Except the Phoenix have said they're investing heavily and want to win the competition, I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss WelNix - they were part of defining these rules, not just the big city teams.
Except the Phoenix have said they're investing heavily and want to win the competition, I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss WelNix - they were part of defining these rules, not just the big city teams.
Two designated players on top of the two marquees, meaning four players outside of the cap per team. The designated player rule will be for players in the 300-600k range.
It's understood that the APL will produce five games a week and ten will produce one. (doesn't mention anything about the game every two weeks that Sky produces)
Fox paid $15 million per year in production costs.
The APL is selling 20% stake in the competition for $100-150 million.
Designated player!? That is very bad news for the Phoenix. And any other team who is not based in Sydney or Melbourne. Anyone know a Russian oligarch, Arab sheikh........bored US billionaire?
why is it bad news for the nix? Welnix have indicated they will be investing big $$ on new players in order to chase titles in the next seasons. Welnix may not have the $$ reserves that some of the bigger clubs in Aussie do but if they spend wisely and recruit well as we have in the past then I see no reason why winning a title isn't achievable.
Two designated players on top of the two marquees, meaning four players outside of the cap per team. The designated player rule will be for players in the 300-600k range.
It's understood that the APL will produce five games a week and ten will produce one. (doesn't mention anything about the game every two weeks that Sky produces)
Fox paid $15 million per year in production costs.
The APL is selling 20% stake in the competition for $100-150 million.
Designated player!? That is very bad news for the Phoenix. And any other team who is not based in Sydney or Melbourne. Anyone know a Russian oligarch, Arab sheikh........bored US billionaire?
why is it bad news for the nix? Welnix have indicated they will be investing big $$ on new players in order to chase titles in the next seasons. Welnix may not have the $$ reserves that some of the bigger clubs in Aussie do but if they spend wisely and recruit well as we have in the past then I see no reason why winning a title isn't achievable.
You write that Welnix may not have the dollar reserves of some of the bigger clubs. So you are agreeing with me. Money wins leagues. Look at the list of richest clubs in the Premier league and compare that to their finishing position. The correlation is virtually exact. Doing a Leicester is possible but unlikely. You can see who I have supported for the past 60 plus years. Palace have won virtually nothing in that time. It hasn't diminished my enjoyment one little bit.
I’d like the Nix to win something. Aren’t we the only team not been in a grand final? We’ve wasted some cracking teams and/or been denied by hand of Payne/Castro etc. etc. I’d really like us to win it. Also, if there is a salary cap who is enforcing it? That’s the other worry.
I think the owners will actively look to enforce the salary cap. A competitive league is in everyone's interest, and the reality of covid has shown the existing model used in Europe is unsustainable.
I think we are lucky in the sense we are a small and relatively new league. We can put proper systems in place to protect clubs and the game.
Is it bad that some of the big clubs have failed? Or better that the smaller clubs succeeded in way of viewing it from a commercial/money point of view. With a smaller cap we will get more youth playing like this season and its been one of the best, With a increases the league might fold back to its old ways of boring over ages football. If Wellington win the league or championship will it drag the A-League down the gutter>?
Is it bad that some of the big clubs have failed? Or better that the smaller clubs succeeded in way of viewing it from a commercial/money point of view. With a smaller cap we will get more youth playing like this season and its been one of the best, With a increases the league might fold back to its old ways of boring over ages football. If Wellington win the league or championship will it drag the A-League down the gutter>?
I can think of one person dragging things into the gutter.
It's time to ask Paul Ifill to make a neighbourly call on James and Suzie Cameron and explain to them that they cannot be forever dodging the inevitable - becoming Nix investors.
It's time to ask Paul Ifill to make a neighbourly call on James and Suzie Cameron and explain to them that they cannot be forever dodging the inevitable - becoming Nix investors.
I had a feeling the Camerons had given up on their NZ dream, certainly all their farmland is now running cattle/sheep instead of their organic crop growing they were planning.
Commentary team for 10 Viacom CBS A-League coverage announced: https://www.a-league.com.au/news/10-viacomcbs-unveils-football-commentary-team Retaining most of the old Fox crew, minus Bosnich and Slater: "All the A-Leagues, Matildas, Socceroos and FFA Cup matches will be broadcast live and hosted by sports presenter and journalist Tara Rushton, sports broadcaster Niav Owens, 10 Sport presenter Scott Mackinnon alongside callers and fan favourites Simon Hill and Andy Harper.
Providing expert commentary and analysis are Melbourne Victory legend, Archie Thompson, four-time FIFA World Cup Socceroo Mark Milligan, Western Sydney Wanderers and former Matildas defender, Georgia Yeoman-Dale, ex-Socceroos and Adelaide United Championship winning striker Bruce Djite, three-time Sydney FC Championship winning forward, Alex Brosque, former Matildas midfielder and Brisbane Roar W-League Championship winner, Amy Chapman and former Socceroo and Sydney FC defender, Luke Wilkshire."
"...10 ViacomCBS will break ground on Saturday nights, broadcasting one live Isuzu UTE A-League Men match on Network 10 and two live Isuzu UTE A-League Men matches on Paramount+.
As part of a unique multi-screen experience, football fans watching on 10 and 10 Play will also enjoy expert commentary, highlights and analysis from the match, with a simultaneous kick off, streaming on Paramount+.
The A-League Women will get a slice of the free to air action with the match of the round screened live on Sunday afternoons on 10 Bold and simulcast on 10 Play.'
In that link it says to all markets, outside of Australia and New Zealand.
Yeh. That was the question. Looks like it will be same as last year. It was a bit frustrating last year though. The You tube stream often started late and missed chucks of the games.
Two designated players on top of the two marquees, meaning four players outside of the cap per team. The designated player rule will be for players in the 300-600k range.
It's understood that the APL will produce five games a week and ten will produce one. (doesn't mention anything about the game every two weeks that Sky produces)
Fox paid $15 million per year in production costs.
The APL is selling 20% stake in the competition for $100-150 million.
https://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/a-league-ready-to-unleash-david-beckham-rulefriday night funkin Same old thing again. This was the perfect time to start fresh and finally make football decisions that's best for football and align football at all levels. Instead we are going in the exact same direction as the last lot in control. We don't even have the money to compete for the players required to boost ratings, better off spending the money elsewhere for the good of our game rather into some average players bank account.
oh joy, given the last two seasons I cant see our owners taking advantage of this anytime soon.
Well, Sturridge and Van Hattum have similar minutes played and goals scored...
But seriously, the team have advantages that other teams don't have and they're finally coming to fruition - namely a captive player market and academy system.
We usually only have one marquee, when other teams have had two marquees and guest players and all sorts of things, and we've been competitive enough to win the A-League on a few occasions. No reason to think that will change.
this is very true, but it opens the gate for the Melbourne and Sydney clubs to spend whatever they want on bringing a real super star to the league putting those that wont/cant spend the cash at a serious dis-advantage.
At one point I remember one of the Nix coaches saying the league should scrap the salary cap but increase the squad count, they thought the way for the Nix to be competitive would be to sign more players on longer contracts but not necessarily bring in the big guns.
But, the teams own the league, they wouldn't have voted for this if they thought it would mean only Sydney, City, and Victory would be competitive with it.
Tony Popovic, who is on over $700,000 per year, will be given the option to either live with a figure closer to $400,000, or depart Melbourne Victory, who are playing hardball in the light of a rumoured 2024/25 TV deal disbursement of just $1.4mil. [ftbl]https://t.co/EYvDXKUEmQ
The money paid to the APL for the NZ tv rights is a pittance, and even if it is increased as a result of the number of NZ teams doubling, it will not make a meaningful change to the APLs bottom line. Nobody is competing with Sky for the rights and Sky bids accordingly
The APL is set to confirm a huge cut to the central distribution fund, derived from TV rights and commercial revenue, from $2 million this season to just $1 million in 2024-25. [@codefootballau]
Taking a million dollars off the books of any A-League club will likely put several teams on edge. Given that most teams don't turn a profit as it is, it could lead to some very austere times ahead for next season if this is indeed the case...
Can see why the group of owners didn't want to fund the Jets anymore, they will be struggling to fund their own clubs with the TV rights pay out being halved.
Can see why the group of owners didn't want to fund the Jets anymore, they will be struggling to fund their own clubs with the TV rights pay out being halved.
The thing is, given the way the APL has been running of late, most of the clubs could have probably foreseen this occurrence.
It feels like a very slow moving trainwreck at the moment, but it's going to cause a lot of damage taking $12-13 million out of the league as a whole. Not good.
Can see why the group of owners didn't want to fund the Jets anymore, they will be struggling to fund their own clubs with the TV rights pay out being halved.
The thing is, given the way the APL has been running of late, most of the clubs could have probably foreseen this occurrence.
It feels like a very slow moving trainwreck at the moment, but it's going to cause a lot of damage taking $12-13 million out of the league as a whole. Not good.
Seems like CCM and the Nix may have done just that - seen the writing on the wall and made adjustments accordingly. Some of the bigger clubs might struggle going forward.
Can see why the group of owners didn't want to fund the Jets anymore, they will be struggling to fund their own clubs with the TV rights pay out being halved.
The thing is, given the way the APL has been running of late, most of the clubs could have probably foreseen this occurrence.
It feels like a very slow moving trainwreck at the moment, but it's going to cause a lot of damage taking $12-13 million out of the league as a whole. Not good.
Seems like CCM and the Nix may have done just that - seen the writing on the wall and made adjustments accordingly. Some of the bigger clubs might struggle going forward.
This is true. Lots of youngsters on our books - Supyk, Sloane-Rodrigues, Kelly-Heald, Conchie, Paulsen, Surman, Hughes, Sheridan (few scholarships in there too) who would have been relatively cheap in terms of cap space - especially so given none of them were really proven at A-League level prior to this season either.
Gives me hope that we might be able to bring through a couple more over the next year or two and introduce them to A-League football. It doesn't give me any confidence that we may be able to keep the likes of Kosta or Kraev though, given they already probably take up a fair chunk of the cap.
Can anyone give me the TLDR of how we got to this point? I remember maybe a decade ago articles coming out about the huge money being pumped into the A-League from TV deals and how it was rivalling some of the other codes. Am I misremembering or did something happen? This is wild.
Edit: as has been pointed out, this does leave Wellington better place than most to be competitive next year. It will also push clubs to invest in youth set ups which is positive. The flip side of that is if for clubs where youth academies haven’t been a focus there will be several years delay before they see results. And in the interim that will not help crowds which leads to even less money. I see this spiralling.
TL:DR (as I understand it) Covid effing up the 19/20 season allowed Fox Sports/Kayo to get out of the TV deal early. They came back with a much lower offer. The APL went with Paramount instead but failed to meet viewership benchmarks, which allows Paramount to cut back how much they pay the APL.
Going behind the Paramount paywall has really tanked the numbers. Not that they were that great on Fox Sports either. Aussie doesn't seem to have the same kinda uptake of pay TV for sports as NZ it seems.
The Australian Professional Leagues (APL) board is set to confirm a huge cut to the central distribution fund, derived from TV rights and commercial revenue, from $2 million this season to just $1 million in 2024-25. The 50 per cent reduction in payment to clubs will cover just over one third of the A-League Men’s salary cap of $2.6 million.
CODE Sports understands the APL received as little as $5 million in cash from its TV rights deal this season, announced just three years ago as a $30 million per year deal, after production costs were factored in and penalties around benchmark subscription rates not met.
The APL has two years remaining on its five-year deal with Ten/Paramount+.
The dramatic reduction in payment to A-League clubs, many of whom are already cash strapped, lays bare the APL’s financial plight. By comparison, most AFL clubs and all NRL clubs receive central payments totalling more than 100 per cent of their respective salary caps.
The $140 million private equity injection from Silver Lake - announced less than three years ago - has been spent, although the US firm maintains a position on the APL board and will be involved in the future direction of finances in today’s meeting.
The bleak outlook comes at a galling time for the domestic competition after a high quality weekend of on-field action where Sydney FC won the A-League Women’s grand final, Melbourne Victory won an epic elimination final against rivals Melbourne City on penalties and Central Coast Mariners became just the second Australian team to win an Asian club continental title by lifting the AFC Cup.
The news also arrives at a time when Newcastle United is without an owner, the license for Perth Glory was sold for just $1 and the anticipated introduction of a Canberra men’s team remains in doubt.
How clubs navigate the off-season and set budgets for 2024-25 is uncertain, with sales of young Australian prospects, like the reported $3 million Adelaide United received from Bayern Munich for Nestory Irankunda, set to be the saving grace for clubs equipped to develop talent, a topic covered in today’s episode of Saving Football: Elite Development.
Until now, the central distribution fund underpinned all A-League clubs’ bottom lines, with a former club executive telling CODE Sports it has “always been the No.1 revenue stream.”
The A-League Men’s salary cap is set at $2.6 million, although at least another $3 million is needed per club, per season to cover costs such as coaching, support staff and logistics. Another $1 million annually is required to field an A-League Women’s team.
Next season’s distribution figure of around $1 million is nearly a 70 per cent reduction from less than a decade ago, when each club received more than $3 million per season when the A-Leagues were under Football Australia control. The figure was $2.4 million last July but cut to $2 million in August, just weeks after clubs had already set budgets for the current season.
The APL’s financial state caps a torrid three years after it secured separation from Football Australia, following a bitter six-year political battle that saw the Lowy family walk away from the game in 2018, just 13 years removed from the creation of the A-League under chairman Frank Lowy.
The clubs agitated for change, arguing they had no control over their own destiny.
The APL promised a new dawn when the breakaway was confirmed in December 2020 and a year later, with the $140 million from Silver Lake confirmed, then-CEO Danny Townsend told CODE Sports: “You’ll blow through that money quickly if you’re not careful. It’s about spending it wisely and doing it in a structured way like any other business.”
A series of strategic mis-steps, most notably the reported $50 million spent on the now defunct digital arm KeepUp, has sent the APL into a spiral financially.
Townsend left the APL last October, replaced by Nick Garcia, while inaugural chairman Paul Lederer stood down and was replaced by former Labor federal minister Stephen Conroy.
Garcia and Conroy, tasked with cleaning up the mess, will deliver the harsh news to clubs today.
Under Conroy’s leadership, along with Football Australia’s new chairman Anter Isaac, the once-fractious relationship between the APL and FA is improving; a crucial development given the A-Leagues are the major pipelines for developing future Socceroos and Matildas.
Football Australia CEO James Johnson said the governing body is committed to helping the APL through its current troubles.
“We are in very positive dialogue with the APL,” Johnson told CODE Sports earlier this month. “We are here to help. Might have been frosty a few years ago. Not now.”
So from that, what I take out is that it costs about $6.6 million to fund a football club in the A-League for both men's and women's teams - per season...
If I've worked it out right, obviously merch is hard to calculate, but if we base it on the disbursement and total ticket sales - we are losing several hundred thousand just in this campaign.
Would hate to think what Macarthur and WU would be on the hook for. It'd be millions.
There was an article that the victory were looking to cut Popas salary by 40% (to 400k), if that cost cutting flows to through to the main squad then that will obviously be a huge cut.
As others have said, we're potentially in a pretty good position with a squad already signed and all the investments in facilities and academies.
