Frank Lowy has almost guaranteed that their will be new teams added by the new tv deal in 2017
Football Federation Australia chairman Frank Lowy says it's only a matter of time until the A-League expands to a 12-team competition and adopts a system of promotion and relegation.
The 84-year-old flagged the changes in a television interview aired on Wednesday.
In particular, he said the introduction of a multi-tier model was all but inevitable.
"I think we should take that into consideration because eventually we will have to have promotion and relegation," Lowy told Fox Sports.
"In my estimation, we will be made to do that."
Lowy said the FFA was being encouraged by the sport's governing bodies to expand the competition.
But the shopping centre mogul said they understood the process would take time and weren't pressing too hard.
"They know that we have started, it will take time," he said.
"Nobody's pressing us at the moment except ourselves."
He said Australia and the United States are the only two countries in the world who do not employ a promotion and relegation structure.
Two more teams should also be introduced by the time the current broadcast deal is replaced following the 2016/17 season, Lowy said.
From there he said a 14-team competition could also be on the cards.
"That process is already underway," Lowy explained.
"Research is being made where and when should a new team be established throughout Australia."
Wollongong, Canberra, Cairns and south-west Brisbane have all been touted as potential homelands for new A-League clubs.
Lowy has previously predicted the sport's popularity would double, if not triple, in the next decade.
The chairman - who has seen the Socceroos qualify for three consecutive World Cup finals during his tenure - will step down in November 2015.
He's having a laugh with cairns but that group is succesful and they are building the stadium, but cairns is tiny at 150k, if they start out there you would absolutely have to engage the community in the biggest way to ensure that 10k per game is achieved (which should be the bare minimum at games in this a-league)
Wollongong and Canberra are safe bets (Wollongong wolves that is) so long as there isn't too many games taken to the south of sydney (like 1-2 home games is fine)
South West Brisbane is of more interest to me, i can guarantee they are targeting springfield (which is about 15 minutes away). Can't say its that dumb either. It's one of the fastest growing regions in the whole country. Putting a team out there if they can build a stadium opposite or a block away from the station near springfield station (to the northern part of it) Springfield alone will be home to 105k by 2030 and i think the greater area will be home to like over 1 million or something, if there is to be a team, that is the place. Stadium should be league/football specific (it is qld after all) with a capacity of about 25-30k. Something with reasonable coverage based on robina stadium, but probably a bit cheaper (if they can get it done for about 100-150 million, then thats about right) then yeah
My alternative to Springfield would be Ipswich, rejuvinating north ipswich oval to hold 25-30k also (Paul Pisale endorses it, though only 15k, not enough for the A-League and ipswich). then that would be quiet something. In all honesty, only thing it has to springfield is that ipswich as a center is more defined (even if both are basically just extensions and suburbs of brisbane) and more people would affiliate with it in terms of area. Springfield as a club would have to find something else other than it being an anti-roar (maybe something closer like a community club, western sydney-esqe sort of support, more for the footballing purists, cause even as a roar fan, i'll admit the den are absolutely shit) i don't think i would turn but it would definately put pressure on the roar (which is needed) and that community/wanderers sort of club would be a huge contrast to the overly family friendly roar.
also note:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expansion_of_the_A-Leaguereasonably accurate in terms of potential candidates. i would organise between now and then a NPL national with teams getting promoted on marketability, crowd attendance to the a-league initially (until the a-league has 18-20 teams) then the NPL National can be the 2nd division with pro/rel (all clubs would have to be stable beforehand)
So clubs included would be:
Darwin, Northern Fury, Sunshine Coast Fire, Palm Beach Sharks/Gold Coast Franchise, McAurther Rams (Campbeltown), Penrith, South Melbourne, Geelong, Tasmania/Hobart, Auckland City (so long as NZF joins Asia, or East Asia breaks off from West and combines with oceania, with west combining with the other north african/arab countries)
14 teams in the A-League
10 teams in the A2/B-League/NPL National
the NPL for each state would then be the third tier. you get relegated for being poor (in terms of crowd attendance, financial viability etc) the 2nd division would have to be on fox sports (would be part of the new tv deal, and more football for fox would make them really happy) and sbs deals (SBS would also love this, even if its on SBS 2)
from a TV perspective
7 A-League Games per week (2 Friday, 3 Saturday, 2 Sunday, or 1 Friday, 3 Saturday, 2 Sunday, 1 Monday)
5 NPL National Games per week (1 Friday, 2 Saturday, 2 Sunday, like the A-league now)
12 domestic games per week, not to mention cup ties during that (though i wouldn't have the two seasons running concurrently, a-league starts late sep-mid apr; npl mid jun- early jan)
also the cap needs to go up, A-League up to about 4 mill by that stage and this 2nd division should have a cap of about 1-1.5 million per, same 4 foreign players and 1 marquee for international, domestic and domestic youth
This is very feasible in all honesty, from now to 2016-17 they could easily set it up, there are enough players who get dropped from the squads and are in europe (not to mention good international players)
anyway should be good to see how it goes
