The Future According To Frank

I have a huge amount of respect for Frank Lowry. Five years ago Frank was the driving force behind the rebirth of football in this country. The creation of the A-league, the move to Asia and the recruitment of Guus Hiddink all contributed to a resurgence of the game here in Australia.

However I do wonder if Frank understands that all of this new found love for the game may evaporate if a few missteps are made. Poor performances during the qualification for the World Cup, crazy ticket prices and poor quality football are all contributing to a slow down in the growth of the game.

At the Victory In Business luncheon yesterday Frank was invited to speak and a very enlightening speech it was. He basically outlined his vision for the future of football in this country and to call that vision high risk may be a understatement.

Lets go through some of the points made in that vision.

Australia needs a second level division to allow for Promotion/Relegation
This is probably the most outlandish statement from the speech. Interesting Frank used the term in the medium-distinct future. I would have loved someone to question him on whether that meant within 10 years, 20 years or 30. Personally I cannot see a second division within 10 years for the A-League, 20 years is possible but the football culture here in Australia would need significant growth in that time to support a second tier.

Several of the clubs are struggling for sponsors and members now, do people really think clubs like Newcastle, North Queensland, Gold Coast could survive the impact of relegation to a second division with its loss of media exposure and sponsorship dollars. I highly doubt it.

I would like to see a successful 16 team single division before we even contemplate a move to a two division system.

A-League will grow to 14 teams in near future
Currently in the league format of 10 teams it is generally accepted only two are in the black (Melbourne and Central Coast). Several are close to, or are currently, being supported by the FFA. Yet Frank is confident that four new teams can be added without a serious impact.

I can understand why the FFA is keen to expand to 14 Teams as quickly as possible. It is a number that allows them to drop the 3 rounds per year format and switch to a 26 game Home/Away League. It allows for 7 games per week which gives the broadcasting rights a significant boost. And it gives us much more creditability when asking for Asian Champions League Spots.

But with Melbourne2 (they really need to sort out a name for themselves) joining next year and then Rovers the year after the League really should be given a period of consolidation. I know that Canberra is chaffing at the bit for a team and Wollongong and Tasmania are both waiting in the wings for that 14th place but expansion so quickly could do more harm than good.

Next TV rights deal needs to include an aspect of Free To Air
From memory this is the first time a FFA representative has spoken openly about the need to get both the Socceroos and the A-league on free to air broadcasting. Up to this point anytime broadcast rights were mentioned the party line was always what a great partner Foxtel are.

I think this is a no brainer. For the game to grow in this country mass media exposure needs to become more prevalent and that means TV Rights need to go to one of the big three broadcasters. It is however interesting that Frank has highlighted that it may be a mixed deal with Foxtel retaining some of the rights.

Money is still going to be a major factor when assigning rights. The fact is the League is struggling to maintain growth on the low salary cap it is lumbered with. We need this cap to be raised substantially to not only retain quality Australian players but also to attract quality foreign players. A good rights deal will go a long way to allow that to happen.

Whatever the final outcome I hope that written in the rights deal is a clause that FTA broadcasters must show game live or near live (ie Within 1 hour of the start time). The last thing we need is a repeat of the Channel 7 fiasco.

AFC Champions League Final
Interestingly Frank has come out declaring that the FFA is extremely interested in hosting the AFC Champions League Final. I am not sure we as a country are ready to support a final between two teams that the vast majority of fans would have little interest in.

Overnight the last Japanese team in this year’s comp has suffered a crushing defeat that has all but assured that there will be no Japanese team in the Champions league final to be hosted in Tokyo next month. With only 5 thousand ticket sold to date, AFC officials will be starting to get very concerned. I cannot imagine a game between Al Ittihad and Umm Salal generating much interest here in Australia, so it will be interesting to see how the crowd numbers pan out.

AFC Champions League Slots
Currently Australia has only been allocated 2 AFC CL spots. Although in the review we were rated highly enough to receive more, the size of our league was deemed too small to allow more spots. With the increase to 10 teams the FFA is pushing for a third spot.I think this is a good thing, the more teams the A-League has in the Champions League the more interest that will be generated here for the competition.

It makes sense to adopt a format that grants the two top teams in the major leagues a direct spot while allowing 1-2 others a place within the qualification rounds with the less professional leagues. The AFC is on the right path with the Champions League and it will be fascinating to see what changes are adopted with this latest round of review.


I think that about covers the points from Franks chat, some positive, some extremely optimistic but one thing is for sure it is never boring with Frank steering the ship.
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