By scott21 - 17 Feb 2018 2:35 AM
Morris Iemma’s plan to shake up the stagnating A-League
Former NSW premier Morris Iemma, left, with fellow Southern Expansion A-League bid proponent Craig Foster.
Former NSW premier Morris Iemma, left, with fellow Southern Expansion A-League bid proponent Craig Foster.
Former NSW premier Morris Iemma is the new face of the Southern Expansion franchise bidding to be one of two teams to be included in the A-League.
Iemma gives his first extensive interview to The Weekend Australian about a number of issues including the bid, why Sydney FC should be happy to have them in the league and the state of football in Australia.
The Weekend Australian: What made you want to be involved with Southern Expansion and why do you believe you are well-placed to be one of the next two teams brought into the A-League?
Morris Iemma: The late Les Murray and Craig Foster asked me initially to provide public support because of my long connection with the region. When Les sadly passed away, I was asked to become the chair of the bidding committee.
Quite frankly, the A-League is stagnating and the competition needs refreshing and there can be no argument about that. Attendances and television figures have fallen off. It has been six years since there has been an injection of new blood via the Western Sydney Wanderers.
Southern Expansion ticks much of what the A-League is looking for. The southern Sydney region will have a population of over one million people in 10 years’ time. The potential is enormous. You have three passionate football areas involved — St George, Sutherland and the Illawarra. We will have two grounds, Kogarah Jubilee and WIN Stadium and we are hoping to have Shark Park. We have everything we need, including a huge grassroots factor and the history of all the regions. Remember, St George is where the late and great Johnny Warren came from, and Tim Cahill.
TWA: It’s no secret the Illawarra want their own, stand-alone franchise. What makes you think you can win them over if you are handed the licence ahead of them?
MI: We have got a relationship with Football South Coast but it is understandable that they would be looking at their own bid. If it doesn’t come off and we are successful, am I confident they will embrace our bid? Absolutely.
There is a synergy between us and the Illawarra. I know the region. When I was a minister I was involved in linking health services and transport between St George and there. The people of the Illawarra are passionate about football and, whatever happens, I am confident that we would have their support if our bid is chosen.
TWA: The Illawarra might be won over eventually but Sydney FC won’t be so easy. They are vehemently opposed to another franchise being so close to areas from which they understandably believe they draw a lot of support.
MI: Let me point out that the last time we had expansion in the A-League, Sydney had the entirety of Sydney’s 4.5 million population so in comes Western Sydney, and, contrary to assertions, the impact on FC was negligible.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/sport/football/morris-iemmas-plan-to-shake-up-the-stagnating-aleague/news-story/6d28f128388f8e4bed69d027bc9bd117
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By walnuts - 23 Feb 2018 12:58 PM
+x+xWhat's Geelong like as a town? I never hear anything about it. I know they love their AFL team and that's about it. Is it like a less attractive Victorian version of Wollongong? The region has a smaller population than the Illawarra and they have less than half the number of registered players but the point that ways strongly in their favour over the Illawarra is that it is part of the Melbourne TV ratings region which is a big plus if we ever get onto a major FTA channel.
The city has also supported a successful sporting team for 100+ years in the form of the Cats, in addition to providing Socceroos from the local region. Participation numbers don't show the whole story, as shown by Sydney FC who continually fail to draw a crowd befitting of their stature in spite of gargantuan participation numbers in NSW.
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