I think they believe transfer fees will be sucked out of potential payments to players. 

So I think it's a trade off with having a salary cap. Which "caps" player payments also. 

hard to see how that is in pfa's interest (or disinterest to be fair). Will players be mistreated if there is a dts? It makes the league more sustainable as you have rich clubs subsidizing poor clubs through domestic transfers

The only place transfer fees cannot be paid is within A-league.. from AL club -> AL club. 
Otherwise there is a "DTS" in place. 

A-league clubs can pay transfer fees for players in NPL, state leagues or from overseas. If they're under contract. 

NPL clubs can pay transfer fees for players also. If they're under contract. 

But if players are out of contract, then no transfer fees need to be paid. 
And that's what happens mostly among NPL clubs. 

PFA don't want transfers within the A-league while there is a salary cap..apparently. 

The insistence that for any transfers to be payable they must only be to fully professional players...... 

As others have said, welcome to the forum. Tell your friends.

What's the argument against it? 

All the best THUG, I've been there and done it x 2 sons.
Its a damn struggle whilst we have just 1 Pro league and the us vs them barriers/attitudes.
The other hurdle is the internal NPL clubland politics.
Both of mine got sic of the utter BS in selections and management egos.
Real shame one had a really good chance possibly going somewhere but the fun/enjoyment was going from his heart dipped out like many enjoying playing Prem 1's with countless ex NPL players therefore the level is good viewing/competitive and fun to them.
Sure the NST if it ever happens presents early complications but we NEED a 2nd level Pro league BIG TIME so more promising kids have somewhere else to go than just 12 Pro clubs to date.
All the best with your son.

BOTH my friend the way I see it.

What MSC quoted is a given sadly :
"higher you are in the "hierarchy" the more you fight tooth and nail to maintain your position and prevent the lower strata from taking over.... rinse and repeat,"

Why in this country we ended up with layer upon layer is plain silly and its getting worse, Gov/States/sports you name it.

The game here has ALWAYS had a management problem .... and just like with all civilisations in humanity's history the higher you are in the "hierarchy" the more you fight tooth and nail to maintain your position and prevent the lower strata from taking over.... rinse and repeat, yesterday's bourgeois become today's venture capitalists... 

And that right there is football’s biggest problem, lack of unity.

And without working together for the benefit of the sport football can forget about fulfilling its potential when the game is too top management heavy like it is with their own self interests in play. 

The game needs one vision, one direction so things like DTS can be brought in as an example.

Does the game have a management problem, or does the structure need changing at the very top? 

Oh interesting that is news to me

I do hope we replace it with a luxury tax. It would help make weaker clubs more sustainable and is compatable with p&r

PFA a very much anti salary cap. They represent the players, and without the cap the players can potentially make more money. 

welcome to the forum! 

Interesting info and also interesting that a league academies charge the same as npl clubs. I heard that the fees pay for full time coaches in both cases rather than pay for the seniors. Wonder if anyone can confirm

thought the pfa said the salary cap was incompatable with a dts but the pfa were the ones that want the salary cap 
I'd love to see the salary cap replaced with a luxury tax personally. Makes the league more sustainable while getting the best of both worlds - not forbidding ambition but also not making the league boring with the same teams winning each year

Yeah $20 per session does indeed sound ALOT cheaper than piano lessons or karate :) Thanks for the insight, I suppose a few posters on here are still pushing the barrow on "NPL clubs gauge parents so they can pay for their senior squads" but interesting to hear that Aleague Academies are doing the same with MUCH less scrutiny from the football public/media.

All the best with everything mate, enjoy the ride.

Cheers,
He was in an NPL 1 club last year, fees are set by Football NSW and were $2933 last year. This included full kit, a good coach, 2 assistant coaches, club physio, fitness and strength programs, other development such as referee course, coaching course. The season went from 1st November to end of September, with a couple of weeks off over Christmas. GPS was extra (not worth it in my opinion). There were also fund raising activities throughout the year.
Pretty good value in my opinion. Working it out on 40 weeks, with 3 nights + game day = <$20 per session including kit etc..
He has been in the system since u9 SAP and been at the same club, now moving into u18 to an Academy. It's a big unknown for us, and I stumbled across this forum looking for info. Great forum by the way!
Not sure what the fees are this year but it will be similar - as set by Football NSW. I've been told that some Academies don't charge, but this one does.

Sort of.
Pretty much all board rooms are to blame because none of them can agree.
My understanding is the PFA have no objections to a domestic transfer system, but in return want the A-League salary cap gone and the FA to regulate club fees from the grassroots level upwards.
The APL want the salary cap but also we can assume they don't want a transfer system it would impact their already bad bottom lines.
The state feds would like a transfer system, but don't want their club fees regulated.
It's all circular. Nobody agrees.

Fantastic first post, welcome to the forum....

Would you mind letting us know what sort of costs are involved at Aleague Academy level?

Good luck to you and your lad in his career btw....  

From the outside it looks like the PFA has a heavy hand to play in preventing this.

Same goes with NPL clubs who take players from State League clubs or other NPL clubs..

Why don't we have transfer fees?

There is no domestic transfer system in Australia. No club at any level gets any transfer fees when a player signs with another Australian club, only when a player signs overseas. When that does happen, I'm unaware of any A-League club kicking some of that transfer fee down the line.

In NSW it is a condition of their A league license to have Youth Academies down to U13.

Macarthur, being the newest franchise, took over the Northbridge Youth NPL team a couple of years ago to fulfill this license requirement. For 2025 they will be moving their youth training from Northbridge (North East Sydney) to somewhere near Macarthur (South West Sydney) about 1.5 hours away, so will have a big impact on parents with kids already in that system.

The A League Academies have slightly different rules in the senior competition (U20 and 1st grade) compared to the NPL teams.
NPL Teams U20's can have 4 over age players per game from 1st grade, whereas ALA's can have 0. ALA's must also have their 1st grade teams all be under the age of 25, whereas NPL teams 1st grade can have any age.
From my observation the ALA's also play their youth players up an age group much more often, but this is not a requirement.

The A league Academy system was sold to me (with a son just recently signed to an A league Academy) that this is the best pathway to get a pro contract. Ie. Go through SAP at your local NPL club --> Into Youth at NPL / ALA --> into A League Academy for U18 / U20 / 1st Grade --> contract for A league or beyond.
I was told that Scouts are more likely to pick up kids at A League Academies as they assume the ALA's have already scouted the best players. Debate this as you see fit.
Obviously this is the main road, but there are many side roads and back roads to the same destination.

A big question for me is should other NPL clubs bother with trying to compete with the A League Academies or are they content to be a pathway for their players into an A League Academy. Would Sydney Utd be content with their star player going to Sydney FC because, "this is the way" (in Mandalorian accent). Are Ego's able to get out of the way for this to happen? If clubs get a kickback from the transfer system, then they may well be content with this - does this happen? Does Apia try to sign their best players with an Overseas club, to get a transfer fee directly? I'd love to know how much of that happens, or if its ever happened.
The NST further complicates this pathway (or broadens it), so we'll see what happens there?

 

Random bump

How many have academies? I heard roar dont. Victorys academies go down to u13 only i believe? Would love a deep dive into this

Professor Millies looks at the development of this morality from the beginning. Fall guys brought me to this site, thank you for sharing interesting

I coached at an A-league academy in Sydney. Scouted the best talent in NPL NSW. Club would go out to watch them, record games and create highlight packages for all coaches to look at and give their opinion. The two people in charge would then make the final call.

The academies operate similarly to Premier League academies by actively recruiting the available talent around them and for the A-League academies competing within their respective states. The main aim is to discover and develop talented players, guiding them into the Senior and Reserve teams of the National Premier Leagues (NPL). Talent identification relies significantly on recommendations through word of mouth, family connections, development centres, school and youth competitions, academy trials, scouting, collaborations with locals clubs, date analytics and personal character. Notably, many younger siblings of established players are currently participating in A-League academies across various age groups, ranging from U13 to U18. The developmental pathway is clearly defined, progressing from age-group competitions to NPL Reserves, then to NPL team, and potentially advancing to the A-League.

Regarding the possibility of players "aging out," it depends on individual circumstances. If players excel from U13 to U18 but do not secure a spot in the NPL youth team, they may explore alternative paths for their future in the sport. It's important to highlight that numerous players within the academies often compete in higher age groups, going beyond the designated U13 to U18 categories. While teams are labeled as U13, U14, U15, U16, U17, and U18, exceptionally skilled players frequently transcend these age boundaries, showcasing their abilities beyond the specified age restrictions.

is there a big difference between the academies (and do some have no academies at all?)
Would love a break down

In the U18 Vic comp, do the A-league academies play a year up? 

As we are now starting to see some academies bear some fruit in terms of A-league players coming through and then eventually being sold, im genuinely curious as to how they operate.

Do they scout players from other local teams and then have the best players in one team then play against the local teams within that state competition? That seems a bit unfair
Do they play up age groups?
At what age do they essentially "age out" if they arent going to make it as a professional footballer. 

For example, i see that in the under 18 Victoria competition last season, the three A-league teams finished 1st, 2nd and 3rd in that competition. How is that good for anyone? Victory had a goal difference of around 60.