akd545
NormTownsville, Wollongong Set to Pick Up Fallen Knights
March 13th 2007 13:03
After the wildly successful season that the A-League just went through, it would be sensible that now would be the time that the league would take a well-deserved rest, and above all lay low as all the other football codes get into full swing.
It seems not to be the case for the FFA. The same day as their head of operations, Matt Carroll, announced his retirement from the position, he announced a final bombshell and declared that the FFA had set a final deadline with the now floundering New Zealand licence and its potential new club in Wellington.
After announcing last season that the Knights franchise would be available for purchase, two consortiums announced their intention to purchase the licence, one from Auckland and one from Wellington. After the Auckland buyers pulled out, it would seem that it would be smooth sailing for the new Wellington side.
However, with ongoing financial issues, and even with an extension granted by the FFA, it would seem that the A-League has run its tether with the New Zealand group. It announced that if they cannot meet financial requirements to actually fund a side, they will pull the licence from New Zealand, and give it to one of two sides geared to enter the A-League, mainly Townsville and Wollongong.
Both Townsville and Wollongong have announced their intention to enter the league sometime in the future, and it seems that these are the two potential clubs that are secure enough to compete by the start of the 07/08 season.
Townsville have been literally gearing to go since the announcement of the Knights licence. They have the stadium to use, the local sport and football support base, and have even taken the initiative to sign on a coach and claim they can announce player signing’s in a number of days.
Wollongong on the other hand has a much bigger support and community base to work with. The Wollongong Wolves were a major side in the old NSL, and are still a competitive squad with the NSW Premier League. Like Townsville, Wollongong have a fantastic support base in the community (shown with the St George Illawarra rugby side and the Wollongong Hawks in the NBL), and have the stadium needed for the biggest soccer league in Australia.
However, if I had to choose which side is more set for the upcoming season, I would have to choose Townsville. Not only have they taken the necessary steps to ensure that they would be competitive this year if selected at the 11th hour, but personally I think the A-League need to expand to places like Townsville to succeed.
We are all aware that the two biggest soccer states are NSW and Victoria. They were able to field the strongest sides in the NSL and A-League, they were the constant source of talented players, and above all, both of these states have massive communities that are fanatical about the sport.
It is great that these states are strong, but if the A-League want to build and evolve over time, they have to consider what areas of Australia do they need to expand the sport in? Townsville is a perfect option, because despite Queensland’s following, we really don’t know how popular the sport is up north. The state has a massive following in rugby league, rugby union, AFL with the Brisbane Bears and the Kangaroos playing many home games in the Gold Coast.
But to their devotion to the round ball game, we are still essentially unclear. Whilst we are fully aware of how devoted the Wollongong community is towards soccer, Townsville could be yet another hot spot that the football base is unaware of.
If Townsville is still not considered a favourite. Consider this. NSW has at the moment three clubs in the A-League (Sydney FC, Newcastle Jets, Central Coast Mariners), whilst Queensland has only one (Queensland Roar). Shouldn’t the FFA test the waters with relatively uncharted territory before it heads back to safer waters? The A-League was designed to expand the game of football in Australia, not head back to its old ways.
Until next time, sports minds.
It seems not to be the case for the FFA. The same day as their head of operations, Matt Carroll, announced his retirement from the position, he announced a final bombshell and declared that the FFA had set a final deadline with the now floundering New Zealand licence and its potential new club in Wellington.
After announcing last season that the Knights franchise would be available for purchase, two consortiums announced their intention to purchase the licence, one from Auckland and one from Wellington. After the Auckland buyers pulled out, it would seem that it would be smooth sailing for the new Wellington side.
However, with ongoing financial issues, and even with an extension granted by the FFA, it would seem that the A-League has run its tether with the New Zealand group. It announced that if they cannot meet financial requirements to actually fund a side, they will pull the licence from New Zealand, and give it to one of two sides geared to enter the A-League, mainly Townsville and Wollongong.
Both Townsville and Wollongong have announced their intention to enter the league sometime in the future, and it seems that these are the two potential clubs that are secure enough to compete by the start of the 07/08 season.
Townsville have been literally gearing to go since the announcement of the Knights licence. They have the stadium to use, the local sport and football support base, and have even taken the initiative to sign on a coach and claim they can announce player signing’s in a number of days.
Wollongong on the other hand has a much bigger support and community base to work with. The Wollongong Wolves were a major side in the old NSL, and are still a competitive squad with the NSW Premier League. Like Townsville, Wollongong have a fantastic support base in the community (shown with the St George Illawarra rugby side and the Wollongong Hawks in the NBL), and have the stadium needed for the biggest soccer league in Australia.
However, if I had to choose which side is more set for the upcoming season, I would have to choose Townsville. Not only have they taken the necessary steps to ensure that they would be competitive this year if selected at the 11th hour, but personally I think the A-League need to expand to places like Townsville to succeed.
We are all aware that the two biggest soccer states are NSW and Victoria. They were able to field the strongest sides in the NSL and A-League, they were the constant source of talented players, and above all, both of these states have massive communities that are fanatical about the sport.
It is great that these states are strong, but if the A-League want to build and evolve over time, they have to consider what areas of Australia do they need to expand the sport in? Townsville is a perfect option, because despite Queensland’s following, we really don’t know how popular the sport is up north. The state has a massive following in rugby league, rugby union, AFL with the Brisbane Bears and the Kangaroos playing many home games in the Gold Coast.
But to their devotion to the round ball game, we are still essentially unclear. Whilst we are fully aware of how devoted the Wollongong community is towards soccer, Townsville could be yet another hot spot that the football base is unaware of.
If Townsville is still not considered a favourite. Consider this. NSW has at the moment three clubs in the A-League (Sydney FC, Newcastle Jets, Central Coast Mariners), whilst Queensland has only one (Queensland Roar). Shouldn’t the FFA test the waters with relatively uncharted territory before it heads back to safer waters? The A-League was designed to expand the game of football in Australia, not head back to its old ways.
Until next time, sports minds.
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