Australian FA Cup -On Hold

Australian FA Cup -On Hold

Sebastian Hassett in the following article says the FA is placed on hold for another year. The original talk was begun by BB in mid January ...

My reading of the tea leafs is the talk around the January article was that selected state teams would be used ... suggesting that South Melbourne / Melbourne Knights / Sydney Croatia / Olympic etc would not get in... lots of merits for this as well as negatives ... A whole discussion in itself whether enough time has passed to invite back in the ethnic clubs or do we hand pick the Blacktown Demons & Manly could spend a weekend on this topic alone.

That this is good for football is without doubt IMO ... and if played mid week would rate on TV as it has no AFL / NRL competition.

BUT THAT IT WILL HAPPEN IS JUST MASSIVE NEWS  Also that the FFA are taking there time to get it right is just good business so another plus ....

The first link is Sebastian Hassett current article and the second is the mid Janurary release ..... Midfielder is happy just music to my ears 

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/sport/soccer/australian-fa-cup-likely-to-be-shelved-for-a-year-20090505-asr0.html

Australian FA Cup likely to be shelved for a year
Sebastian Hassett
May 5, 2009 - 12:04AM

THE much-anticipated Australian version of the FA Cup is unlikely to start this year as Football Federation Australia searches for the right format.

While FFA chief executive Ben Buckley suggested in January it was only a matter of "whether we can get it up and running this year, or whether we wait until next year", the Herald understands the tournament will be shelved until at least the conclusion of the 2009-10 A-League campaign


The previous article

FOOTBALL Federation Australia chief Ben Buckley admits a national knockout cup competition that may offer a passage to the lucrative Asian Champions League could be introduced later this year.

"It's a possibility, it's definitely on the agenda and we're very serious about making it happen," Buckley said. "Whether we can get it up and running this year, or whether we wait until next year, is the question.

"There have been lots of papers done, lots of research done, but there are so many issues to get through. We're looking at a range of ways to introduce it and it's probably a bit premature to say it will be up and running this year, although we aren't ruling that out."

An FFA Cup pitting A-League clubs against semi-professional clubs from state leagues around the country - many of them participants in the old NSL - has moved up the list of priorities for the governing body now that both the national youth league and women's national league have been introduced.

The knockout competition can deliver two significant benefits for the FFA - help embrace the disaffected state bodies and provide another spot in the ACL. The winners of cup competitions in both South Korea and Japan already earn a place in the ACL and the FFA hopes it can receive similar privileges as it searches for ways to increase Australia's allocation in the continent's showpiece tournament.

The timing of an FFA Cup is perhaps the thorniest issue for the federation given it needs to overlap both the winter state leagues and the summer-based A-League. At this stage, the most likely scenario is that A-League clubs would enter the later rounds of the competition around July - although long-term the FFA is working towards having all the state leagues around the country played at the same time as the A-League. Whether the FFA Cup would replace the A-League's pre-season tournament, which serves an important role in taking the clubs to regional areas, remains to be seen.

What's not in doubt is the opportunity the competition offers for state league clubs, who have felt increasingly disenfranchised since the establishment of the A-League in 2005. Buckley is happy to bring them back into the fold, although not without conditions.

"There's a lot of consultation with the state bodies to get through. There's also the question of how many state league clubs have either the finances or the facilities to participate - especially if it involves Asia," he said. "It's all about getting the format right, but what's definite is that we have to make this a meaningful competition, and the chance to play in Asia would clearly be a massive incentive."


http://www.smh.com.au/news/sport/foo...31608888640.ht

Its a great initiative and good to see they aren't being rushed into any mistakes.

It will bring up the debate of whether to support the local club or the Franchise.

Good to hear it could open up another ACL spot too. Would Nix be a part though?

Can't see how you would not be ... but then again there  is our Middle Eastern Friend....

More talk about the FA cup meaning it just a matter of time IMO...


http://www.smh.com.au/news/sport/football/a-league/ffa-set-to-look-into-secondtier-comp/2009/05/22/1242498921133.html

"OLD soccer" may finally be embraced by "new football" after Football Federation Australia this week set up a task force to investigate the viability of establishing a national second-tier competition within two years.

In a move which will thrill state league clubs around the country - many of them survivors from the old NSL- the governing body is ready to engage second-tier football for the first time since the A-League was established in 2005. A national second division, and the less likely possibility of promotion and relegation, are among the key issues to be discussed.

Former FFA chief executive John O'Neill famously coined the catchphrase "old soccer versus new football" when describing the future direction of the game - a description which caused huge resentment in the game's ethnic heartlands.

But since Ben Buckley replaced O'Neill in late 2006, the FFA has gradually worked at repairing those broken relationships, and this week's move to re-engage the various state leagues represents a huge, symbolic, breakthrough.

An eight-man task force - including state federation and state league representatives as well as the new head of the A-League, Archie Fraser - has been established to investigate second-tier football, and where it can fit into the development pathway. Despite being marginalised, state league clubs have continued to develop talent for the A-League, although the transfer cap of just $3,000 has been one of many sources of discontent.

Key issues to be investigated by the task force include:

* The viability of an interstate competition (national second division)

* The relationship between the state leagues and the A-League (promotion and relegation)

* The relevance of the state leagues to the player development pathway and the various state institutes and the AIS

* The future timing of state league seasons, in particular the effects of switching to summer

* Introducing a licensing system for state league clubs

* Transfer and loan regulations between state league clubs and the A-League clubs.

A key motivation behind the FFA's renewed interest in the future of second-tier football is the desire to gain more berths in the Asian Champions League. Currently, Australia has just two ACL spots per season, but the FFA hopes to earn extra places when the entry requirements are reviewed in 2012. Two of the requirements the FFA has failed to meet in the past are the existence of a national Cup competition, and a second-tier league with a system of promotion/relegation.