The concept of promotion and relegation being added to the A-League has been something hotly debated over the past few years and both sides making valid arguments, but is it really the answer?
Let’s start with why promotion and relegation would be a good idea to implement.
Several commentators have suggested that there is an audience for a second tier in Australian football, not least based on the impressive attendances lower tier clubs were pulling in the FFA Cup this season. Clubs like Heidelberg United drew upwards of 2,000 fans per match with a high of over 11,000 for their quarter-final match against Melbourne City and this has led many to think that a second tier could be sustainable as there is an audience.
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This is partially true. While there is a valid argument that there is an audience, there is a real possibility that the attendance numbers from the FFA Cup are merely an anomaly and crowd numbers would be significantly smaller on a more consistent basis. The idea of a cup match is something that excites fans, as there is a chance at the upset or seeing their side make it through to the next round.
A competition where everyone is at the same level would do nothing to excite fans the same way and naturally could lead to lower attendances. This has been shown in the past with the current second tier competition the National Premier League. The 2013 final between NSW club Sydney United 58 and Tasmanian side South Hobart drew just over 1,100 fans to the match, a far cry from the 11,000 drawn in by Heidelberg but still a small improvement over the regular season numbers for South Hobart.
Other commentators have argued that promotion and relegation would reinvigorate the A-League by creating new interest in the forms of public, corporate and broadcast. With nations like England and Germany having sides in their top tiers that would normally be regarded as small clubs. For example, Bournemouth and Ingolstadt have a combined stadium capacity of 27,500 between them; smaller than Wellington Phoenix’s home of Westpac Stadium. There is a sense of excitement in those nations as those clubs try to stay up in the top tier and continue to punch above their weight, as per time of writing, Bournemouth currently sit in 17th place in the English Premier League and Ingolstadt is eighth in the German Bundesliga.
Promotion and relegation could turn the A-League into something more exciting, especially as the end of the season draws near and clubs clamour to escape the relegation zone. With only ten sides in the top tier at the moment, it is seeming more and more like the league is stagnating and there is no doubt that the familiarity of the league is a factor. No fan wants to go and see their club take on the same nine teams for several seasons and promotion and relegation could be the radical shakeup needed to fix this problem and get fans excited about going to the football again.
However, while there are some valid arguments for the implementation of promotion and relegation, there are also some valid arguments against the concept or its implementation at this current time.
One of the biggest issues that always gets brought up is the one of finances. It has been noted in the past that some of the more well-known NPL sides spend roughly half a million dollars per season and there would be a massive leap in finances needed to match up with the current A-League sides, who spend roughly seven million dollars a season. Without a significant broadcast deal or fan attendance, any club in the second tier or any club relegated from the A-League could quickly find themselves out of money trying to play catchup or adjust to their new surroundings. It is something we have all seen before, with clubs like Leeds and Portsmouth imploding financially in their attempt to match the rest of the top division.
Another issue that the A-League would need to face with the implementation of promotion and relegation would be that of the current state of the ten A-League clubs. All 10 A-League clubs have franchise licenses and there could be a question as to what the FFA would do should one of those clubs go down to the second tier. Unless the FFA applies a strict rule that turns every club in the new second tier into a franchise as well or vice versa, there could be a certain rigidity between the current top clubs and the proposed second tier.
As the current footballing market stands in Australia, there does not appear to be enough stability for a second tier to be implemented. With several top tier clubs like Brisbane Roar and Newcastle Jets going through financial issues in the past year, something like a relegation would almost certainly spell the end of the club. While every fan wants to see promotion and relegation in Australia, it is obvious that the concept will not be implemented until the clubs and leagues are stable enough to allow teams to traverse divisions.
It’s a classic risk versus reward argument in the end. While the reward would be a more entertaining league in the long run, the current risk is just too high to warrant such a change. The best thing the A-League could do in the near future to make the football more entertaining would be to expand the league to twelve clubs in order to break up the monotony of playing the same nine teams week in and week out.
But for now, fans will have to get used to the fact that promotion and relegation is something on the A-League’s back-burner right now. With people like Frank Lowy suggesting that the move is an inevitability, it is now just a question of when the league is ready.
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