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A-League Mens 25/26 - Round 8

patjennings said:
and this is based on one round

AI tells me (so it must be true - haha). Total for this season is applying the % decrease to the previous year. There will be variations - with different fixtures in different rounds and different clubs travelling differently from year to year.


Season		Total Attendance (Rounds 1-8, Approx)Percentage Change (from previous season)Total H/A
2025-26355,8475.89 % (decrease from 2024-25)1397094
2024-25~378,22313.5% (increase from 2023-24)1485093
2023-24~296,000N/A1308288

​
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Depends when derbies are played. Already chewed through a lot of them. NZ have already had 2.
 
RIMB said:
Agreed. Redmayne was a few seasons back - it just stuck in my craw at the time and remains rent free as blatant, preplanned, coach endorsed activity.
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ITs time that the refs used their ability to tell players to get off the field if they are injured. Davidson for Victory had "cramp" a couple of metres from the back line. He should have been told to get off the pitch and be attended there, but no, trainers called on and over a minute wasted. It is so annoying.
 
FeedTheBrox said:
Why dump it on us? We know why they have dropped in recent years. I have explained this many times.
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My intention was not to dump on anyone, FTB. It was a genuine question because in terms of sheer numbers, Victory appear to have lost at least half of their support over the last five or so years. I wasn't criticizing or singling out Victory in any way. I am aware of the context. Victory pretty much carried the league for 15 years in terms of bolstering average attendances.
 
Sutherlandbear said:
Not good, but a comparison to the NRL, who have an average attendance of 12,720 form 1957-2025. That is not overly great, despite the media coverage that they receive, but they keep rolling on. Too many doomsayers follow football in this country.
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I suggest that there is room for expressions of concern based on what we are seeing, and the fact that APL appear to do nothing but sit on their hands.
 
After hitting refresh, we have the below, still above 8,000, which is higher than a lot of the more established leagues around the world.

SFC will definitely increase once they move back to Allianz in the new year, especially being on top.

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Sutherlandbear said:
It is on the clubs to get their attendances higher, not the governing body.
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I agree in part but there is an absolute vacuum in APL regarding any kind of vision for what the A-League should be and zero strategy or apparent budget for marketing and public relations. And I have to say that I believe that the recent figures they put out for increase in television viewing of close to 50% on last season smell like a two-day old dead fish
 
Frankly Speaking said:
I agree in part but there is an absolute vacuum in APL regarding any kind of vision for what the A-League should be and zero strategy or apparent budget for marketing and public relations. And I have to say that I believe that the recent figures they put out for increase in television viewing of close to 50% on last season smell like a two-day old dead fish
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I see plenty of promotions on the socials, that is where it is at these days.
 
Sutherlandbear said:
I see plenty of promotions on the socials, that is where it is at these days.
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Exactly. Nobody watches TV or listens to radio anymore. People seem to think that because they don't see an ad on TV, it must mean that there is no marketing. It's all on the socials. Which is why it falls back onto the individual clubs to get the bums on seats. Unlike previous generations in which they had to take a broader approach to marketing, now they can target people directly.
A quick look at the IG numbers:
  • SFC - 140k+
  • MC - 133k+
  • MV - 129k+
  • BR - 113k+
  • WSW - 95k+
  • AU - 85k+
  • ACK - 74k+
  • NIX - 68k+
  • CCM - 66k+
  • PG - 59k+
  • NJ - 58k+
  • WU - 40k+
  • MAC - 34k+
Even when we assume a percentage of those numbers are bots/click farms (those MC numbers raise an eyebrow), there is still plenty of eyeballs there. There are more than enough fans and they are well aware when and where the games are on.
People point to marketing as the problem, where I don't think it's as big a problem as they make it out to be. I reckon the problems are more bigger picture stuff. Basically the shine has worn off. There has been next to zero growth. Zero connection with the rest of football. Sub par expansions. The young fans (like myself) that were there at the biggening of the A-League are now in their 40s and 50s, and now have families, mortgages and way less time. The new young generation hasn't filled that gap because they also have no money. Before AAMI park was built, I never paid for MV tickets. It was basically a free event. Very few free tickets for young people now.
Dec/Jan is also a super busy time for everyone. I missed Saturday's game because the missus had her EOY work thing and we couldn't get a babysitter. My mates also didn't go because one of them also had their EOY work thing and the other had his cousins wedding. I'll miss two home games over the break as I'll be away on holidays.
The way I see it, attendance hasn't declined, but rather it has settled at a more organic natural level under current circumstances. It may drop a bit, it may rise a bit, but it will never return to those big numbers until serious changes are made.
 
CentreHalf said:
Victory are up on last year through 3 home games.

Point the finger at CCM, Auckland and Wellington.
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Victory are screwed, already had a home derby, the visit of the reigning premiers Auckland and Adelaide. When the Macarthurs, Mariners, Phoenix glory types roll into AAMI it will be grim.
 
Victory will have a big increase at games when they continue playing like they are now. Fans may not go when their team is playing crap football but it does not mean they stop supporting their club. Improve the football and they will no doubt show up again.

I also think the 'modern' world sees people saying "why go to the game when I can watch it on my phone/laptop/TV".

Same as I'd rather buy online than go a few kilometres to a shop.
 
They've made the last 2 grand finals and been ok this season performance wise, the crowds still arent turning up. Not sure if they're hosting another derby game but im seeing 8-10k being the norm now (1/3rd of AAMI occupied)
 
If you break it down club by club, it provides some context.

Growth

Brisbane - encouraging signs and if we keep winning the crowds will go up. There is a good feel around the club but it will take a fair bit of consistency this season to get things consistently into double figures (which is still below where we were pre-Covid)

Stability

Adelaide - you can pretty much always rely on a decent crowd at Coopers unless the team is going terribly. They need to improve results however crowds may fall.

Auckland - crowds seem stable although if being ultra critical, they are slightly down. Have had alot of home games already though (scheduling?)

Perth - better than last season and if they keep winning they’ll grow the crowds. We all know that, like Brisbane, years of being poor has taken its toll and a sustained period of results will help but it’ll take time to grow.

Sydney - putting Sydney here only because of the ground situation. If they were at Allianz, I think crowds would be up.

City - haven’t really had too many home games to judge, so can’t really put them into decline.

Decline

Mariners - basketcase at the moment. No clear sense of direction, average playing squad, poor scheduling, too many home games within short period. 6k used to be considered low for these guys, now we’re seeing 2k-4k regularly.

Macarthur - already low crowds seem to get even fewer and fewer. So hard to watch on TV. Not sure what the answer here is - are we just going to get the same things dished up year on year with no actual plan for growth?

Victory - crap results, issues with fans, and general fan disdain with the clubs have turned what was a certain 13k+ team for lower drawing teams into sub 10k

Jets - when you’ve been poor for years, it’s no wonder fans stop turning up. Had the chance to start climbing up but poor results lately have squashed that.

Wanderers - how long have we got? What should be 10k-12k average sees 5k turn up for a Saturday afternoon game on a nice day. Issues seem to stem from the top and until they’re resolved things won’t change.

Wellington - poor football, poor results, huge cavernous stadium, and a rival that’s come in and shown them how to do things. Appreciate times are tough in Wellington financially at the moment but it’s not good enough.

Looking at the above, plenty of clubs who are sitting in no man’s land and the ones that are stable or improving aren’t exactly setting the world on fire. There is a severe lack of buzz and excitement around the league at the moment and I work with and am friends with so many football fans and next to none show any interest in the league.
 
Roar92_ said:
If you break it down club by club, it provides some context.

Mariners - basketcase at the moment. No clear sense of direction, average playing squad, poor scheduling, too many home games within short period. 6k used to be considered low for these guys, now we’re seeing 2k-4k regularly.
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While not disagreeing with any of that I will make a couple of points. Mariners traditionally do not traditionally start with crowds that approach their average. This year is worse - for the reasons you have identified.

For the game on 6th December, traditionally Sydney would bring a decent crowd - many of whom would travel by rail. This was the day of the Koolewong fires. The line was closed by fires for a few hours - probably deterring mist of those that would have travelled . In addition while parts of the coast experience some relief from the 40 degree heat I live within 5 minutes of the stadium and it was still in the very high 30 degrees range as the game time approached. The police were asking for people to stay away from Central Coast Highway and Brisbane Water Drive to allow emergency services better access. Eventually the game was postponed because of lightning. when the game was played the condition generally were a lot better for fans.

For the game last Friday - last year's corresponding fixture got 4101. It was a Friday night in a commuter town, which CCM never do well with as of course was last Friday, which I believe was had a tough under 1942.

The question should be why do the APL schedule Friday night fixtures in a commuter town in the week thousands of Sydney companies have their major Christmas functions.

I suspect that by the end of the season that CCM averages may well be down but not by be the margin that might be suggested at the moment. Of course - a clearer sense of direction, recruitment (not NPL level - but quality visa players) may see the average increase.
 
someguyjc said:
Exactly. Nobody watches TV or listens to radio anymore. People seem to think that because they don't see an ad on TV, it must mean that there is no marketing. It's all on the socials. Which is why it falls back onto the individual clubs to get the bums on seats. Unlike previous generations in which they had to take a broader approach to marketing, now they can target people directly.
A quick look at the IG numbers:
  • SFC - 140k+
  • MC - 133k+
  • MV - 129k+
  • BR - 113k+
  • WSW - 95k+
  • AU - 85k+
  • ACK - 74k+
  • NIX - 68k+
  • CCM - 66k+
  • PG - 59k+
  • NJ - 58k+
  • WU - 40k+
  • MAC - 34k+
Even when we assume a percentage of those numbers are bots/click farms (those MC numbers raise an eyebrow), there is still plenty of eyeballs there. There are more than enough fans and they are well aware when and where the games are on.
People point to marketing as the problem, where I don't think it's as big a problem as they make it out to be. I reckon the problems are more bigger picture stuff. Basically the shine has worn off. There has been next to zero growth. Zero connection with the rest of football. Sub par expansions. The young fans (like myself) that were there at the biggening of the A-League are now in their 40s and 50s, and now have families, mortgages and way less time. The new young generation hasn't filled that gap because they also have no money. Before AAMI park was built, I never paid for MV tickets. It was basically a free event. Very few free tickets for young people now.
Dec/Jan is also a super busy time for everyone. I missed Saturday's game because the missus had her EOY work thing and we couldn't get a babysitter. My mates also didn't go because one of them also had their EOY work thing and the other had his cousins wedding. I'll miss two home games over the break as I'll be away on holidays.
The way I see it, attendance hasn't declined, but rather it has settled at a more organic natural level under current circumstances. It may drop a bit, it may rise a bit, but it will never return to those big numbers until serious changes are made.
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Excellent post
 
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