Three Ways to Boost the A-League | Thebigtip

Many Australian sports pundits would have you believe that the A-League is on its last breath, a flailing disaster that is destined to go the same way as the now defunct NSL. How could a league with such alarmingly low crowd figures, with clubs hemorrhaging millions of dollars annually possibly continue to run this way? The simple answer: it won’t. Changes must and will be made. The A-League will be here in five, ten, even twenty years time, but like all leagues worldwide, the environment in which it operates will increasingly face significant challenges. Here are three ways that the A-League could help resolve their issues:

1. Actively engage football fans at a grassroots level

Football is well known to have has the highest participation rate amongst juniors in Australia. What the Football Federation of Australia, in collaboration with the A-League clubs, needs to do is create a real sense of community and loyalty to clubs. It has been suggested that over the past five years, A-League clubs have been notoriously apathetic towards the game at a grassroots level. This may have something to do with the fact that most of the clubs are run by private businessmen who want to see a decent return on their investment (or at least, a loss that isn't too shocking!) This is evidenced by the frequent change in ownership that many clubs have experienced.

To date, the FFA and most clubs have publicly accepted the greater need to engage with the community, yet these words have not transpired into action. Even when clubs such as Sydney FC have attempted to formally address the issue of community engagement (through formal engagement with regional associations across NSW), the execution has been poor. The issue with the current structure of most clubs is that is promotes a short-sighted view on community engagement. Instead of being treated as an investment for the future, clubs find the cost of actively engaging with the community too overbearing. The return from proper community engagement is felt in years to come, not instantaneously.

Take the AFL for example. In my own family there is a fierce rivalry between Richmond, Carlton and Essendon. It’s a part of our family’s history. Our respective loyalty runs through our blood. When our team hurts, we hurt. When our team celebrates, we’re on cloud nine. This is true brand loyalty that no TV advertisement or marketing gimmick can replicate.

2. Make it easier and cheaper to attend games

One of the major deterrents for A-League fans that hinders their continual showing on game day is the convenience of attending a game. It's a problem that all sports administrators face around the world: how do we encourage fans to go to the game when they have the option of watching the game on TV (albeit, Pay TV)? For one, General Admission tickets need to become more widespread and common across the league. In the height of Melbourne Victory's crowds at the Docklands, General Admission was the norm. This had the effect of encouraging fans to bring friends as it was as simple as buying an extra ticket at the door. Fast forward to the current season where the majority of Melbourne Victory's games are played at AAMI park and you will notice a significant difference: General Admission tickets have been discontinued. The current seating arrangements do nothing to help Melbourne Victory's crowd concerns. Each club needs to individualise their approach to ticketing to properly address the needs of their market.

The cost of admission is an issue that only a handful of clubs have found the right balance with. Unfortunately, many clubs have been forced to lift ticket prices in the face of restrictive stadium agreements that are limiting the opportunity of clubs to establish themselves in the Australian sporting landscape. Clubs need to appreciate that if fans don't feel the price of a ticket reflects good value for money, they simply won't attend. It’s encouraging to see many clubs offering special deals to entice fans including free tickets for patrons. We all know that football followers exist in Australia. It's just a matter of showing them that the A-League has a level of quality, excitement and professionalism that turns interest into support.

3. Increase the exposure of the A-League through mainstream advertising and harness the power of social media

As it has been reported by the FFA, expenditure on advertising has plummeted from $5m in the A-League's first season to approximately $2 million this season. The reduction in advertising spending could be seen as having a high correlation with the reduction in crowds. The FFA has to dig deep into its pockets to remind Australians that A-League exists and is supported. Clubs also need to start becoming savvy marketers and innovating with ways to draw crowds to games.

The FFA experimented with social media during the bidding process for the 2018-2022 World Cup's and thus should be able to transfer this knowledge to the A-League. Social media pages such as "Australian Football", which is an independently run Facebook Page is a brilliant example of the power of social media and the way that sports administrators should be communicated with fans. The page has more than 25,000 "Likes" and is an excellent platform for increasing the exposure of domestic football in Australia. And best of all for the FFA, social media is a relatively cheap communications platform when compared with mainstream advertising.

Let's not forget just how far the FFA has come in the past six years. It has successfully created an entirely new national sporting league, introduced a national Youth League to supplement the development of the game in Australia, as well as developing the W-League to reach out to professional women footballers. The list of achievements by the FFA is endless, yet challenges still await. These challenges are just a natural progression in the development of the game in Australia and shouldn't be seen as impossible obstacles. As the saying goes, football in Australia is the 'sleeping giant' - it still is. Nothing's changed. The FFA just needs to stay on its path of development and we will soon see when this giant awakes.