The salary cap needs to go, and then there is no 'bar' that needs to be set, other than the minimum professional criteria. 

Then it's up to each club to decide where on the scale it wants to operate.

Yeah players are a no brainier.

Stadium standards is what should be debated.

I'd say it's both stadium standards but maybe more importantly, stadium ownership.

Whether they can pay rent or not should be up to the clubs imo.

If there are breaches in payments (players, stadium) remove the team for example and bar them for a set time period 5-10 years.

What he means is not paying ridiculous marquee fees at the expense of the competition. Why buy a ridiculous marquee for a second tier. Keep it cheap and it will be more effective.

Yes it could literally be the difference between having 10 or 20 teams.

The high bar teams will pass the low bar. But not all low bar teams will pass the high bar.

The PFA model has 1st team player payments totalling $1.5m which is about twice what many NPL clubs pay now to part timers so its not so too over the top and you certainly wouldn't be getting any marquees within that figure.

But that research shouldn't have included a women's team, youth team or salary cap costs (maybe rough wage estimates)

Why?  Just because you don't want it to be included doesn't mean they should leave it out.  They have said what they have modelled and what it would cost.

AAFC and their 100 clubs still think they can budget for it so let it be.

A new second-tier will unleash the potential. The FFA still doesn't seem sure, and remains in a self-induced state of paralysis. So others are moving ahead with a plan. Don't think enthusiasm has ebbed away because the issue has disappeared from the news cycle. The push for a second division is about to hit the headlines again.

Three months after being formed, the Association of Australian Football Clubs (AAFC) is poised to unveil it's founding board of directors. Those directors will come from every major state to ensure they're truly representative of AAFC's 120-odd member clubs. From those 120 clubs, around 30 have expressed interest in becoming part of a new nationwide league.

The size of the second division is still to be determined, but the likely model is for a two-conference system involving between 20-24 clubs. Queensland, NSW, Northern NSW and the ACT will form one conference, with Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and Western Australia combining to form the other. Providing opportunity for regional cities such as Cairns, Townsville, Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Ballarat, Geelong and Wollongong is also likely to be part of the charter.

http://amp.smh.com.au/sport/soccer/tom-rogics-heroics-for-celtic-prove-need-to-widen-development-pathways-20170528-gwesa6.html

This is why I think it is better to have a closed 2 tier system. At least initially. Clubs with ambition to get to the top. All 120 were never going to have that ambition and I wouldn't like clubs to take places in a systems infancy.

As for 2 conferences yuck.

I know it is a cost saver, but having 24 teams play each other once over 23 rounds is better that 24 teams playing 22 games against 11 opponents imo.

I think the two conference thing will kill it - think guys, think. You cant please all the people all the time!!

I'd rather it was a ten team (east coast) league now with guaranteed expansion for WA and SA later on. I know national should mean national but 12 sides from Vic/SA/WA for one conference? Sounds more like NPL Vic in disguise.

Separating Sydney and Melbournr except for finals would imo be stupid. These will be high interest games/clubs.

@ Scott21

Agree fully - for Div 2 to succeed it needs Vic/NSWs together

Assuming the two conference system could out with the best teams from each conference facing each other in a final series to determine the champion? It's not perfect but you have to start somewhere, everything done would feel like trail and error.

If we go conferences again forget it.  May as well stay at State based NPL and do nothing.  If what we have now is not a National comp, then for the same reasons, neither is a conference.  It's bound to fail - has to fail.

Forget the conference bullshit.  Start with those who want to be in no matter where they come from.  Add the others as they stand up to be counted.  You only need 8 to start and then grow it to 18 through taking the best from each seasons applicants until you have enough then go pro/rel.
You could even have a comp between new applicants to play off for the promotion place at the end of each season.  That way you don't even need to dovetail into the existing structure thus avoiding the complexities about to fall on your neck if you have to mollify every State's concerns about overall integration.

Some Clubs are going to roll over and fall out.  As long as the basic structure is sound then that won't matter.  Anybody coming in should have their eyes open.  The League body will have the responsibility of due diligence on every application.  Bit of a job but not overly onerous if you don't start with over the top standards for a second level League.

Exactly. To cut down 92 club division down to any size would appear a success. It's not as if they are completely ruling it out as a possibility to  have two extra tiers simply by having the top half of the two tiers combine to make the second tier.

There would be a lot of clubs who would be disappointed if it were to be a united second division and that could lead to some angst. Lets see where we go from here.

Just a note before we crap on one another but the AAFC are waiting for the results of FIFAs ruling on the FFA before proceeding.

Speculation-

I dont think Cockerills groupings would be fair or a good representation. 

If we use the 2014 FFA Cup as a starting point. 

4 Qld
2 NNSW
7 NSW
1 ACT
4 Vic
1 Tas
1 SA
2 WA

That would be 14:8

Im pretty sure NNSW have said they couldnt do it financially or only as a united team and Im pretty sure Magic and Eagles feud. Eagles probably arent that ambitious as Jets exist. 

That means 12:8
I would include ACT with the Southern conference to make 11:9. That is probably the best groupings imo you could have. Even then I assume that only 1 WA teams would want to enter. It would be hard to imagine the FA wanting to have a team if a club team steps up. For SA it would be hard to imagine more than 2 clubs would want to join with the AC and WA having made the most noise so far. 4 Adelaide teams (including AU) seems overload. 

Personally I dont think a Qld Sydney league would be so spectacular. 

I would hate to see a situation where places like Launceston, Ballarat and even Hobart get a look in because they split the teams in a way where they needed to make up numbers and other places in Qld and teams in Sydney who are more suitable miss out because of it. 

Also as others have mentioned it would probably be top heavy with Melbourne teams in the South. This could also be unfair for Sydney teams whom are of the same or higher level but miss out because of places. 

---------------
As for conferences... I would buy into the concept more if you played each team from your own conference twice and the other conference once. That could be possible with 2x 10 teams.

Then at the very end of the season have the two top teams play each other. The team that had to play away during the season in the cross conference game gets the home game in a "second" final leg. No away goals. If it was 1-1 fisrt game then 2-2 go to extra time etc then pens. 

Joint VIC NSW league to start. 4 teams from each using a conference system for only 4 interstate trips plus finals [ h&a for 14 games and your own conference again h&a for a further 6 games]

Once this is done for proof of concept open it up to any east coast team and then slowly expand it from there. keep it conference as long as costs determine it needs to be. There is no harm in stating it small and conferenced with plans to end up with a normal home and away league of whatever size .

It's all about walking before you can run.

Why not play 2 matches on the road?

Friday then Monday. Then it would only be 2 trips per team under that system.

Don't care that much about how it is done just want it to work so more players across Australia get an opportunity. It seems in football everything you do is criticised as wrong. Save the costs and build it so it is successful.

@scott21 Grouch - not a bad concept for the 2 conference set up.

@ tfozz

I don't think it's a case of being critical for the sake of it when it comes to conferences it's just they often prove unpopular when used. In this division surely the most attractive fixtures come from NSW v VIC but they will be separated under the system mentioned here.

A national second division has to work first time otherwise we will never see it again, if it crashes and burns it will be the reference point in future when anyone try's to resurrect it.

A ten team/12 team league running in parallel with the HAL is the best way to go imo. If travel is a problem then just do east coast plus maybe SA (sorry Perth) but whatever they do it must work first time or the idea is dead in the water for a generation or two.

are there any connected forum members who have an intuition for how likely this proposal for a 2nd division is?

I'll let you know after 10am 

for real? What is happening at 10am?

Don't get too excited. LOL. I just have to make some phone calls and I'll let you know the status of the progress after.

cool sounds exciting

we really need it

the a league took from 2005 to about 2012 to improve to the level that players could jump straight into european starting 11s and stay there. I would expect a second division to take about 7 years to really take off. But thats 2024! We need it as soon as possible!

I'll emphasise that today but 100% agree. According to the AAFC thoughthis movement will be reliant on FIFA.