with where football is number one in most of these countries around the world.
Ultimately we want the things we care about to do well and the powers at be need to do whatever they can to make this possible now and into the future and pandering for the NRL, AFL cricket whatever is a waste of time and energy where the game has much bigger fish to fry.

The powers-that-be are fundamentally-insecure about the fact ⚽ in Australia is a majority-'effnik' sport; that's why they've done what they have since the ALM's inception to make it look as much as possible like the AFL/NRL etc.

That's what lies at the heart of the issue: this fallacious thinking that the Sam Newmans/Pauline Hansons of the world can be converted to the 'sokkah' but only it it's de-w0gg1fied up the wazoo...

But we've seen enough over the last 2 decades to conclude it was a fools' errand doomed to fail. Fact is we never needed those people in the first place anyway⚠

I mean could you not say the same thing for phoenix? why do they get preference over Tasmania?

As a performancecoach  in my company, I'm constantly telling people to focus on themselves and stop worrying about whatever shit people are doing around them.

Football has been unfortunately obsessed with the AFL for almost the entire AL era (except the first few sesons).

And here we are.

You mean since 1977

There's too much of the because of the 'eggball codes' excuses. I say this in generally and not specifically directed solely at you.

Not playing in summer instead of winter is a financial consideration. Irrelevant of the eggball codes, the market dictates the $ numbers in form of bums on seats and TV interest. You can't wish away other sports doing their business either. Winter football was tried and tested by the rusted on football cultured fraternity that was not influenced by the eggball codes well before the A-League. Those are the facts. And salary caps were put there to stop the clubs imploding as they did during the NSL. Again, nothing to do with the eggball codes. I'm specifically referencing only these two issues to be clear.

O the wise one.
So the past errors can never be looked to be done better after all this time and knowledge.
The rusted on ol fraternity didn't know any better and went about their messy way due to so many issues as known, they had no hope being more widely accepted due to so many barriers let alone themselves.
Bollocks, nothing ventured nothing gained, your sounding like Lowy's nephew :)

Barca we can connect with the APL if someone had the ghonas and play to our games strengths.
It sure would be interesting what those dual supporters down south and west of them would decide where to put their bum on a seat.

The road block is that it will be an epic fail. 
End of story. 

Forget about Tassie. 
Not gonna happen. 

Sorry to burst your bubble. 

I went to the Richmond v Collingwood game at the MCG on Friday night. First time back at the footy for 4-5 years and a couple of things I think we ALL need to understand in comparison:

• There were 85k there on a wet cold night, these people sat in the rain in their ponchos...... NOTHING will stop them going EVERY week.
• From these 85K I never heard ONE mention of Soccer, EPL, Aleague, NPL nothing (I was wearing a SMFC puffer jacket for the cold and only one Greek guy recognised the crest)
• Out of the 85k at the ground the demographic was 4yrs old to 80ys old, male female fairly even mix.
• Also, and this is just from what I observed, NO African or Indian, or any darker skinned people in the crowd, or anyone of Asian appearance either .... NOBODY ... It was so glaringly obvious that two guys from western Sydney, Middle Eastern ancestry dudes we where talking to at the bar said they felt like they stood out... It really was incredibly noticeable. 

Bottom line is AFL will never die, at least in Melbourne.... These people will NOT choose soccer, most barely even know it and only ever acknowledged the Socceroos once every 4 years at WC time.... We either compete with it directly or find another demographic because the "footy crowd" is dead to Soccer whatever Danny and the APL try and tell us....

Visited Melbourne last year for first time. Couldn't believe how passionate they were about AFL. How did all these people become so invested in the sport, is it simply a family tradition thing that gets passed on from one generation to the next?   

The old teams aren't attracting any new supporters, to be fair  they don't need to. Teams like the Suns and GWS, have simply failed, must be something in the Melbourne water.

Actually that's what I noticed too. AFL is very, very white. I'm sure there are probably European immigrants but like you said no Asians, Africans or Indians.

Heaps of Greeks and Italians mate but thats pretty much as dark as you'll get :) 

It seems to be the equivalent to how Europeans and South Americans view their club culture... Its all about the club (and these AFL nuts looooove their merchandise, they are all pretty much full kit wankers, plus the PJs at home, and the slippers, and the car stickers and the stubby holder etc etc etc... ) The sport itself is almost incidental, its the generational love of the Tigers, or the Pies or the Hawks or whatever that fuels their tribalism....  If, back in the early days of codefying the sport, British Rules Association Football won out over Victorian Rules, Melbourne clubs like Collingwood and Richmond would be some of the largest, best supported Soccer clubs in the world...... 

Which is fair to say was a sizeable part of the reasoning behind greenlighting Collingwood Warriors and Carlton SC in the NSL. And even though those ventures had their respective fallacies, it could be argued that what really did them in was that they were 2+ decades ahead of their time.

Moreover, when they joined, the Club World Cup still didn't exist so they never got the chance to play against overseas opposition - let alone in competition/non-friendly fixtures.

The funny thing is they’re not even that properly emotionally invested in it. It’s just a default switch for the mass of brain dead boofheads 

‘Who do you follow in the footy?’ Is just a mundane conversation starter for drips here 

as for the la k of diversity - do we blame them with all the racists? 

It’s like a lot of people follow it because that’s what they need to fit in. 

It's changing fellas. The AFL players are touring around schools giving out free footys and merch. The african and asian kids are loving it, bless em, I was the same. Nothing wrong with supporting multiple codes but soccer is losing ground when it comes to school exposure. 

It might take a generation or two but we needa start picking up our game. Havent heard of Glory for a while or even an NPL team doing a workshop out here to spread the game.. dont know what it is like over east but an AFL or cricket programme is coming by at least once a semester to promote their sport. 

That's very true. Sure there are some that are, but it's not comparable to Cricket in India or Football in Argentina. Thos people properly live and breathe their spot.
I love when I get the 'who do you follow in the football?' question at work from a new client or supplier. They get so frustrated with me. I reply 'Melbourne Victory', they then usually reply 'no, I meant real football'. To which i reply 'premier league? bundesliga?'. They get properly wound up. 'Where are you from, you must not be from Melbourne?'. 'Born and raised, just don't like the AFL'. The level of confusion and frustration is so enjoyable. One of my workmates also hates the AFL, but he likes to change who he "follows" on a weekly basis. He copped the 'who do you follow' question the other day, and he replied I used to follow the dogs last year but now I follow power because I like the colours and the fist on the logo. They get properly mad.

I dunno 

at our club we had every single kid back for the team I coach, and another 80 kids wanting to join. 

The the Argentinian thing is a very salient point. 

Hahahaha thats awesome...... I agree that picking a footy team in Melbourne to fit in is fairly "normalised" that's basically me, a so called Tigers fan who attends the actual game twice in 5 years.. hahahahahahah but the 85k I saw at the 'G on Friday night aren't that at all... they as rabid, one-eyed, tribal as any barra brava in Argentina or Indian cricket fan in Mumbai.... 

Sort of my point mate.... The NSL wouldnt have needed such farcical goings in, in fact I probably wouldnt even have my beloved Hellas to support... If the post war migrants came to an Australia with soccer as the main sport they would have gladly jumped on board an existing, popular club in their suburb.. wouldnt need to make their own ones from scratch or "buy out" a struggling Pommie one. The inner suburban clubs of Richmond, Fitzroy, Collingwood etc would have seen massive jumps in attendance to add to their already half a century old existence...  

ba boom, especially for my fellow ethnics back in the day to be accpeted with their skip mates......
I've seen it in my business circles for so long as well, a relocated northener had to start mixing due to the office banter after each weekend.
Glad we didn't have it that bad with the nrl ferals up here.

What do we know now that's that we didn't before, playing in winter vs summer ol' wise one?

Let's stop using the AFL/NRL as an excuse and plan our own way forward without blindly getting into something ill considered.

(Yea as someone who lived in Melbourne for many years, it’s definitely partly to fit in. It’s just a major part of the (particularly for men) culture of Melbourne. It’s one of the few truly unique Melbourne things. Being able to hold a basic conversation about it is a key element of men to assimilating into the city’s culture. To be a “true” Melbournian, you have to have Atleast a basic knowledge of the afl. Nrl is Sydney is not even close to equivalent imo. It’s the most popular sport, but you can easily live your life without even knowing who’s playing. As a side note, I work with many more recent migrants to the country who don’t even know what the afl is (In Sydney)