MY IDEAL NEAR FUTURE A-LIGA (V2) - Following on from Mr Peacock's post, my previous post, and further reading & thinking - See description below

Read and be honest, but if you’re going to rant & whinge, no problem (raw emotion is pure) just kindly read the whole thing first to understand how/where/why I’m suggesting the below, and that this is a collated list of suggestions and a questionnaire to see what people think:

>Currently works

>Currently doesn’t work

>What could be improved

>Do the suggestions below fix/improve what isn’t working

>Is a suggestion that is entirely new a great idea or overly-enthusiastically stupid idea

>All the proposed new teams have the hopeful assumption that they have $ backers, don’t look like a dumb idiot and waste your time whinging about that! Because we all know it needs $

RELEVANT PREVIOUS POSTS:

>Adam Peacock’s proposed winter league

>My previous league V1 post

KEY ASSUMPTIONS FOR THE PROPOSED IDEAL LIGA:

>APL receive offers for a much stronger TV & Streaming $ deal that requires at least two new teams, NZ teams permitted

>Central Coast Mariners sale to QPR/West Tigers goes through and ensures stability off-the-field

>Canberra United finds willing owners to back ALW department & commence ALM operations

>Christchurch/South Island United see potential long-term success with growing fanbase & TV money in fielding ALM/W squads (appendix 1) whilst competing in the OFC Pro League

>Gold Coast United find willing owners to back an ALM/W department & operations, or Tasmania find owners to commence a new club (appendix 3)

>Western United not readmitted to the league (appendix 2)

>Wollongong Wolves find willing owners to back & commence an ALM/W department & operations

THE PROPOSED LEAGUE ITSELF:

>16 Teams (keep the current x 12, admit x 4 new below, WU excluded)

>No Geographical Conferencing or ALM1 & ALM2, stay as one whole league (appendix 9)

>All teams play each other twice in the league season - 30 rounds (appendix LAST)

>Three-week break in January (appendix 4) between New Year’s Day and Australia Day weekend

>Finals remain unchanged

>Season to start in early August like England (appendix 8)

>NZ teams not eligible for Australia Cup (unchanged from 2026 format & onwards)

>Lowest 2 x ranked Australian teams do not qualify for the Australia Cup whatsoever

>Third & fourth lowest ranked Australian teams play in an Australia Cup pre-qualifier in Darwin

>Australia Cup Grand Final is to be played on a Saturday, R32-4 matches midweek (appendix 6)

>No Promotion & Relegation (appendix 5)

>Create a formalized & transparent application process to join league (see below)

>Friday night games 7:30pm kick off only, Saturday games 5pm & 7pm only and Sunday games at 3pm & 5pm only

>International Break Window remains in place

>Players on loan between ALM clubs cannot play against their parent club

>Transfer fees between ALM clubs to be permitted

>No Super Cup and/or Leagues Cup as previously suggested

>Salary cap and Marquee rules unchanged but can increase in future

PROPOSED NEW CLUBS TO GET FROM 12 TO 16 ASAP:

>Canberra United (ALM)

>Gold Coast United OR Tasmania (appendix 3)

>Christchurch/South Island United (appendix 1)

>Wollongong Wolves

APPLICATION PROCESS:

With no Promotion-Relegation, but of course not wanting to kill aspirations and also not to allow any hillbilly into the league just to withdraw/fold quickly after, I propose the below:

>Publicized list of requirements to join league, so there is no debate over why an application failed, and not giving state league/NPL/NSL snobs/Eurosnobs/A-Liga haters a reason to whinge about the APL, FA and A-Liga regarding why their club got rejected

>Applicant club is to publicly declare it’s owner(s) identity(s)

>License Fee paid upfront (not from a bank loan and proven to be hard cash by ATO, ACCC and all Australian banks)

>Extra $20 Million also to be paid upfront as a retainer, and can be accessed if granted the license (also not from a bank loan and proven to be hard cash by ATO, ACCC and all Australian banks)

>PFA to conduct their own independent audit of the application and confirm/decline that the club will be compliant for players’ needs

>Home ground to be at a venue that is not co-tenanted by an existing ALM/W team, unless formal written permission from the existing ALM/W club consenting to sharing the venue

>If any of the above criteria is not met, application to be declined immediately, with the APL publicly stating what criteria was not met, and they need to push this to put the accountability onto the applicants, and not leave the APL, FA and A-Liga open to ridicule and false-damaging comments

OTHER/MISCELLANEOUS HOPES/NOTES:

>Melbourne City build a boutique 10-15k seated stadium next to Dandenong station, and MAYBE only play at AAMI Park when hosting Victory

>Brisbane Roar find a smaller stadium (not familiar with Brisbane, please comment below)

>Ideally, both Gold Coast United and Tasmania are admitted into the league, but want to avoid a bye just for now!

>If the league was to grow beyond 16 teams (I always hope for more teams! – appendix 8), then there will need to be midweek rounds to ensure that the season stays between August & May, noting that teams are only playing each other twice

APPENDIX

1, Christchurch/South Island United admittance)

Yes, there are die hard Liga fans who don’t want more NZ clubs, some of whom want AFC & the Nix removed from the league. The only logical reason I can see why it might not be ideal is because of travel expenses (notably & recently, fuel!), and of course there is the emotional reason of the ‘Australia first’ mentality. However, Auckland has been a great addition to the league thus far, Wellington has also shown that they can crack +30’000 to a match when in the finals, and of course Canterbury-South Island and surrounds offers exposure to another few hundred thousand viewers on television/streaming. Of course, remember that I have suggested that this new NZ team would not be eligible for the Australia Cup.

2, Western United exclusion)

I’m sorry to WU fans, but the damage is done, as the reputation of the club is beyond repair, which has also damaged the league’s reputation, evident in more non ALM but local league followers of the game losing more of the already little/non-existent confidence/view of the league. If re-admitted, the fan base won’t grow, won’t gain new sponsorship, the infrastructure still does not exist in Tarneit (buses, trains, pubs etc.) and will just rely on very, very deep pockets, which is just highly unlikely to occur, as the same model by Jason Sourasis and Steve Horvat has already failed. I’m not personally against WU, I don’t our beloved Liga to lose clubs, but I just truly cannot see the club re-entering the league unless there is some drastic change, i.e. moving permanently to Geelong, and playing one game at Footscray (inner Western Melbourne), Ballarat &/or Bendigo.

3, Gold Coast United or Tasmania admittance)

I’m unsure which team to hope for in the new league, ideally both though. However, for the sake of not having a bye and for the simplicity of the proposed fixture, I have capped the four new teams to have only three Australian teams, and one NZ team. If the NZ team wasn’t proposed, I would suggest adding both Gold Coast and Tasmania.

4, January break)

Due to summer heat, and weaker attendances due to families going on holidays etc, have only the CCM-NEW New Year’s Day F3 derby played at the start of January, have three weeks off for players & staff, and recommence operations following the Victory-Sydney Australia Day derbies played in late January.

5, No Promotion & Relegation)

Yes, the Eurosnobs and NPL/NSL snobs will hate this (and I somewhat get it), but due to the geography of Australia, and an unmeasurable amount of evidence that emotions do not pay the bills, we cannot have promotion-relegation. However, I am suggesting a publicized/transparent and reasonable application process like the MLS for teams who wish to apply for the league!

6, Australia Cup Grand Final to be played on a Saturday)

The Australia Cup Grand final is to be played on a Saturday. Rounds 4-32 matches to be played midweek as usual. ALM clubs have a break if they have already been eliminated, but if by chance (though highly unlikely) two eliminated clubs need a catchup match between each other due to an earlier cancelled match, they can play that match on the weekend.

7, No Conferencing or ALM1 & 2)

If we were to do ALM1 & 2, each of the 8 teams of both leagues would have to play each other four times to get a decent sized season in, noting that our seasons are considered small as they are as we have one of the longest off-seasons in the world. The same goes for whether we have a North & Southern conference system. North would really just be ACT, NSW & QLD, and South would be NZ, SA, TAS, VIC, and WA. Overall, as we would lose derby fixtures if we go geographical, ALM2 clubs would have a decrease in attendances, we need to remember that we are not the UK (+80 professional clubs in a location the size of NSW) and not the US (30 teams spread evenly across the nation).

8, More Teams but not just right now)

In the long-term future, along with Melbourne City moving to Dandenong & linking with Team11, Brisbane finding a new home ground, and having both Gold Coast & Tasmania in the league, I would also love…(now getting imaginative!):

>Second Adelaide side (Adelaide derby!)

>Second Brisbane side OR Toowomba (Brisbane derby!)

>Darwin (‘NT Spirit FC’, play ADL in Alice Springs once a year)

>Fremantle team (previously failed bid in 2018) OR Perth SC (WA derby!)

>Geelong team (WU relocating!)

>Gippsland team (mentioned yesterday by another user, and play out of the renovated Morwell stadium)

>Sunshine Coast (‘Greater Sunshine Coast FC’)

>Revive our beloved North Queensland Fury to represent Cairns & Townsville again!

>Also, not against any existing NPL and/or former NSL side taking up one of those spots or playing in Melbourne &/or Sydney (i.e. Adelaide City, Marconi Stallions, Preston Lions, South Melbourne and others), as long as they meet ALL of the above requirements mentioned earlier and not let history repeat itself…

>If the 16 teams, plus the Gold Coast/Tasmania that was not included, plus the 8 teams I imagined above, that would bring us to 25 teams! Then we could talk about conferencing…

9, Proposed Fixture)

Starting from the first week of October, like England, so we don’t get left behind in the conscious of the world football supporter. I have made the below fixture in accordance with the 2026-27 International breaks:

2026-27 FIXTURE:

Round 1 — Fri 07 Aug 2026 to Sun 09 Aug 2026

Round 2 — Fri 14 Aug 2026 to Sun 16 Aug 2026

Round 3 — Fri 21 Aug 2026 to Sun 23 Aug 2026

Round 4 — Fri 28 Aug 2026 to Sun 30 Aug 2026

Round 5 — Fri 04 Sep 2026 to Sun 06 Sep 2026

Round 6 — Fri 11 Sep 2026 to Sun 13 Sep 2026

Round 7 — Fri 18 Sep 2026 to Sun 20 Sep 2026

INTERNATIONAL BREAK — Fri 25 Sep 2026 to Sun 04 Oct 2026

Round 8 — Fri 09 Oct 2026 to Sun 11 Oct 2026

Australia Cup Grand Final and ALM Catchup Round — Fri 16 Oct 2026 to Sun 18 Oct 2026

Round 9 — Fri 23 Oct 2026 to Sun 25 Oct 2026

Round 10 — Fri 30 Oct 2026 to Sun 01 Nov 2026

Round 11 — Fri 06 Oct 2026 to Sun 08 Nov 2026

INTERNATIONAL BREAK — Fri 13 Nov 2026 to Sun 15 Nov 2026

Round 12 — Fri 20 Nov 2026 to Sun 22 Nov 2026

Round 13 — Fri 27 Nov 2026 to Sun 29 Nov 2026

Round 14 — Fri 04 Dec 2026 to Sun 06 Dec 2026

Round 15 — Fri 11 Dec 2026 to Sun 13 Dec 2026

Round 16 — Fri 18 Dec 2026 to Sun 20 Dec 2026

Round 17 — Fri 01 Jan 2027 to Sun 03 Jan 2027

THE THREE-WEEK JANUARY HEAT BREAK AND AFC ASIAN CUP

Round 18 — Fri 29 Jan 2027 to Sun 31 Jan 2027

Round 19 — Fri 05 Feb 2027 to Sun 07 Feb 2027

Round 20 — Fri 12 Feb 2027 to Sun 14 Feb 2027

Round 21 — Fri 19 Feb 2027 to Sun 21 Feb 2027

Round 22 — Fri 26 Feb 2027 to Sun 28 Feb 2027

Round 23 — Fri 05 Mar 2027 to Sun 07 Mar 2027

Round 24 — Fri 12 Mar 2027 to Sun 14 Mar 2027

Round 25 — Fri 19 Mar 2027 to Sun 21 Mar 2027

INTERNATIONAL BREAK — Fri 26 Mar 2027 to Sun 28 Mar 2027

Round 26 — Fri 2 Apr 2027 to Sun 14 Apr 2027

Round 27 — Fri 9 Apr 2027 to Sun 11 Apr 2027

Round 28 — Fri 16 Apr to Sun 18 Apr 2027

Round 29 — Fri 23 Apr 2027 to Sun 25 Apr 2027

Round 30 — Fri 30 Apr 2027 to Sun 02 May 2027

Finals 3v6 & 4v5 — Fri 07 May 2027 to Sun 09 May 2027

Finals 1/2v3/6 & 1/2v4/5 Leg 1 — Fri 14 May 2027 to Sun 16 May 2027

Finals 1/2v3/6 & 1/2v4/5 Leg 2 — Fri 21 May 2027 to Sun 23 May 2027

Finals Grand Final — Sat 29 May 2027

OFFSEASON JUNE-JULY EIGHT WEEKS