With the past round seeing the Central Coast Mariners take on the Melbourne Victory in front of over 14,000 fans in Geelong, there has been a renewed expression of interest in bringing more matches to regional areas as a way of expanding the interest of the game.
The 3-3 draw between the Mariners and the Victory was what one would normally call a roller-coaster of a match and this could help to keep interest in the league in the Geelong area. Mayor Darryn Lyons believes that the city is currently lacking the facilities to join the league full time but believes that there is sufficient interest in the city to support a side. But it is the concept of regional games that warrants more discussion as to their use in the league, as expansion is currently slated to remain on the backburner for the near future, according to A-League chief Damien de Bohun.
The past round’s match in Geelong was the latest in a long line of regional matches over the course of the A-League’s history. In the past we have seen matches in Canberra, Wollongong and even smaller towns like Bathurst, just to name a few towns. But these regional matches have both positives and negatives attached to their use in the league. Most notably, it is clear to see that some of these regional matches are used as a test of the prospective fan base of a city. The matches in Geelong over the last two seasons have drawn an average of around 18,000 while Wollongong and Canberra – two other cities mentioned as the front-runners of the expansion race – have seen attendances of over 11,000 and just under 5,500 respectively.
Any person going exclusively off the figures alone would immediately put Geelong at the top of any new list for expansion but this would be to ignore the other crucial factors behind the organisation of a club. However, there is little doubt that regional games do cause some significant interest to be generated in the towns they play in. Games in more regional areas have a much better chance of becoming a media event in the region and one only needs to look at the interest generated in the Bathurst region for their 2012 match between Adelaide United and the Newcastle Jets to see a prime example of this. Despite the low crowd attendance – the match only had a recorded attendance of 2,363, one of the lowest in league history – there was significant media attention in the region for the match due to the lack of professional sport played there.
Interest like this can go a long way to securing not only new fans but also raising the profile of the game away from the major cities, something that is required for the long-term sustainability of the game. However, despite the positives that regional games seem to be, it would be ridiculous to claim that there are no negatives at all.
The biggest issue in regards to regional games is that more often than not they are taking a loss on the match, as the attendance at regional games may be significantly lower than the average home attendance. That is not to say there are exceptions to this. The match in Geelong this past round was regarded as a Central Coast Mariners home match and was their highest ‘home’ attendance since 2013. But for every successful match there is an equally unsuccessful match in a regional area based purely on numbers alone. Regional games cost the clubs money that may be better spent in other areas and there is a question as to what clubs would rather receive: positive PR or their money?
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Despite the negatives, more often than not moving the league to a more regional area for a game or two a season does not seem to be a terrible idea. It allows the FFA to gauge interest in prospective expansion areas all while increasing the profile of the game outside of the eight areas that already have a team. However, some discretion must be used when assigning matches to these regional areas, as they need to be more smartly used than before in order to properly maximise the idea.
Moving matches to areas that have an large population with no established fanbase allows for a litmus test as to future expansion and the league should be looking at holding matches in Wollongong, Canberra, Geelong, Townsville or even Hobart in the near future just to name a few cities and all of these have held matches before, with Townsville notably having their own side in the league for three years. These areas would have the ideal mix of ‘regional’ that the FFA should be looking for; areas large enough that a successful attendance would rival or even better that of a standard A-League match, areas that are prime for expansion and areas that would generate significant media attention with any football match held there due to a lack of sporting competition (Wollongong, Hobart) or because the area itself is a strong footballing area (Canberra, Geelong).
Regional games are a great idea for identifying prospective areas for the league to expand into in the future but how they are currently being utilised could do with some working on. While it is nice to see smaller cities like Bathurst have the chance to experience the league on their own, it is a much smarter move to look at larger areas that do not have a side and try and see if successful matches can be held there on their own accord.
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