General A-League discussion

That's not a problem for us, right, because we've kept paying wages?

Wouldn't think so, although Dome did say that at some point wages fell to 80% so we might have to pay the 20% owed for a month or two.

Apparently Tony Sage is in severe financial strife so Perth might not be in a good spot when the season resumes. Seems like a race between us, Sydney, and City IMO.

So the cryptocurrency thing didn't work out? Who'd have thought?

Tom Smithies let go from News Limited and rumours that Val Migliaccio & Marco Monteverde are on their way out as well. Who are the FFA gonna leak their news too now? Jokes aside, that is pretty much the 3 most senior football reporters they had.

Luton Town were meant to play Perth Glory in Mandurah before the coronavirus pandemic broke out. Negotiations are ongoing for a 2021 tournament that could also include Nottingham Forrest and Wellington Phoenix. [Perth Now]https://t.co/8XV4QpyItC

— A-League Hub (@AleagueHub) June 11, 2020

Greg O'Rourke: “FFA continues to work with Fox Sports regarding the competition schedule, however planning to resume the season in mid-July remains on track.”

Tony Sage: "From what I understand, [broadcast] D-Day is next Tuesday." [Telegraph]https://t.co/u2r1M5c1Ro

— A-League Hub (@AleagueHub) June 11, 2020

"The offer put forward by Foxtel is alleged to be to the tune of $11 million per year which would also include production costs and is a substantial reduction from the previous $57 million a year arrangement in place until 2023," writes @LucyZelic
https://t.co/4j4dDIAaMj

— SBS - The World Game (@TheWorldGame) June 12, 2020

https://www.newcastleherald.com.au/story/6791234/a-league-mckinna-pushes-for-fans-to-attend-jets-home-games/?cs=12

EXCLUSIVE! ?

"Eleventh-hour demands from Professional Footballers Australia for a hike in previously agreed player entitlements is threatening to halt the resumption of the @ALeague." via @lewieatlarge. https://t.co/yZo2L4kwEI

— SBS - The World Game (@TheWorldGame) June 14, 2020

How the FFA's A-League restart plans look https://t.co/A8N3KDxdrX #football #FTBL #ALeague pic.twitter.com/Rx07iirLyB

— FTBL (@FTBLcomau) June 14, 2020

Yuss! I've been away from this forum for so long due to what's been going on worldwide (and the lack of football).... But it's (almost) back!

We're gonna win the League!

"The continued shifting of the goalposts by the PFA, a highly placed source claimed, was “symptomatic of an organisation which has blurred the lines of decision making between its administration and political leadership.”"

hmmm, I wonder what organisation this has leaked from?

If one of the reasons given to players for them to so drastically have their income cut was lack of crowds, it doesn't strike me as unreasonable to ask for some of that potential extra revenue.

If it stays at 1/4 crowds, most venues won't have enough space for their existing season ticket holders. Not sure how much of a gate there is gonna be. If they are allowed more crowds at a later time, yeah I think the guys who have cut their wages should get some compensation.

.@FFA today announced that an extension of the Hyundai @ALeague 2019/20 season until 31 August 2020, had been finalised following extensive discussions with the Hyundai A-League clubs and @thepfa. https://t.co/9QY7nyNVUs

— Football Federation Australia (@FFA) June 15, 2020

They forgot to include the Qz government in the negotiations - Nix delayed from entering Qz?  

Djite said the draw will be released on Tuesday.

Fox Sports 'reviewing' FFA deal after taking down A-League content https://t.co/eqjESsABdD via @smh

— Vince Rugari (@VinceRugari) June 17, 2020

Awkies...

Bonita MersiASR’s 

"A force majeure clause in the FFA/Fox Sports deal, agreed by former FFA CEO David Gallop, allows the broadcaster to step away from the contract in the event that its content is not delivered for a specified period."

Vince Rugari

Final update with @zoesam93: Fox terminates A-League deal but could still show rest of season https://t.co/eqjESsABdD via @smh

Ruh-Roh

Could this potentially be the last A-League season? 

NO NO KNOW KNOW NO

To many big businessmen have invested to much money to walk away under a cheap upper cut. 

Fox goes home for family reasons. Contract not worth much then?

Well pretty much the number 1 revenue stream is now gone from next season. A replacement deal has to be arranged very quickly, otherwise no-one's gonna throw good money after the bad.

Certainly looking more and more like next season is going to be quite a different landscape for the A-league. was encouraging though to hear Rob Morrison's commitment to the Nix and NZ professional football, what ever that may look like next year.

Rob seemed pretty bullish that the league could continue without Fox, I'd imagine that the salary cap will drop significantly and a few teams might struggle. Apparently the Glory needed a 1 million dollar loan from the FFA to restart.

This article gives the A-League some certainty, according to Sage the A-League and the owners were not permitted to negotiate with other providers under the deal with FOX and FOX has also indicated they're open to continuing as the broadcaster, just under reduced terms.

link to Rob's comments on it?

Yep, in this way Fox pulling out from the current deal now is a good thing, at least now the work on finding a new broadcasting partner can start in the earnest. But it's far from an ideal time globally to be entering into such discussions right now. Next couple of months are going to be very interesting.

It was on the pod, he was talking about other options like free to air and streaming.

Hold on: the reason why the FFA wasn't handing over all the A-League reins to the clubs just yet was a worry that it might upset the TV deal, right? So with that gone... the A-League can go fully independent at any time, right? What's the timetable?

That's a good question - Rob said yesterday that the licence situation has been in limbo over the last few months and that no work has been done on that. This presumably opens up the avenue of accelerating the process of establishing the new league structure, as I'm sure that the clubs' would want to be in charge of negotiations for the next broadcasting deal rather than the FFA.

Guess the issue hangs around any transitional agreements that the clubs and the FFA may have put in place as a result of the NLWG proposal and concerns around keeping the TV deal going. 

have the Nix gained permission from NSW yet?

looking forward to listening to us win the league on radio 

While we're all huddled around the fire.

BREAKING: @ffa and @FOXSportsAUS have struck deal to show @ALeague for rest of this season and next.https://t.co/vMNS96B74U

— Tom Smithies (@SmithiesTele) June 19, 2020

BREAKING: A-League set for winter switch after securing new Fox Sports deal https://t.co/kWd7l9tS7G via @smh

— Vince Rugari (@VinceRugari) June 19, 2020

I call this a win-win situation.

$32 mil for A-League, W-League, Socceroos & Matildas rights. FFA Cup not included in the deal. So the salary cap is probably gonna be halved.

A lower salary cap will either lead to a more even playing field between the A-League clubs; or rampant cheating. Which is more likely?

Also, does this mean full A-League independence put off for 1 more season?

Pitch quality at shared venues (e.g. sky stadium) is going to be interesting - I imagine it's not easy to provide a flat surface shortly after a waterlogged July Rugby game.