The Professional Footballers Association (PFA) have released their 2024 Annual A-League Men’s report. This analysis has highlighted key successful areas of last season and importantly areas of growth in the league.
This review uses a wide range of data but importantly uses a strong player-based approach.
A key tool for data collection for this report is the A-League Men’s end-of-season survey conducted voluntarily online between May 7-31, 2024. This survey received 191 player responses, a record number with at least 13 players from each club.
The survey provides a comprehensive and representative source of player insights for policymakers, offering robust comparisons across the league.
Categorised below are some key factors of the report.
International Benchmarking
The Twenty-First Group’s World Super League model provides insights into the A-League Men’s (ALM) competitive positioning.
The analysis employed a machine learning approach, rating team strengths based on performance and player movements from ten relevant leagues over six seasons. The ALM ranks eighth among these competitions as a second-tier Asian league.
The salary cap system contributes to the consistent team strengths, with a slight overall decline in score over six years likely attributed to league expansion. Despite this, the ALM’s league ranking remained stable.
From a player development perspective, the analysis offers guidance for international transfers to leagues that offer promising development pathways for Australian players looking to progress in their international careers.
Transfer Revenue
The Australian A-League Men (ALM) has experienced a remarkable transformation in its transfer market dynamics as a significant talent production and export market over recent years.
In 2024, ALM clubs received at least $17.5 million in transfer fees, with the total value potentially exceeding $20 million, significantly up from the approx. $10 million in 2023 and the $2.5 million average in past seasons.
This growth represents a fundamental shift in the domestic men’s football economy. For the first time, transfer revenue is now surpassing broadcast revenue.
In the context of the broader market, while ALM revenues have grown quickly, they remain a fraction of those in slightly more advanced leagues.
AFC Club Competitions
Previously, AFC competitions were often more costly than beneficial.
However, in the new 3-tier continental club competitions for 2024, the AFC Champions League Elite (ACLE) qualifying for the eight-match group stage guarantees $1.23m, with an additional $150k per win. Champions can earn at least $18.5m.
The ACL2, Which CC Mariners won last season, provides $462k for group stage participation and $77k per win, with champions potentially earning up to $5m. ALM clubs receive one berth in both the top two tiers.
Under the current Collective Bargaining Agreement, players will receive an increasing share of prize money from the Round of 16 onwards.
Player Profiles
The PFA conducted a comprehensive analysis of match minutes across six leagues: A-League Men (ALM), J1 League, K League 1, MLS, Scottish Premiership, and Belgian Pro League.
The analysis revealed that Australian and Belgian leagues stood out, with over 10% of match minutes played by under 20s, compared to less than 5% in the other four competitions.
The introduction of scholarship players outside the salary cap has notably reduced the league’s average age, emphasizing its commitment to youth development.
Attendance
Average attendance for regular season matches has increased to 8,076 from 7,553 in 2022-23, but crowds have still not recovered to their pre-COVID levels.
Excluding the lowest attended teams of Western United and Macarthur FC the average attendance last season was 9,232, 14% higher than the 8,076 overall average.
Though the overall bias against crowd attendance can be assumed to be not as prevalent as people think, identifying this can help deal with the situations that hinder attendance.
Competitive balance
Competitive balance overall was strong with 7% of matches featuring a margin of four or more goals and 7% decided by three goals.
There was a tight race for the top 6 and the bottom two teams from 2022-23, Macarthur and Melbourne Victory, both made the finals, demonstrating the strong competitive balance of the ALM across seasons.
CBA Progress
Total player payments were around $57.8m in 2023-24, down slightly from the all-time high of $58.8m the previous season with the average payments per club being around $4.8m. This was well above the salary cap of $2.6m.
The vast majority of exempt payments from the cap were those to Marquee and Designated players. The average spend on Scholarship Players was just under $300k per club.
This report describes how revenues from transfer fees and a more lucrative AFC Champions League present new financial opportunities for our clubs.
Player Perceptions
According to the PFA end-of-season survey, 50% of ALM players were dissatisfied and 27% were very dissatisfied with how APL has performed in its management of the competition.
46% of players had ‘low trust’ in APL regarding developing a vision to improve the league.
The PFA was rated highest by the players, with 91% satisfied with its performance regarding ALM and 64% having high trust in the PFA to develop a vision.
In issues of the league, trajectory players outlined fan core experience as a centre stage with more than half including Broadcast (58%) and Atmosphere (51%) in their top three with Visibility and Branding/Marketing coming in second.
Workplace Safety
The PFA end-of-season survey uncovered concerning findings regarding the safety of ALM players’ workplaces.
11% of ALM players felt their club environment was either physically or psychologically unsafe and one in five players (20%) said they or a team-mate were unwilling to discuss issues with coaching staff and 16% with club management. 7% of players reported instances of players being forced to train alone at their clubs.
Though only a few clubs were reported on this, is still regarded as an industry issue.
Extreme weather
Last season one in six ALM matches was impacted by extreme weather with extreme heat the main culprit. 58% of players indicated the conditions impacted the players’ performances and 9% of player performances were hindered overall.
Club Index
Sydney FC was rated as the league’s best-performing club in the overall Club Performance Index, after placing in the top three for the sub-indices for Operations, Facilities, and Culture.
Pitch and atmosphere ratings
A-League players rated Wellington’s Sky Stadium with perfect marks for its pitch quality also and a four-star average for the match atmosphere.
Adelaide’s Coopers Stadium, AAMI Park, where also highly rated by ALM players with an average around the 4 stars mark. Victory home matches received an average of 4.4 for atmosphere.
The lowest rated were Newcastle’s McDonald Jones Stadium and Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium, averaging just 2.1.
Though other factors are included for pitch quality like other events, Players should still not be subject to substandard and potentially dangerous conditions.
Conclusion
Though the report shows that in many aspects the sport is moving in the right direction, the responses from players on their welfare and on the need for more attendance is a worrying sign for the management.
This assessment is a strong example of the PFA’s dedication towards the sport in Australia and maintaining the strong relationship between the Football industry and the players themselves.
The key points of this report should be central to plans within A-League and Australian Football itself.
