COMMENT

AUSTRALIAN football isn’t broken, its supporters just need to be more realistic.

Twelve years ago Australia didn’t have a national competition, it died. Clubs were bankrupt and the national sporting body owed millions, so much so that government intervention was needed.

We may not be where we want to be, or need to be right now, but we are where we can afford to be.

As our A-League clubs were battered in the Asian Champions League overnight, the FFA copped a similar beating on social media.

Some blamed the lack of investment compared to Asian leagues. That may be true, but look at the playing field we’re on.

The A-League salary cap is $2.6 million, although clubs can sign three marquees (two marquee and FFA-approved guest marquee) outside this limit.

Of the 10 clubs, Melbourne City has three, Melbourne Victory, Sydney FC, Adelaide United, Brisbane Roar and Wellington Phoenix have two. Perth Glory and Western Sydney have one each. The Newcastle Jets and Central Coast Mariners don’t have any.

Shanghai SIPG, which thumped the Wanderers 5-1 on Tuesday, spent over $158 million AUD on two players — Brazilian internationals Oscar and Hulk.

The Chinese Super League (average $948,000 AUD) has the sixth highest average salary in world football. Japan’s J-League ($259, 000 AUD) has the eighth. The reported average in the A-League is around $120,000.

Hulk. Source: AFP

Oscar. Source: AFP

Some have said the game needs to expand, some even call for a promotion and relegation system to be introduced. Great ideas, but fanciful in the current climate.

General business sense says if existing clubs are losing money on a regular basis, you don’t introduce more.

The expand-at-all-costs mentality already ended in epic failure in North Queensland and the Gold Coast. Both owners could have sustained the losses, but when the money is only going one way, it’s easier to shut up shop.

Some suggest removing the salary cap and encouraging clubs to spend freely, letting the strong survive. But that’s what hurt the National Soccer League.

As for promotion-relegation — if our existing teams are losing money, why would we put in an entire second tier below them, to ultimately do the same?

The A-League has enough issues grappling with the logistics of sharing sporting stadiums with various codes — providing for another division would be a bigger nightmare.

The Western Sydney Wanderers were a hit after being built well by Football Federation Australia. But they were helped by a $6 million kitty. It’s a kitty that is no longer.

In recent seasons the A-League has had to pay the bills at a host of clubs after they struggled financially, including Newcastle Jets, Adelaide United and Brisbane Roar.

New clubs will have to do it on their own and with balance sheets tilting one way, there’s not a heap lining up to bid for expansion. There’s progress being made on that front, with genuine bids being tabled from some areas, but from a commercial standpoint, only a couple are realistic options for the A-League.

The overnight results in Asian saw some blame the football curriculum.

The curriculum was introduced in 2009 to shape the education of young footballers in Australia. It’s having an impact. Sure we’re yet to see the results in our under-age national teams, but we will, given time.

Have a look through the junior grades in the National Premier Leagues and you will see technically-gifted players, with better tactical awareness and quality than before. We are shaping different players from the current generation.

The system has only been around for nine years and is aimed at seeing change in the next generation. We need patience. Its results will be shown in 15-20 years time. It’s not a magic wand.

The biggest impact the curriculum has had is the impact on coaching. The number of coaches partaking in license courses is encouraging. So many former players are completing their training and moving into careers as well.

Clubs and youth league coaches in both male and female sides are doing the same. But again, seeing the benefits takes time and the investment in coaching costs money — for the FFA and participants. Many countries around the world pay coaches to get their education. It’s another area we can’t compete right now.

We’re developing the next Tommy Oar. Source: Getty Images

Some say the game has grown stagnant in this country. Maybe so, but the current plateau is no different than what’s been experienced in other growing leagues around the world.

Look at Major League Soccer, which has experienced similar growing pains. Looking for quick fixes only increased the problem. It was investment in football specific infrastructure and football development that grew the game in the US and Australia must do the same.

After a period of investment like the A-League, there’s a period of contraction. Let’s build the foundation, having clubs successful and thriving before we further populate the market.

New teams, new stadiums and new frontiers are all great, but they all come at a big cost and currently we just don’t have the means.

It’s important not to forget the progress that has been made already. Twelve years ago there was no national football league and Australia had been to one world cup.

Fast forward to 2017 and we’ve been to the past three and television rights for the national competition fetched $200 million. We’re not where we need to be, but let’s give it time.