Nix top 6 for average crowds, and a fair jump ahead of the Jets (7th). Two derbies & hopefully a game at ChCh's new CBD stadium should help again next season. A factor in Welnix giving Chiefy the spending budget he wants.
Fair play to Auckland as a new franchise have been a hugely successful addition to the ALM. Welcome change re new entrants. APL will be overjoyed. Should help re negotiations for the next media rights deal.
That's a wrap on the regular season for the 2024-25 A-League Men season. Biggest improver is Newcastle, biggest drop-off is Melbourne City. With finals coming up, we'll crack 1.5m fans for the season, the first time since 2018-19. pic.twitter.com/EuKwt2Qk5T
Overall, positive season. Crowds are overall on the up. Auckland has obviously added a lot, but a number of clubs saw a rise, notably Newcastle, Macarthur, Western Utd and Perth. Concerning is Melb City and Brisbane.
I'll post some more data in the coming days.
I think crowds are up only due to Auckland surely. They've pretty much added crowds for 3 clubs per game. Also the NZ derby has helped too.
I took a look to compare:
Median: Excluding Auckland here and comparing the difference between median this season and last season, clubs totalled to being down 2,894 fans, which is mostly the fault of Western Sydney Wanderers (-2,451 fans). Seemingly they have a very fairweather fanbase, as these fans started showing back up at the end of the season, but failed to make enough matches to significantly raise the median. Nix had the next biggest drop of -880 fans, although reading this is hard as overall attendances were super chaotic. Also decreasing were Sydney (-803), City (-778), Brisbane (-778), Mariners (-215) & Macarthur (-190). On the flip side, Adelaide had the biggest growth, having an addition 1,099 fans compared to last season. Jets were next best with 816, finally being freed from ownership limbo seemingly helping attracting at least a few fans back. Western (765), Victory (350) & Perth (170) the other risers.
Mean: Interestingly the mean decreases by less, which is the opposite of what you would expect (generally the mean is more variable). It is still down by 1,257 however only 5 sides see a decrease in their mean attendance, instead of 7. The biggest drop this time is Melbourne City (-2,296), presumably getting one less derby match which has a massive impact for them. Brisbane are the other big decrease at -1,244. Mariners (-848), Phoenix (-574) & Wanderers (-517) There is not really any big increases, with no club exceeding a thousand. Sydney are the biggest increase, up 989 across the season, followed by the Jets at 904. Victory (551), Adelaide (540), Macarthur (446), Perth (432) & Western (370).
So yeah, Auckland pushing the number up, but that does not make it a bad thing. Numbers are still up and the league has added a massive new side to the league. That's a success. The probable dip next season however will probably make people unnecessarily worried.
Aside from that, the biggest successes I would say are Newcastle (who are seemingly on the road to getting fans back) and Western (who continue their slow, but steady growth). Perth, Adelaide & Victory also all definitely increasing.
Brisbane, Phoenix, Mariners, City & Wanderers on the other hand all had down years, which isn't great, however I think the most worrying for me is Macarthur as a dip in the median indicates they could be levelling out at a low level.
The dips for the Roar, Nix and Mariners not unexpected given their poor seasons.
Hopefully Valkanis brings some badly needed positivity to Brisbane as a club. Who knows with CCM, given Jackson is currently hamstrung with a recruitment freeze. Obviously we all hope the Nix will be better next year. Two home derbies, and potentially a late season game at the new ChCh Stadium will help the average crowd figure.
Disappointing to see the Wanderers do worse crowd wise. They were exciting to watch under Stajcic. Melb City similarily good to watch this year, with lots of exciting youngsters. All that success and still poor crowds. Unfortunately with Stanton gone, alot of the increased goodwill at the Jets could be quickly undone. See that the highly promising Clayton Taylor is looking to leave.
100% the APL will be interrested in a potential 3rd NZ team based in Christchurch. Auckland an overdue new franchise success story.
And then we wait to see how the new (watered down) NSD goes later this year, and which of the NPL clubs have good numbers of fans turning up.
Yeah, Simon Hill has always been my favourite out of the Aussie football commentators, plus I really liked the late Mike Cockerill. Both their voices will be and are dearly missed by football fans.
When Hill goes, I would like to see Ben Homer commentate more games. I mentioned this before somewhere else but he really reminds me of Cockerill and brings good energy.
Mike Cockerill RIP. A big loss, and much loved in Aus. And as Big Pete once wrote about he had strong NZ connections.
Actually watching the VUC v AFC semi in Melbourne I was really impressed with Tara Rushton as a presenter. I remember when she first started out years ago, she was very nervous & green. Hadn't seen her for ages for some reason, though I see she's now got kids with Cooper Cronk.
I hope she gets to that level but at the moment I find Kimberlee Ritchie (who does most of NIX & AFC home games sideline) often cringe.
Hill is a commentator of reason and intelligence in a sess pool of Drivel and dribble & AFC love Fests. He will be seriously missed. Very analyitical without stating the obvious and chattering on like a budgie.
Proud to have attended the first 175 Consecutive "Home" Wellington Phoenix "A League" Games !!
Good little read. So all the ALM clubs trying to have their young players signed on longer deals, giving them a better chance of selling them up north for a fee, ie not leaving on a free.
Interesting that post season 23/24 (so incl Surman, Paulsen & Old) was better for sales over the whole league, than season 24/25 (to date).
And I remember Dome also stating that ALM clubs were underselling the value of their players, and the Nix would negotiate tougher going forward.
Brisbane Roar chief executive officer Kaz Patafta believes the days of overseas teams signing young Australian talents for small transfer fees will soon be over, thanks to a pivot in club strategy.
A-Leagues clubs have received more than $38 million in transfer revenue over the course of the last two seasons as clubs from the UK, Europe and the United States now routinely look to the Isuzu UTE A-League to secure affordable young talent.
During the course of the Isuzu UTE A-League 2024-25 season, 19 players moved to a variety of clubs around the world netting Australian clubs a total of $16 million.
Last season’s total ranks second in terms of total outbound transfers after the Isuzu UTE A-League 2023-24 season saw clubs receive $21.9 million from 27 sales.
Crucially, though the average sale price increased from $813k to $826k this year, with Patafta identifying a key reason as to why fees are now on the way up as more and more young talent continues to get a chance in the Isuzu UTE A-League.
“Now Adelaide have done it. We’ve done it, and most clubs now are moving into the multi-year deals for young players to lock them in, because there is a market.
“I think we’ll see that segment grow exponentially. The valuations are still pretty low, I’d say, in terms of the players that we’re selling.
“That’s why there’s a lot of interest because, you know, for Championship teams, for teams out of MLS, we’re such an attractive market.”
He continued: “As soon as they have a Championship name behind them, you’re almost looking at a five to 10 times multiple to what we’re selling them for here.
“But the reality is there’s a lot of interest now in the A-League and there’s a lot of interest in the young players we’ve got.
“We’ve got great talent in this country and I think it’s such a great platform, but, you know, there has to be a bit of a philosophy and intent from a club, whether it’s Brisbane or otherwise, to give these younger players a chance.”
Are APL going to operate the club for the coming season (this is where Mowbary and Foley money should come in) or is it done? Edit: read the article and the APL does seem not committed presently.
Are APL going to operate the club for the coming season (this is where Mowbary and Foley money should come in) or is it done? Edit: read the article and the APL does seem not committed presently.
The APL barely has its head above water as it is. Any more financial missteps will send them to the wall as well.
Are APL going to operate the club for the coming season (this is where Mowbary and Foley money should come in) or is it done? Edit: read the article and the APL does seem not committed presently.
The APL barely has its head above water as it is. Any more financial missteps will send them to the wall as well.
if they can get the licence and no debt, they at least have enough teams and games to sell for next tv deal and also can sell the licence which you would hope would be around the operating costs for a season or so
The broadcaster doesn't help their own deal by been tight. Look at the dosh they throw at AFL that still hasn't caught on around the globe, yet foois still number 1. If Oaramount want or demand a 14-16 team league, offer better money. Just like Sky being tight wads with football but throw it to the NZRFU.
Proud to have attended the first 175 Consecutive "Home" Wellington Phoenix "A League" Games !!
Sounds like the APL will sign on again with Paramount next year. Hopefully for more money. Will be a very importnant negotiation. Can the APL also try sell a small number of weekly games to a free to air broadcaster.
Good news overall, of a healthy financial turnaround.
Clubs were informed on Friday that the APL had enjoyed a preliminary operating profit for the recently completed financial year of $1.7 million.
While it’s not a huge profit, it’s a significant improvement from the previous two years’ losses of $55 million (2023) and $37 million (2024).
The 2025 profit also incorporates a 34 per cent reduction in operating expenses from the previous year.
In an email to club bosses seen by NewsWire, APL executive chairman Stephen Conroy said: “Not withstanding the difficult decisions we’ve had to make, and the challenging circumstances we have all been working through, this (profit) represents a $57 million turnaround in the last two years.
“We started the strategic review in early 2024 to right-size the A-Leagues and grow our core football product and revenues.
“It has been an extremely challenging period, but this significantly improved financial position provides us a strong platform for sustained growth.”
Sources close to the APL say the next step is to grow revenue lines for A-League clubs through a variety of avenues, including increased sponsorship and an improved broadcast deal.
The APL deal with current broadcasters Network 10 and Paramount Plus is about to enter its final season.
The likelihood is that the APL will sign a new contract with its current broadcasters, who also have a deal with Football Australia to show Socceroos and Matildas games.
Clubs have welcomed the 2025 profit, and are hopeful it could lead to a slight increase in distribution fees which were slashed by almost 75 per cent to $530,000 per club last year.
Finally some good news. Its a small profit but at least it shows they are getting the finances in order. The article reports a 26 game season. Everyone plays each other twice and the four extra games. Why so few? Not much of a product to offer to a broadcaster
Congrats and well done! Sarah Jones in particular gained my respect as a no-nonsense ref that took on the ALM reffing job (especially as a line ref) with aplomb.
Actually, getting outplayed quite a bit these days
Finally some good news. Its a small profit but at least it shows they are getting the finances in order. The article reports a 26 game season. Everyone plays each other twice and the four extra games. Why so few? Not much of a product to offer to a broadcaster
That 26-27 game regular season setup, has been the deal for quite awhile now. As I think RR posted to be eligible for AFC comps like the Champions League Elite, the AFC regulations are min 26 games + finals.
But maybe the broadcasters don't like more games, as then the A League finishes too late, right into the NRL and AFL seasons.
That's noting that the season will always start the first weekend after the NRL Grand Final.
seeing as basically every team loses money hosting every home match there probably is little desperation to increase the number of gamesaustin111
Finally some good news. Its a small profit but at least it shows they are getting the finances in order. The article reports a 26 game season. Everyone plays each other twice and the four extra games. Why so few? Not much of a product to offer to a broadcaster
Melbourne City captain Aziz Behich has been voted the 2025 PFA Men’s Footballer of the Year, ahead of New Zealand international goalkeeper Alex Paulsen.
Australian international full back Behich carried off the award, decided by members of the Professional Footballers Association, after leading City to win last season’s men’s A-League championship, and helping Australia to qualify for next year’s FIFA Men’s World Cup.
The PFA award honours the male player who has impressed his peers by demonstrating outstanding skills, consistency and impact for club and country.
Paulsen, who starred for new A-League club Auckland FC, was the only New Zealander shortlisted for the award.
Other nominees for the Austraffic-sponsored award were Martin Boyle (Hibernian, Socceroos), Jackson Irvine (St. Pauli, Socceroos), Nicolas Milanovic (Western Sydney Wanderers, Socceroos), and Ryan Teague (Melbourne Victory, Socceroos).
(Clubs listed are those where the nominees were playing at the time of voting.)
“It’s always nice to get an individual award but this is extra special because it’s voted by your teammates and fellow peers and opposition players as well,” Behich said.
Past winners of the award are Jackson Irvine, Craig Goodwin, Tom Rogic, Jamie Maclaren, Mat Ryan, Aaron Mooy, Mile Jedinak, Robbie Kruse, Brett Holman, Matt McKay, Mark Schwarzer and Tim Cahill.
