Official Hyundai A-League Thread

Discussion in 'Australian A-League' started by Andy TAUS, Jul 20, 2004.

  1. Andy TAUS

    Andy TAUS Member

    Jan 31, 2004
    Sydney, AUS
    The new APL (Australian Premier League) Franchise bidders were announced yesterday (AUS time) by the ASA (Australian Soccer Association). The new APL season is likely to start in July (2005), with the championship being decided in the following Feb (2006), closely aligned to the northern hemisphere footballing seasons.

    In summary the bidders for the 8 new franchises were:

    LOCATION BIDDER

    Adelaide - Pickard Group

    Auckland - Football Kingz

    Brisbane - Queensland Strikers
    Brisbane - Queensland Lions Soccer Club

    Central Coast - The Spirit Sports & Leisure Group

    Melbourne - Melbourne United Pty Ltd
    Melbourne - Melbourne Victory
    Melbourne - Victorian Soccer Federation

    Perth - Perth Glory Soccer Club

    Newcastle - Newcastle United

    Sydney - Consortium headed by Nick Politis as Chairman will include Eastern Suburbs League Club, Sydney Football Stadium & other stakeholders to be announced at a later date
    Sydney - Soccer NSW

    For further info see:

    http://www.australiansoccer.com.au/public/article/show.asp?articleid=7772&menuItemID=

    Andy T.
     
  2. JLSA

    JLSA Member

    Nov 11, 2003
    Re: New APL Franchise bidders

    Unless ASA decide to allow later bidders, that would seem to imply these are the 8 "locations" we'll end up with.

    Only problem - what on earth is the difference between "Newcastle" and "Central Coast" or "Central Coast" and "Sydney".

    And what about Wollongong.

    J
     
  3. Caesar

    Caesar Moderator
    Staff Member

    Mar 3, 2004
    Oztraya
    Re: New APL Franchise bidders

    Central Coast will be based out of Gosford, I expect.

    No bid from Wollongong is strange.
     
  4. Crowdie

    Crowdie New Member

    Jan 23, 2003
    Auckland, New Zealand
    Re: New APL Franchise bidders

    The financial requirements to enter the APL are very strict. New Zealand Soccer has estimated that a minimum of A$5 million is required.
     
  5. Auxodium

    Auxodium New Member

    Apr 11, 2003
    Perth, Australia
    Re: New APL Franchise bidders

    Correct. Gosford has a stadium and it is headed by Northern Spirit.
    I remember Spirit back in 1998, if anyone has pics of them please let me know :)


    ASA has stated they want teams in 7 locations of interest because they are the major football regions on local registered players, and large following. Only 1 was outside the prefered locations which was a good sign :) I still stand that a Canberra or Wollongong side could of been a better option than a New Zealand side.
     
  6. sokkerluver

    sokkerluver Red Card

    Jul 22, 2004
    Chicago,Illinois,USA
    Re: New APL Franchise bidders

    Newcastle can be early contenders if Terry Venables takes over.
     
  7. Caesar

    Caesar Moderator
    Staff Member

    Mar 3, 2004
    Oztraya
    Re: New APL Franchise bidders

    Canberra is nothing without Canberra Stadium, there isn't a suitable substitute (unless McKellar gets developed rapidy). Any team would have to secure the rights to play there.

    Wollongong had a very poor showing to its support rallys for getting the Wolves into the league (a couple of hundred people at most for one of them). Everything about Wollongong seems to scream "perfect soccer town" (demographic, player registrations, no real NRL team) but somehow there was never really big amount of support for the Wolves, even when they were winning. I don't know why (I used to live there) - maybe the size of the city doesn't help.
     
  8. Auxodium

    Auxodium New Member

    Apr 11, 2003
    Perth, Australia
    Re: New APL Franchise bidders

    Foregone conclusion there :)

    Wollongong your right it is a football town with no major teams vying for media attention. but maybe if the APL had a side in Wollongong that would change.

    A team MUST be an the capital i think that should be the case for ALL codes of sport in the nation.
     
  9. Caesar

    Caesar Moderator
    Staff Member

    Mar 3, 2004
    Oztraya
    Re: New APL Franchise bidders

    Just stumbled across this summary of the bid situation, as of the original announcement:

    http://spirit.webcity.com.au/AFN/2004-2005/O6/news.htm


    A couple of comments on the table down the bottom are interesting, particularly the one about Nick Politis' bid only being 'rumoured'.
     
  10. Crowdie

    Crowdie New Member

    Jan 23, 2003
    Auckland, New Zealand
    Football Kingz and NZ Soccer Meet With O'Neil

    NZS Press Release: http://www.soccersouth.co.nz/FROM_NZS.htm

    The Football Kingz and New Zealand Soccer today met with Australian Soccer Association officials including CEO John O’Neill, to discuss the Kingz application to play in the new Australian national competition.

    At the press conference that followed O’Neill described the bid document as impressive. “Today has been most beneficial for the ASA in understanding the Kingz bid in some detail. Both parties sought clarification on a number of issues and I believe good progress has been made. Today was all about talking through a very good bid document and better understanding the process from the point of view of both parties. We (the ASA) are effectively on the road, having visited Newcastle and now the Kingz just as we will visit all 12 of the applicants for the new competition. Once complete the ASA will further review the applications before finalizing the 8 teams for the new competition on September 29th with a view to an August 2005 kick off.”

    New Zealand Soccer CEO Bill MacGowan and Kingz spokesman Guy Hedderwick were pleased with the meeting, and indicated that a clearer picture was developing with regards the new league. “Today has been most beneficial to get around a table face to face, said Hedderwick. “The Kingz and New Zealand Soccer will continue to work assuming we are in the league and look forward to September’s announcement from the ASA. As has been indicated by Mr O’Neill today, the Football Kingz as the only applicant from the New Zealand market will be in the new competition, subject to meeting the criteria. It is up to us to continue working towards doing just that.”

    Although the Football Kingz have not made a decision with regards their home ground, O’Neill offered a glowing endorsement of North Harbour Stadium, the venue for todays meeting. “As we said in the meeting this morning, there are two keys to a successful franchise; good facilities and a good team. There can be no doubt that this stadium fulfills the first part of that equation, it is up to the Kingz to deliver on the other. We have been most impressed by what we have seen.”

    O’Neill also made it clear that there was no Australian resentment towards the Kingz inclusion in the new competition. “I have certainly had no negativity communicated to me with regards a New Zealand team playing in the competition. If there was, I think I would know. This is all about consolidation of a product. Once the ASA committed to the review and agreed on an August to February competition, the current hiatus was unavoidable. I don’t believe however that it will ultimately prove damaging to the game. Our aim here is to consolidate and lift the standard of the competition in all areas, something I am confident we will achieve.”

    O’Neill also pointed out that a ‘teaser competition’ was still a possibility before the new league kicks off proper next August. Such a competition could be played as a soft opening to the league but also to find an Australian representative in the 2005 OFC World Club Championships qualifying tournament. If it does take place, an abbreviated competition is likely to be played in May 2005, ahead of the OFC qualifying tournament.
     
  11. JLSA

    JLSA Member

    Nov 11, 2003
    Re: New APL Franchise bidders

    The increasing likelihood that the 16th NRL side will be on the Gold Coast (to prevent the region being lost to AFL) - leaves the Central Coast looking like a better prospect for the APL. I still don't get Wollongong - but that's been covered elsewhere.

    Canberra appears to be a basket case. The guy who usually runs these bids (Steve Doszpot) is running for the Liberal Party in the next election, so I doubt he has time to organise another failed bid for soccer.

    J
     
  12. Crowdie

    Crowdie New Member

    Jan 23, 2003
    Auckland, New Zealand
    Re: Football Kingz and NZ Soccer Meet With O'Neil

    It is actually a general press release from NZ Soccer.
     
  13. Caesar

    Caesar Moderator
    Staff Member

    Mar 3, 2004
    Oztraya
    Re: Football Kingz and NZ Soccer Meet With O'Neil

    Cheers. I wasn't sure where it came from, so I just ran a search to find the full-text somewhere.

    Changed.
     
  14. Lester7

    Lester7 Member

    Aug 3, 2004
    Club:
    --other--
    Nat'l Team:
    Aruba
    Re: New APL Franchise bidders


    Lets hope the league becomes more interesting now that it will be played under the banner of the APL. From the pictures and videos that I've seen, the league really looks like it was in need of rework and a whole new marketing strategy. And for god sakes change those referee uniforms! they are awful!! they look like american rodeo clowns!!! We need to get those dudes from "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" to revamp the uniforms of not only the refs but of the teams all together! haha ;)
     
  15. Auxodium

    Auxodium New Member

    Apr 11, 2003
    Perth, Australia
    Re: New APL Franchise bidders

    True, i understand that but i hope that these 2 cities can be on the APL map in a future expansion in 2010. (5 year development rule)
     
  16. Caesar

    Caesar Moderator
    Staff Member

    Mar 3, 2004
    Oztraya
    Re: New APL Franchise bidders

    Victorian bids to merge?

    I'd love it to happen. The stronger proposal there is, the better for the league in the long run. It would also be nice to have the VSF having a stake in the team, which probably won't happen without a merger as the other offers come across as more attractive on their own.
     
  17. Trussy in Oz

    Trussy in Oz New Member

    Mar 23, 2004
    Re: New APL Franchise bidders

    What we should also consider is guest teams this happens in our region, and we should not disregard it.
    Why not have, in a few seasons time, a team from Singapore, Indonesia or Thailand.
     
  18. Caesar

    Caesar Moderator
    Staff Member

    Mar 3, 2004
    Oztraya
    Re: New APL Franchise bidders

    It'd be brilliant to have a team from Indonesia - huge market, which means enormous potential for the game to take off in terms of corporate sponsorship and investment. The other two might be too far away - it's a 8hr+ flight from Sydney to Singapore, not sure about Thailand.

    The one problem I can see is the AFC-OFC divide between these countries. But hopefully it can be used to bring us closer together, with a view to a merger in the future (hey, I can dream).
     
  19. Lester7

    Lester7 Member

    Aug 3, 2004
    Club:
    --other--
    Nat'l Team:
    Aruba
    Re: New APL Franchise bidders

    Why not indonesia? Well, i dont think the APL would want its players in danger. indonesia and malaysia are some of the most dangerous places to be right now with various terrorist groups being harbored there.
     
  20. Caesar

    Caesar Moderator
    Staff Member

    Mar 3, 2004
    Oztraya
    Re: New APL Franchise bidders

    The start of the league is over a year away. No new teams would be added within the first 3 years at least, and the first new expansion teams will be domestic. It will probably be more like 5 or 6 seasons before overseas expansion is even considered, probably 10 before a team gets in the league.

    Immediate safety concerns aren't really something to worry about, because we're looking at a very long-term plan.
     
  21. Lester7

    Lester7 Member

    Aug 3, 2004
    Club:
    --other--
    Nat'l Team:
    Aruba
    Re: New APL Franchise bidders

    Thats a good way to look at it. Its great to see that the league is planning to be around for a while. Outside of my security issue i would love to see a premier league that includes teams from all over southeast asia and oceania. I think it would make for a very interesting competition. Unlike here in the USA where we are lucky that this league is even around! Its been lost millions and has NEVER made any profit in the 9 or so year existence.
     
  22. Auxodium

    Auxodium New Member

    Apr 11, 2003
    Perth, Australia
    Re: New APL Franchise bidders

    Limit is 5 Caesar, 5 years until a new side can form. Plus have NZ is enough we do not want to cheapen our league with other teams. Leave that up to a champions league or something. I still think NZ should not steal an Australian place in the APL.
     
  23. Crowdie

    Crowdie New Member

    Jan 23, 2003
    Auckland, New Zealand
    Re: New APL Franchise bidders

    An Australian nationalist.... who would have thought it possible :D
     
  24. Auxodium

    Auxodium New Member

    Apr 11, 2003
    Perth, Australia
    Re: New APL Franchise bidders

    Yes i am! :D

    but i am not against the kiwi's, far from it as i went on a tour in 2000 and i loved it! :D

    but i think Australia needs to get it's league settled into then the thought of expansion to NZ should happen but i think that if it does then one is enough. As i truely prefer to have the Kingz play the best APL team in a champions league arrangement or something.
     
  25. Caesar

    Caesar Moderator
    Staff Member

    Mar 3, 2004
    Oztraya
    FOX and ASA Agree to Deal for new National League

    No live matches to be shown on FTA.

    To a degree I'm torn, because it's going to keep football away from the mainstream. But the deal being offered is a damn good one, and with Digital coming in there is more and more subscribers to Pay-TV every day.

    Realistically, we could never in our wildest dreams get a similar deal on FTA - and in all likelyhood we'd get shafted again like the NSL did by Channel 7. A deal like this will bring in some much-needed revenue for the new league, and after 3 years we might be in a better position to bargain with the commercial stations.

    Thoughts?
     

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