Tom Rogic produces the fairytale for Celtic, and back in Canberra his nursery club Tuggeranong United are bursting with pride. More evidence, as if it's needed, that the development pathway needs to be broad and deep. It's why the push for a national second division is gathering steam, whether Football Federation Australia likes it or not. A new tier of professional football is on the way in 2018 because the time has come. Rogic underlines that.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Now a Celtic hero, and a Socceroos great-in-waiting, Rogic always had the talent but struggled for opportunity. Missed by the 'system' - overlooked in his hometown by the AIS, forced to cut his teeth in the local NPL with ANU and then Belconnen United, before being shopped around the A-League until Central Coast Mariners finally took the punt. There's no perfect pathway to the top, but the key is trying to make sure the good ones don't slip through the net like Rogic almost did.
That's what enlarging the professional footprint does. It's not the only reason - but it remains a significant one - behind the drive for a nationwide competition below the 10-team A-League. Australia's biggest participation sport continues to be suffocated by a lack of opportunity. Developmentally, commercially, intrinsically.
A new second-tier will unleash the potential. The FFA still doesn't seem sure, and remains in a self-induced state of paralysis. So others are moving ahead with a plan. Don't think enthusiasm has ebbed away because the issue has disappeared from the news cycle. The push for a second division is about to hit the headlines again.
Three months after being formed, the Association of Australian Football Clubs (AAFC) is poised to unveil it's founding board of directors. Those directors will come from every major state to ensure they're truly representative of AAFC's 120-odd member clubs. From those 120 clubs, around 30 have expressed interest in becoming part of a new nationwide league.
The size of the second division is still to be determined, but the likely model is for a two-conference system involving between 20-24 clubs. Queensland, NSW, Northern NSW and the ACT will form one conference, with Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and Western Australia combining to form the other. Providing opportunity for regional cities such as Cairns, Townsville, Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Ballarat, Geelong and Wollongong is also likely to be part of the charter.
As always, the devil will be in the detail. The cynicism of many - including the FFA - is based on the assumption that such a competition is unaffordable. It's a legitimate concern. Certainly the model recently produced by the players' union, the PFA, gives sustenance to the doubters. A PFA model which costs a second-tier football department (players, coaches and support staff) at $3.5million, and overall operating costs at $5.5million, is completely unrealistic.
A better guide will come from those who will have to pay the bills - the clubs themselves. Operating costs of around $2.5million, including football department costs of around $1.5million, are a more feasible starting point.
Under these figures - around triple the budgets currently operating in the NPL - the transition from part-time to full-time operation is not only viable, but importantly it's achievable in a timeframe which would see a second division up and running by October next year (concurrent with the 2018-19 A-League season). With broadcasters already expressing interest, creating a sustainable league suddenly looks less of a fantasy.
Eventually, inevitably, the FFA will have to decide whether to be inside or outside the tent. The AAFC has written, in-principle, support from FIFA for its objectives, while the Asian Football Confederation has long agitated for a second-tier in Australia. The FFA can either politicise the process, and potentially disrupt it, or do what's clearly in the best interests of the game. Rogic's Scottish Cup winner proves that.
