Aussies to set up B-League

Aussies to set up B-League

http://www.smh.com.au/news/a-league/ffa-faces-new-push-for-feeder-bleague/2007/09/27/1190486483142.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1

FFA faces new push for feeder B-League

Michael Cockerill
September 28, 2007

A MEETING in a Sydney hotel late next week will lay the framework for a national second-tier club competition, planned to be up and running next summer.

Several clubs from the old NSL, plus the state federations of NSW, Victoria, ACT and Queensland will be represented, and those involved are determined to overcome the misgivings of Football Federation Australia, which has so far blocked all attempts to establish a second-tier league.

The timing of the meeting is significant - the cash-strapped FFA is considering increasing the national registration levy for next year by up to 100 per cent and needs the backing of the state bodies to implement the price hike.

Asked why the FFA would be inclined to sanction a second-tier league given its stated opposition, a leading proponent of the new competition, who declined to be named, replied: "Because the FFA needs the states, and the states want something in return � the subject has been broached with the FFA, and the early signs are encouraging."

The new competition would be confined to the eastern seaboard - South Australia and Western Australia will be excluded because of travel costs - and is scheduled to run from October to March. A 12-team league and a 22-round season have been proposed.

The clubs believed to be under consideration include Marconi Stallions, Sydney United, Blacktown City, Wollongong Wolves, South Melbourne and Melbourne Knights - all part of the old NSL - plus Manly United, Sutherland Sharks, Penrith-Nepean United, a new Canberra side, a team from either the Gold Coast or Brisbane, and a third team from Melbourne.

All participating clubs will have to be rebranded, play in stadiums with a minimum seating capacity of 5000, and matches will not be played on the same day as A-League fixtures in the same city. Clubs are likely to pay a $100,000 licence fee and operate on playing budgets of about $500,000 a season. There is no intention to push for a promotion/relegation system to the A-League.

"The most important thing to understand is that this is not meant to be a competing competition, it's a complementary competition," one official said.

"From our talks with the A-League clubs, they want this to go ahead. We all know we need somewhere for players who aren't playing, or players coming back from injury, to play. But the main thing is we also need a league for youth development. We see a draft system whereby an A-League club can take on extra under-20 players, and the send them out to our clubs at the weekend.

"It's a feeder league we're talking about, and we're bearing the costs. We're doing this because the state leagues, as they stand, don't attract enough support. The old NSL clubs feel like they're being slowly strangled because they've invested a lot of money in infrastructure down the years, and they're not getting the stage they deserve. Something has to be done."

Meanwhile in other news, a Wollongong-based A-League bid is about to test the waters with the distribution of a prospectus to potential investors before a planned meeting with the FFA in November. The bidding group, working under the title of Great South Football, has failed to gain backing from WIN Corporation owner Bruce Gordon, while another wealthy local businessman, Fred Ferreira, has also stepped away from bankrolling the bid.

A spokesman for Ferreira, whose Wideform Group is among Australia's top 300 privately owned companies, said while he might consider a sponsorship role for a future A-League team, he would not become the owner.

Despite the setbacks, bid spokesman Eddy De Gabriele remained undaunted, saying: "Wollongong City Council has only just handed over the bid, so it's still in its infancy. We'll soon be contacting the business community to ascertain their interest � those businesses will be local as well as in the Sydney region. Obviously, the important thing is the bid needs to be sustainable."

It's pretty short on actual quotes, and does anyone really think the FFA are going to let the clubs dictate to them what will happen ?

Seems too 'old soccer' to me.

You think we could push for a second NZ club?

I recall coments being made at the start of the A League that there was possibility of expanding to the Islands, (Solomon, Vanawatu, etc), or Asia.

they seem to be very cost conscious, limiting it to the eastern seaboard so NZ may be excluded for travel cost reasons

Sounds like a South Melbourne led conspiracy to me...

hmmm it smells fishy dont it?