The A League has, unfortunately, been under capitalised since the competition began. Frank lowey must have known that. I have no idea how he actually thought it was going to work beyond wishful thinking that crowds would magically grow to fill the wildly oversized stadiums the clubs rented at exorbitant rates. The whole enterprise was champagne dreams on Kool-Aid money. The thing I don't understand about the Genesis of the A-League is that Frank Lowy could have capitalized the league via a sponsorship from Westfield. I can only assume that one factor that might have come into play here was the fact that he were already knew he was going to exit Westfield. I'd admire the work he did. the tragedy is that the under capitalisation of the competition meant that it was set up to fail in financial terms.
It is up to the clubs to be financially viable, they should be able to stand alone, with the FA only providing the TV and prize money. It works
Problem here is that the model was broken from the beginning. Even when we look at MV who had excellent membership/crowd numbers year after year for a long time. They were recording profits every year, however it was the international transfer fees that were tipping them into the black. Take those away and they were in the red just like the rest of the league even with the 20k+ average attendances and 20k+ members. The transfer economy simply isn't up to scratch here. No 2nd div for those better players to transition into a professional career. No where near enough game minutes to get players to the level they need to be at to even be considered by international clubs. Also no prize money in the A-League, so not only is there no risk for performing poorly, there is little reward for doing well.
bang on !
Mike welcome glad you are still in Football
The player trading model is what teams need to work on better, as that is clubs need to prosper. If we are a selling league, then so be it, as long as clubs are making money. In saying that, you don't buy football clubs if you want to make money, as owners the world over will attest to.
You can get GA for kids at some clubs for around $10 a game with membership, $20 a game for adults. Most clubs will also offer and early renewal discount as well. Away games will always cost more but really how much would it take for the NSW teams to add options for NSW away games to their packages (even add Canberra if they come in). The same for 2-3 Victorian teams.
NBL viewership across ESPN and Network 10 has apparently increased but not sure how it's running ratings wise compared to the A-League or even the cricket.
Hopefully. Next Saturday night match is Adelaide which is the best tv game to watch
Correct.
