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monkeypaulOPSydney FC:Sydney:•

Key takeaways:

-Detailed submission to FFA by November

-Still aiming for 2022 competition commencement

-Immediate pro/rel system with NPLs

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SerTahu:Sydney:Australia is Sky Blue:Sydney:•

It'll be interesting to see if they can find a way to manage pro-rel with the NPLs in a way that isn't completely chaotic. 8 Leagues feeding into 1 is a going to be very difficult to handle. And, if/when they establish pro-rel with the A-League, I'm really curious about how they answer the NZ question - what happens if the Nix get relegated, and what's their pathway back?

Dream scenario imo:

Each season, take the champions of each of the 8 NPLs, as well as the champions of NZ. Add to that the runners-up in QLD, NSW, and VIC for a nice, round 12 teams. From there split it into two groups of 6. Top of each group goes up to the 2nd div.

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BrisbaneBhoyMelbourne Victory•

In terms of managing the chaos, I think you'd have the NPL playoffs continue as the promotion pathway and you have the state league operate with a degree of flexibility regarding number of teams in the league. They may have an ideal number of teams in but it could be subject to change each season depending on who is promoted and who is relegated.

For example, the NSW NPL will ideally have 14 teams but there could be a scenario where a NSW team is relegated from the NSD but no one is promoted. That means the following season the league plays with 15 teams but there is an extra relegation spot to bring the numbers back to the ideal number of 14.

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Alderson808:Wellington: Grumpy cat is gunna get ya•

It’s not even just NZ, but also Perth. Pro/relegation introduces the possibility of weird geographic issues and in a likely semi-pro League, fortnightly travel like that could get brutal.

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BrisbaneBhoyMelbourne Victory•

Clubs will likely not have to accept promotion if they aren't ready. Happens all the time in countries like Austria or the lower levels of Germany where clubs aren't capable of stepping up to a national or regional league with the extra travel costs.

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Alderson808:Wellington: Grumpy cat is gunna get ya•

Every time they progress this it gets stranger and stranger.

  1. the FFA doesn’t have control over the A League any more. It can have input and a ‘for the good of football’ veto, but the independent A League is going to make the decision for promotion/relegation - not the FFA

  2. best case scenario the second division gets $1.5m per team from a broadcast deal (and that’s truly optimistic). $1.5 per team to cover transport and player salaries is going to end you up with a semi-pro league at best.

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ChaniaKalamataSouth Melbourne :SouthMelbourne:•

  1. Starting a second tier doesn't necessitate immediate promotion relegation with the A-League

  2. That 'best case scenario' ignores all other revenue sources, ignores the reduced cost base (stadiums)

  3. The NPL currently operates as a semi-pro comp. Just because a potential league isn't paying the same a the A-League, increasing the existing second tier standards is a great thing.

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Alderson808:Wellington: Grumpy cat is gunna get ya•

  1. no, it doesn’t. But there’s fairly little point in a new second division if promotion / relegation isn’t the goal

  2. broadcast revenue is typically 60-80% of smaller pro leagues/teams revenue (inc. the A League currently). There’ll be variances team by team, but given a lot of teams make a loss on game days unless they get unusually large crowds then broadcast is still likely the main driver. And sure, costs will reduce but I don’t see them disproportionately reducing compared to revenue reduction

  3. NPL does operate as semi-pro. But a semi-pro league which would require regular cross state/international travel is going to be tough. Semi-pro players have jobs, so flying to Perth for the Friday night game is going to be tough. Plus, as we have discussed the costs aren’t the only issue, but they certainly are a thing.

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ChaniaKalamataSouth Melbourne :SouthMelbourne:•

I reckon we're looking at this from different perspectives. A-League teams that get relegated will suffer, their business models are unsustainable as it is, let alone at a second tier. For this, I agree that pro-rel is unreadable in the short term, but to be clear, I don't want to see pro rel with the A-League in the short term, I want to see a national second tier formed.

The equation is very different from an NPL team's perspective. Many clubs are operating at levels well above their current competition. Except for Travel costs (which will be about 100k), the existing costs can remain the same and clubs will realise huge benefits in terms of revenue and competition.

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