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“I guess the message got through. And here’s a break led by Leckie. He’s on his own. No help. Mathew Leckie. What a goal. He didn’t need any support. He did it all on his own.”
Australian football has enjoyed a renaissance in recent months.
With the recent successes of the Socceroos and Matildas, interest in the sport has skyrocketed.
A new announcement from Football Australia builds on this success.
“We are here today to announce the eight founding members of the second national level, that is the main point for us to be here. We are very excited about it. But we are also happy to talk about the direction that will take the second level. and how I fit into the wider Australian football ecosystem.
South Melbourne, Sydney Olympic, Marconi Stallions, APIA Leichhardt, Avondale, Preston Lions, Sydney United and Wollongong Wolves are the founding members of this new tournament.
They all underwent a rigorous selection process, meeting the FA’s criteria for national second tier.
With kickoff set for 2025, Football Australia CEO James Johnson said he hoped to get more teams involved.
“We will be talking to clubs more about the process going forward, but I wanted to say that we are looking for two to four additional clubs as we approach kick-off in 2025. So there will be an ongoing process for the additional clubs. There will be an ongoing process for the additional clubs. There’s a lot of competition for these places. And we think that with a little extra time, we’re going to get some additional offers to enter this competition because we already have eight offers pending from the eight clubs that are here today. today.
Although there already is a professional football league in Australia, in the form of the A-League, calls for another professional tournament in Australia are growing.
The Association of Australian Football Clubs set this as one of its key objectives at its 2019 board meeting.
Its president, Nick Galatas, explains how this new competition will give football the boost it needs.
“We’re talking about the game, for one. We’re talking about the game in a way that we haven’t talked about it in a long time. We’re giving depth to the game. So now we know that the game existed, that some of it existed. ‘of us knew but, many of us will find out, they will be able to learn about the game that has existed in this country for a long, long time. Not just in the last 20 years. So that’s what gives our game gravity, force, story and connection.
By becoming Australia’s second professional football league, the National Second Tier will also provide greater opportunities for young players hoping to get involved in the sport.
One of the main problems for young Australian players is the lack of sufficient funding, as many clubs across the country remain at the semi-professional level, unable to provide full-time contracts for their athletes.
This is another question that the NST hopes to resolve in time.
Mr. Galatas explains that the new league will be financially sufficient.
“What this competition will do is it will be made up of teams that exist and have indicated to the FA what their capabilities are as part of the application process, as part of the creative process, so that the FA know what clubs can and And what we of course expect and what happens with the model that they have developed – that is the FA – is that it will reflect the best of what clubs can do, rather than reflecting some sort of dream or arbitrary standard that they can’t really do. So it should mean that we do what we can afford.
But even though this league is still in its early stages, the soccer community has already expressed its concerns.
A major problem appears to be the participation of only teams from New South Wales and Victoria in what is considered a national tournament.
Football Queensland, the organizing body for the state’s semi-professional football leagues, has released a statement saying it supports efforts for a second national tier.
Clubs from Tasmania and South Australia have also expressed interest in joining this new competition.
Football Australia aims to find at least two to four clubs to join the competition before it begins in 2025.
CEO James Johnson says there have been strong bids across the country.
“What I can say is that from other clubs that have participated in both the EOI and the RFP, there are some very strong offers outside of New South Wales and Victoria. And we’re very excited to see who these two to four clubs will be when the competition starts in 25.”
The eight founding members of this National Second Tier are deeply rooted in the Australian multicultural community.
South Melbourne and Sydney Olympic were both founded by Greek migrants, while Avondale and Marconi have links to the Italian community.
South Melbourne president Nick Maikousis describes the past few years of relegation in the National Premier League, Australia’s semi-professional state-level football category, as a dark time for the club.
“We’ve been playing in the wilderness and I call it the dark ages of the club over the last two decades. But it’s a real renaissance for us.”
The Preston Lions and Sydney United are also linked to migrant communities in the Balkan region.
This has led to clashes between club supporters in the past, such as the incidents between Preston Lions and South Melbourne supporters.
During last season’s Australian Cup final, several Sydney United fans were banned for life from football stadiums after performing Nazi salutes, with the club itself fined $15,000 and several sanctions.
With all this in mind, AAC’s Nick Galatas says the NST will look to embrace the rich cultural heritage of these clubs while keeping any form of negativity at bay.
“Teams are their past, teams are what they are. And this idea of keeping teams separate from their past is what has held this country back for so long. We have to accept who we are and to what extent there is has problems, we have “
As for the possibility of a similar league for women’s football, FA CEO James Johnson says that while it is being explored, it is not yet considered.
He says other plans are underway to advance women’s football in Australia.
“Yes, look, we’ve thought about it. And we’ve put a lot of investment, a lot of time and resources into women’s football during my tenure, particularly at the national team level. And we want to do that at the second stage. level. So men’s and women’s club football are at different stages. We are focused on kicking off the second level for the men. But also, as I mentioned, the introduction of a UEFA Champions League model for the third tier, which will be “The first step for us, in terms of investment in women’s club football, which we have given a lot of thought to, would be the establishment of a Champions League format for the NPL.”
The new competition will be part of Football Australia’s next media rights deal, commencing in 2025.
