Time for Australian football to reassess its direction

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On Tuesday morning, the A-League followed in the footsteps of the NRL and AFL and postponed its season.

There were last ditch attempts to bring all teams into New South Wales and play the remaining matches of the season there, but ultimately those plans were impossible to pull off due to the impact of the COVID-19 situation.

The FFA will further assess their decision on April 22, in the hope of completing the season later in the year.

The J-League is one of the first football competitions to announce they will aim to restart their competition on May 9. Fans will be allowed inside the stadium; however, every second seat is to be left empty.

While the health of the community is the biggest priority, like other sporting organisations and businesses as a whole, Australian football will face financial problems and uncertainties.

According to the Australian, if the season was entirely cancelled it would allow Fox Sports to send the FFA a breach letter which gives them 10 days’ notice of the cancellation of their deal, because there was “no seamless continuity of services”.

Under the deal, the FFA must provide Fox Sports with a 27-round season as well as a finals series.

If the season is abandoned, these provisions allow Fox Sports to terminate the current $57 million dollar a year contract or break the deal and re-negotiate a much lower price for the rights.

These will be options that Foxtel will continue to explore as they try to address a loss of sports subscribers due to the suspension of the NRL, AFL and A-League.

Speaking to SBS TWG, head of consultancy at Global Media and Sports, Colin Smith, explained:

“The reality is that this is as tough for Fox Sports as well since they’re about to lose most of their Kayo subscribers because there’s literally no content, both locally and internationally.

“They’ll be looking to make savings and won’t be paying rights fees to any sport (NRL and AFL included) while there’s no content.”

Smith also predicted the end could be near for the A-League on Fox Sports.

“In terms of the A-League, I would suggest firstly they won’t get any new payments and secondly, I understand, Fox Sports have the right to withdraw altogether (from the final three years of the six-year $346 million deal).

“They might not embark on that course right now – but I think they’ll be keeping their options open to say ‘thank you, we won’t continue to broadcast … feel free to go with anybody you want to’.

“I would imagine they have Force Majeure clauses and everybody will be going back to read the fine print.”

Smith claims the A-League clubs would have to expect a lower broadcast fee in the future, whether they are with Fox or a service like Optus Sport.

“It’s clear Fox Sports is in cost-cutting mode – and if they were to walk away from football, in the current circumstances you would fully understand it,” he added.

“I think the A-League will need to plan not only for a life without Fox Sports but for a significantly lower rights fee, whomever they deal with (in the future).”

So, how will the possible loss of the Fox Sports deal affect the A-League?

In its current setup, the A-League would be unviable without the Fox contract.

A smaller rights fee (from wherever it comes from) would mean the current A-League model needs significant re-modelling as it can’t be so reliant on a single revenue source from a broadcaster.

The signs are definitely there, that change is needed.

Australian football needs to adapt to a true global standard and think long term, rather than focusing on short term reactionary fixes.

FFA CEO James Johnson knows this. His stand out line in his opening press conference referred to the need to act local and think global.

Plan for a sustainable whole of football pyramid, embrace those participants, clubs, volunteers who know how to operate within their own means.

Give them the opportunity to play at the highest level in Australia.

The possible collapse of the current A-League model will hurt Australian football right now, but an overdue re-build will be successful if the direction is there.

Of course, it will be difficult, it’s easier said than done.

Money will always be a question mark, but the game will always be there.

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More Than One in Five Football Australia Staff to Lose Jobs Amid Growing Financial Losses

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Image Credit: ESPN

Australian football finds itself in a curious position.

From the outside, the game appears to be riding a wave of momentum. Attendances, visibility and public interest have all experienced significant uplift in recent years, while major international tournaments and growing discussion around football’s future continue to place the sport firmly within the national conversation.

Yet behind that momentum, Football Australia is now confronting a far more challenging internal reality.

 

A compounding deficit

Chief Executive Martin Kugeler has reportedly indicated the governing body’s projected financial losses for 2025 are expected to exceed the organisation’s reported $8.5 million deficit from the previous year. Accompanying the financial outlook are substantial organisational changes, with reporting from Tracey Holmes indicating more than one in five Football Australia employees are expected to lose their positions through restructuring measures.

The figures represent more than a difficult balance sheet. They point toward a significant period of recalibration inside the organisation responsible for overseeing the sport nationally.

 

Losing the wisdom of existing staff members

For governing bodies, restructures are often framed as strategic necessities for future sustainability. However, workforce changes on this scale also raise broader questions around the challenges of such a transition.

People are often the carriers of knowledge, relationships and long-term strategic understanding. When organisations undergo significant structural change, the effects can extend beyond immediate financial outcomes.

 

Contradicting timing

The timing is what makes the developments particularly notable.

Football in Australia has spent recent years discussing expansion, growth and long-term opportunity. The conversation surrounding the game has increasingly centred on future potential. Often headlining stronger pathways, larger audiences, infrastructure development and greater visibility.

Against that backdrop, news of deep financial losses and substantial staffing reductions creates a different conversation: one focused not on where the game wants to go, but on what may be required to sustain that journey. Therefore, this announcement points toward stagnancy, rather than growth.

Further detail surrounding Football Australia’s strategy and long-term direction will likely emerge over coming months. For now, the developments serve as a reminder that growth stories are rarely straightforward.

Often, the periods that appear strongest from the outside can also be the moments organisations face their most significant internal tests.

New ‘Unfiltered’ Episode with Paul Klisaris and Oscar Yildiz

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Image Credit: One-Nil Media

The ‘Unfiltered’ podcast by Soccerscene promises honest, thought-provoking conversations about football culture, identity and the stories fans don’t usually hear in mainstream coverage.

In the latest episode, Mihaila Kilibarda sits down with passionate councillors Paul Klisaris and Oscar Yildiz to debate the role of policy in shaping infrastructure, career opportunities and on-field success in the Australian football landscape.

From exposing flaws in policy making, to critiquing the A-League, Paul and Oscar discuss the future trajectory of football in Australia. With strong views on the disconnect between decision-makers and grassroots communities, this is an unfiltered look at the issues holding the sport back—and the urgent need for change.

“Bring back Preston, bring back South Melbourne, bring back that culture into the game. There was nothing wrong with that. Bring it back. Regulate it better, police it better, like they have in Europe. There is rivalry and that’s healthy!” says Paul Klisaris in this episode.

Oscar Yildiz agreed that “We might need to throw a bomb. There is no incentive for clubs to aspire to. You know, you can finish last and still stay in the league. They need to have people from state, from federal, people, again, who know the game, who genuinely know the game. And, it means understanding the politics around the game.”

Listeners can expect Unfiltered to go beyond match reports and transfers. Each episode will dive into the ideas, people and cultural forces that make football one of the world’s most compelling sports. Episode 2 is available now, hoping to challenge, entertain and inspire.

Listen now on Spotify: 

With Unfiltered, Soccerscene is giving fans a space to think, feel and debate about the game they love. Further, it is encouraging conversations that are as engaging as the football itself.

Stay tuned for future episodes, featuring more voices shaping the beautiful game.

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