Today, Monday 20 November, marks a significant milestone in the Australian football eco-system as Football Australia officially announces the selection of eight foundation clubs for the inaugural National Second Tier (NST) competition, set to commence in March/April 2025.This announcement aligns with the broader vision set out in the XI Principles for the future of Australian football and celebrates the unity, diversity, and passion that characterises the beautiful game in Australia.
To what extent is promotion and relegation discussed, debated, sought after, or planned in Australia? Here in the States it is a discussion of… dubious reputation, depending on who you ask, unfortunately.
I think majority her view it as being a great idea… emphasise on the word ‘idea’.
When it comes to actually implementing it in practice, most are sceptical for a number of reasons.
Australia is the size of a continent, but only has a population of 26 million, with those 26 million mostly concentrated in the 5 biggest cities. And even then, the two biggest cities by far are Sydney and Melbourne.
So one common concern is cost. For any clubs coming up from the state leagues to a national stage the travel cost jumps dramatically. You go from needing to book a bus/coach to get your squad/staff to away games, to needing to book a plane.
Another concern is that in an open pyramid the top flight would essentially become a Sydney and Melbourne league. That’s already one of the major complaints with this NST - 7/8 clubs are from Sydney and Melbourne, and the 8th is from one of Sydney’s satellite cities.
There’s also a fear that, should relelgation be introduced, the smaller A-League clubs (Central Coast, Wellington, Newcastle) would fold if they went down.
Finally there’s the New Zealand question. The A-League currently has a club from Wellington in NZ, and they’re soon to be joined by an Auckland club next year. There’s currently no answer about where they would go if relegation was introduced, and what their pathway back would be.
TL;DR: Most common view is that promotion and relegation would be great IF they can make it work on a financial and logistics level, BUT most doubt that it’s possible to make it work.
To what extent is promotion and relegation discussed, debated, sought after, or planned in Australia? Here in the States it is a discussion of… dubious reputation, depending on who you ask, unfortunately.
I think majority her view it as being a great idea… emphasise on the word ‘idea’.
When it comes to actually implementing it in practice, most are sceptical for a number of reasons.
Australia is the size of a continent, but only has a population of 26 million, with those 26 million mostly concentrated in the 5 biggest cities. And even then, the two biggest cities by far are Sydney and Melbourne.
So one common concern is cost. For any clubs coming up from the state leagues to a national stage the travel cost jumps dramatically. You go from needing to book a bus/coach to get your squad/staff to away games, to needing to book a plane.
Another concern is that in an open pyramid the top flight would essentially become a Sydney and Melbourne league. That’s already one of the major complaints with this NST - 7/8 clubs are from Sydney and Melbourne, and the 8th is from one of Sydney’s satellite cities.
There’s also a fear that, should relelgation be introduced, the smaller A-League clubs (Central Coast, Wellington, Newcastle) would fold if they went down.
Finally there’s the New Zealand question. The A-League currently has a club from Wellington in NZ, and they’re soon to be joined by an Auckland club next year. There’s currently no answer about where they would go if relegation was introduced, and what their pathway back would be.
TL;DR: Most common view is that promotion and relegation would be great IF they can make it work on a financial and logistics level, BUT most doubt that it’s possible to make it work.