"Officials briefed on the plans said the current season length of early October to mid-May would likely remain, to avoid clashes with other codes over ground availability and media interest."

So even the clubs are going to avoid the Winter codes.  This might have long term ramifications.

Ah, the more things change, the more they stay the same...

16 teams by 2023 though. This is ambitious and I can't see how this can work unless we have mid-week fixtures. 

To be honest, we should start in September and have some FFA cup games in August to bring it all together.

New Zealand Time Zones x 2 stops the need for Mid week fixtures 

Clear Contact There

30 rounds plus finals. An earlier time slot doesn’t make months longer.

30 rounds is perfect and only 3 more than we’re used to. 

Start the first week weekend in September and job done 

Upcoming season going for 29 weeks, so 30 weeks looks managreable.

It makes sense to start the season earlier, rather than run it later.
September has more ground availability as the other codes move into finals and have less teams playing each week.

Avoiding the winter codes means October til February. Anyone who thinks an October start is avoiding the winter codes is Micro minded

I dont have any confidence in our new ant overlords

Anyone get behind this paywall?

Looks like we’lol be having a lot of expansion articles over the next 4 years

”Auckland City Football Club chairman Ivan Vuksich says New Zealand's biggest city is "crying out" for an A-League team, but any prospective bid would have to come from a separate entity despite his own personal interest......
"The market in Auckland, if you get up to 1.8 million to 2 million [people], then there's got to be a place for another team in this market. It's a big city, it's as big as Perth and they have a very successful who got second last season, they lost in the shootout."
https://i.stuff.co.nz/sport/football/a-league/115029817/new-zealand-crying-out-for-second-aleague-team-says-auckland-city-chairman

APFCA have already selected their targets. They won’t release the names though.

Lowy didn't invent playing in summer, and it's not like everyone is calling for it to change.

Fox are adamant football can’t start until after finals despite, as you say, stadium availability being almost perfect in September. 

Grassroots football is still going in September. If you want 'football' people to come then they can't be playing football. 

Doesn't the A-League season run into the start of grassroots football atm? What's the difference?

Is this the same Fox looking at dumping the game? Remind me why they are a constant influence on our game

AFL and NRL clubs dont have the same problem, or other leagues around the world for that matter

Also most games are played at night

I have maintained from the start that we should be looking after interest of football in AUSTRALIA and no where else. In fact the most important discussion we need to have right now is what does the SECOND DIVISION look like and how soon from there can we have promotion and relegation. There is no other discussion more important than that. 

1. We are going to have come to the realisation quickly that not every team in the A-league is going to be a massive club. There is nothing wrong with that, over time depending on the success of a club that can always change but we must be open to that idea, especially initially. Sure minimum standards must be met but if all clubs have ambition then that wont be a problem. 

2. We have a number of teams in the NPL who have amition to play in the A-league eventually. I can't see why we have to fear that. We also have the opportunity for new owners/investors to do it better if they think they can. When the Last A-league licences were dolled out how many submissions did we have that wanted to enter the A-league. I personally dont think we even selected the best submissions. If you create the right framework the investment will be there. Its already been proven.

3. The best way to get traction into both the A-league and a 2nd tier is to have PROMOTION INTO THE A-LEAGUE WITHOUT RELEGATION. We can do this one at a time if you want or two at a time depending how ambitious you want to be until you get the desired 16 team comp you want. That will provide a number of things. It will allow the excitement of promotion into the A-league and also a new team in the 2nd tier to enter. All this without the threat of relegation that current A-league teams fear.

4. By going this route you are providing a concrete framework and a timeframe for promotion and relegation. This will also be an appealing situation for wanna be football investors who will want to be part of this process. This will also have the added impact of established clubs upping their game in anticipation when the final team is promoted in the A-league for team 16. 

5. By this stage we have already had either 3-4 years of promotion and the anticipation of a full blown season of promotion / relegation will be palpable for any football fan. THIS IS THE ROUTE WE SHOULD  BE GOING. We are not here to help NZ or another Asian nation with their football. This is the only way forward to progress as a true footballing nation. We are NOT UNIQUE in the world. Every country has their challenges in football and we are no different but it is something we will have to embrace. We need to embrace this in a logical and planned step by step process. We just need the balls to do it. 

6. Finally I will add that despite the A-league clubs taking over the running of the A-league they are just ONE STAKEHOLDER of which there are many. They aren't even the most important ones even though they think they are. IT IS THE FANS WHO ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT. We just need to be more vocal, because the FFA and the A-league clubs are relying on us to be like sheep. They do not want the fans to get involved and have a legitimate voice. They are treating us with contempt like always.
If the fans are united we can have a massive say in how football is shaped in this country. We just have to realise that power and make both the FFA and A-league clubs sit up and take notice.

I like some of the ideas they have raided, but will wait for whether they carry through with those plans or change course.

Just hope they have the best interests of the entire game at heart, not just a short term boost to fill their wallets.

Not the entire game, just the A League. 

The FFA have the rest. 

Exactly A-league needs to look after themselves, with the FFA acting in the best interests of the rest of football. 

The majority of the clubs lose money. That is not going to change in the short term. They will continue to lose money. The difference is that it is now completely in their hands. They are responsible. Some clubs may tip the scales in the long term, but as a general rule, there are far more reliable and lucrative ways to make money than owning a professional sporting club.

but but weez wanna start in septemba...

I don't think it's a problem. AFL/NRL runs the same time as their grassroots and juniors and those players still manage to attend the professional versions of those codes.

“Plans to broadcast more games of Australia’s Super Rugby competition on free-to-air TV in an effort to grow the game’s audience could very well backfire for the code, with Foxtel chief executive, Patrick Delany, indicating that the pay-TV provider would be renegotiating the value of the rights if the plans do go ahead.

News Corp-controlled Foxtel has shown Super Rugby, which currently features teams and games spread across Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Argentina and Japan, since 1996 and reportedly pays AUS$15 million for the Australian broadcast rights, while it also sub-licensing a one-match re-run to free-to-air network Ten for AUS$4 million, according to the Australian Financial Review.

The competition’s current broadcast deal, which was signed in December 2015 and covers multiple territories, expires at the end of next season.

Speaking to the Australian Financial Review, Delany warned that Rugby Australia’s intention to put more games in front of the paywall would affect Foxtel’s level of exclusivity and therefore reduce the value it attributes to Super Rugby content.

“Rugby has only ever been on Fox, Super Rugby was invented by Fox, it has always been on Fox,” Delany said.

“If they want to put some on free-to-air, that’s fine, but it changes the whole value equation for us.”

“We’ve been a massive supporter of rugby,” added Delany.

“Last time we were the only bidder for the rugby rights and we maintained the price to support rugby and that’s sometimes the way in which we see these sports, so we’ll see.

“Our subscribers like rugby, it’s all about what value and what price we get.”

Rugby Australia’s plan to televise more Super Rugby games for free in order to expand potential audience reach comes at a challenging time for the sport of rugby union in Australia, where other football codes, including the Australian Football League (AFL) and National Rugby League (NRL), provide stiff competition.

Attendances at Super Rugby fixtures have declined in recent years, while the competition’s multi-nation footprint means games are played at a variety of times and fewer fixtures capture the attention of Australian viewers.

Delany’s latest comments follow plans announced by Foxtel earlier this year to drop coverage of ‘non-marquee sporting content’ to reduce costs after the network made a loss of AUS$417 million in 2018.

Commenting at the time, Foxtel did not specify which sports could be affected by its move to rein in spending, although it has previously been speculated that Super Rugby could be among those to feel the pinch.”
https://ministryofsport.com.au/foxtel-exec-warns-super-rugby-about-free-to-air-broadcast-intentions/

They have feed people propaganda for years that they are the only reason a league in Australia exists. 

It it will take awhile for the brainwashing to wear off.

Also just substitute the “A-League” for “Rugby”.

“Rugby has only ever been on Fox, Super Rugby was invented by Fox, it has always been on Fox,” Delany said.

At the moment, Fox will jump on any  excuse to get rid of a sport, or at the very least, negotiate a lower payment.

Higher ratings, higher interest equals higher payment.  The A League has none of those things.  

The aleague owners have 4 year to change that

Starting in September is the easiest decision of all time. better stadium availability is only the start. If you're gonna have 30 rounds plus 4 weeks of finals, we're gonna need 2 more weeks compared to the upcoming season. Plus we will need to find another 3 weeks when we revert back to not playing on FIFA international dates. I think we need to minimise midweek games if possible (try and keep it to no more than a couple). the perfect time to start the season is the 3rd weekend of September. 

As for Foxtel... hopefully they won’t be our broadcaster by 2023. 

As for the state leagues... the HAL is the top tier of Australian Football and they will need to work around it, not the other way around. a time will come where there will have to be an alignment of all the leagues.