What’s the minimum number allowed in the squad? $3M doesn’t seem very much over 20 odd players. I guess they have to balance that with actually having enough financially viable clubs to make a competition.
What’s the minimum number allowed in the squad? $3M doesn’t seem very much over 20 odd players. I guess they have to balance that with actually having enough financially viable clubs to make a competition.
Squad minimum - 18 Squad maximum - 23 Squads can also have up to 16 scholarship players who sit outside of those numbers.
Salary cap is currently circa $2.6 million with exemptions for designated players and marquee players and clubs must spend at least 90% of that figure. Scholarship player wages also sit outside the cap.
I mean if this hard cap does get implemented, then arguably the clubs that promote and play young players are probably going to be better placed than those who dont.
But the mooted plan is that hard cap is only for the 26/27 season. From 27/28 the caps will be "relative to a clubs’ revenue"
VUC you would think would have much higher club revenue (by whatever measure) than the Nix.
So in theory the VUC could have a much bigger salary cap to operate under. So the bigger clubs to dominate even more??
What could keep things relatively even is the other mooted plan of having 6 kids under age 21, in your senior squad. Generally the VUC currently will have less young Academy grads in their match days squads than say the Nix.
Apparently the Nix have 5 under age 21 now in their senior squad. Auckland as a comparison none.
Be interesting to know how all the clubs currently compare on that metric.
Here's the current comparison. Auckland are top of the table and we're not.
very simplistic but accurate. AFC = new club with endless cash and no real restrictions on salary of players etc. WPX = established club who started the season by losing most of their key players to bigger leagues, although the key on was the GK who ended up at AFC. Replacements of lost players have been less than impressive or injured.
But the mooted plan is that hard cap is only for the 26/27 season. From 27/28 the caps will be "relative to a clubs’ revenue"
VUC you would think would have much higher club revenue (by whatever measure) than the Nix.
So in theory the VUC could have a much bigger salary cap to operate under. So the bigger clubs to dominate even more??
What could keep things relatively even is the other mooted plan of having 6 kids under age 21, in your senior squad. Generally the VUC currently will have less young Academy grads in their match days squads than say the Nix.
Apparently the Nix have 5 under age 21 now in their senior squad. Auckland as a comparison none.
Be interesting to know how all the clubs currently compare on that metric.
There is no time frame on their desire to move to a revenue based salary cap.
And the PFA are not happy, so this might get messy.
Well there does seem a planned time frame. But what the model APL actually gets for season 27/28, compared to what they are planning, could be two very different things.
I mean in 12 months there will be a new media rights deal, which hopefully is alot better than the current sharkhouse one. No more Keepup financial dark holes, cross fingers. The APL maybe able to substantially increase the club disbursements for season 26/27 (less so coming season 25/26). That will be part of the PFA's thinking.
Also it's the PFA's responsibility as a union to protect it's members. Under the newly mooted 'must have six players under age 21 in your senior squad' model, Auckland fail to have any. So right now as it stands 6 of AFC's squad would have to be released and replaced by 6 youngsters. Unions don't like members being jobless.
A hard cap of AU$3 million (NZ$3.22 million, with a lone exception for one marquee player, is set to be put in place in 2026-27, after a transition season in 2025-26, where the existing salary cap of AUS$2.55m (NZ$2.73m) that comes with several exceptions, including for marquee and homegrown players, will remain in place.
By the start of the 2027-28 season, a broader financial sustainability model, with caps relative to clubs’ revenue, is set to be put in place, following consultation with A-League Men’s 13 clubs and the Profession Footballers’ Association, the Australian players’ union.
So the Jets losing tonight means we still have a chance to avoid Darwin. They stay 5 points ahead, and we have the easiest possible opponents to play in our last two games. Jets with a couple of tricky ones. But they only need a draw to lock in 9th place, their GD lead is unassailable.
Whether or not we catch the Jets, I really hope we do win our last two to give me some hope going into the 5 month off-season that things can be better next season. Because Chiefy is staying. The Nix are not ambitious enough to send him packing, and that's probably why we have never won anything and why we probably never will win anything.
Wonder if there is a Darwin team bidding to join the new OFC Professional League?
See in an article that Nix ALM pre season is to start July 1st. So alot of the squad will only get 1 month away from football, despite there yes being a 4-5 month off season.
A big chunk of the squad will disappear for the U20 WC from early September (maybe earlier), so I guess Chiefy wants a few good months of uninterrrupted pre season work through July & August.
Football Australia chief executive officer James Johnson said Darwin being the ongoing choice to host the Cup playoffs was part of a “broader strategy to give all corners of the country access to high-quality professional fixtures”.
“The response from the football community across the Northern Territory has been so pleasing over the last two years and reinforces the strength of football in bringing communities togetherm” Johnson said.
“The ability for these playoffs to connect the professional level of our game with the grassroots is an invaluable part of our broader work within the region.”
Football Northern Territory chief executive officer Jamie Montieth said the playoffs were a “wonderful opportunity for our community to engage with some of the best our national competition has to offer”.
This purgatory in Darwin is really one of the most hilarious concepts that the league has invented.
Love to know what the real logic behind it is - there must be a reason.
It was set up to create some meaning at the end of the season for the teams who had no chance of making the six.
also to trim the number of alm teams entering the cup at the expense of npl teams.
also means those 4 teams in the playoff do not need to start their preseason two weeks earlier than others like they have had to do past couple of seasons
players / staff are contracted to end of May or whatever exact date is in case you make grand final , so may as well get something considering you are paying them.
These friendlies bring in crowds but don't really convert them to becoming fans of the home team - so it doesn't really help with attendances down the track.
For example Liverpool vs Victory in 2013 got 95,000 fans but the next season Victory's average attendance was lower than the previous season.
And the profits generally go to the touring team too, so no real net benefit overall for the home team.
Not sure where to put this but this is general so….. Man I really wish it was the Bix that had the foresight to try get Wrexham to Wellington, that game would definitely of sold out
That was a great day! I think the Wrexham game could be even bigger, I’ve got a few mates who just hate football but love welcome to Wrexham who are talking about going, that’s just a tiny sample size I’d imagine there would be many more. It could definitely help the club coffers if they can tag into it
