EXCLUSIVE | In a new series on Goal Australia, Michael Huguenin takes a look at how fan ownership could grow the A-League in the competition's second decade

American football administrator Peter Wilt reckons A-League clubs can grow financially if they introduce supporters' trusts, allowing fans an element of ownership.

Wilt, who has been involved in the creation of Chicago Fire in Major League Soccer and Indy Eleven in the NASL, is a staunch advocate of fan ownership and is convinced it is one of the major reasons the Bundesliga "has the highest attendance and most solid financial footing of any league in the world".

Article Overview:

-Time to make fans central to football's future

-The A-League model is flawed

-Could the Jets pioneer fan-ownership in the A-League?

On Saturday, it will be the 10-year anniversary of the inaugural A-League Grand Final.

On March 5, 2006, almost 42,000 fans turned up at the Sydney Football Stadium to see Dwight Yorke inspire Sydney FC to the maiden A-League championship, with the former Manchester United striker setting up Steve Corica's goal in a 1-0 win over Central Coast Mariners.

After a debut season that surpassed all expectations, particularly in terms of attendances, the sight of a packed stadium for a football grand final in Australia inspired all but the greatest cynics to believe Football Federation Australia (FFA) was onto a winner.

But 10 years on, has the A-League made the most of that momentum?

Almost a victim of that initial success, FFA are struggling to take the A-League to the next level.

Over the next few weeks, Goal Australia will publish a series of articles looking at 'How to fix the A-League' featuring the insights of four individuals, who represent different facets of the football industry.

The series has been planned in the hope of sparking genuine debate regarding Australia's professional league.

Wilt will provide an international perspective, while former Soccer Australia boss Remo Nogarotto will represent football administrators.

David Clarkson - a former National Soccer League (NSL) champion with South Melbourne - offers insight from his current job as a football agent, while Professional Footballers Australia's Player Relations Manager Simon Colosimo represents the men on the pitch.

Time to make fans central to football's future

Wilt left Indy Eleven earlier this year in the hope of building another team in his hometown of Chicago for the NASL - football's second tier in the United States.

The former president and general manager of the Fire, Wilt plans to include a supporters' trust as a minority shareholder in his third professional club.

Wilt is convinced fan ownership should be prioritised in the A-League.

"Strong consideration should be given to creation of supporters' trusts for all clubs that further engage fans and give them the sense of ownership that will make them true advocates for their clubs," he told Goal Australia.‎

"That public ownership is an important reason the Bundesliga has the highest attendance and most solid financial footing of any league in the world.

"This approach will make more people vested in the club and create a solid foundation with strong roots that will enhance growth and stability through tribal connections with the clubs."

In 2014, two Melbourne Victory shareholders released a plan to sell their 35 per cent stake to the public but that opportunity was eventually withdrawn as chairman Anthony Di Pietro and director Mario Biasin purchased the shares.

It was reported that Victory's ownership group had been worried about what impact shareholder-fans might have had on running the club, but Wilt has argued he has met no resistance to the idea in Chicago.

"All the investors we have lined up for Chicago NASL are aware of and indeed keen on the inclusion of a supporters' trust‎ having investment in the club," he said.

"They all recognize that this will broaden the reach and depth of the club's support and give the leadership of the club insight into the supporters' desires for the club on and off the field."

The A-League model is flawed

Simon Colosimo - an NSL champion with Perth Glory and A-League title winner with Sydney - agrees that A-League clubs could do more to engage with football fans.

"There's an abundance of football fans around the country," he told Goal Australia.

"You know, you saw that with the Asian Cup, you see that whenever there's a World Cup on - the viewership in and around the [Premier League], Spanish La Liga etcetera.

"So it's probably about converting those fans into A-League fans.

"Victory are at 25,000 members. How do we get that on a bigger scale or a league-wide scale?"

Colosimo reckons that "the days of having an individual with some capital to throw in and own a club… are gone", while Instinct Football Management's David Clarkson is even more forthright.

"The model is flawed, right? We can't say the model of the A-League is not flawed in regards to ownership because if we look at it through its history, clubs have fallen out, clubs are really struggling financially," Clarkson told Goal Australia.

"So there has to be a fundamental problem with the way we're doing things."

In the 11 seasons of the A-League, New Zealand Knights, Gold Coast United and North Queensland Fury have been thrown out of the competition.

In addition to the demise of the Knights, Gold Coast and Fury, the likes of Victory, Brisbane Roar, and Adelaide United have all been propped up by FFA at different times.

FFA is currently in charge of Newcastle Jets as they look for new owners, after they stripped Nathan Tinkler of his licence at the end of last season.

Could the Jets pioneer fan-ownership in the A-League?

According to Colosimo, "[building a club is] more about finding the whole package than just the financial support".

Colosimo and Wilt both believe that a genuine connection to the local community is vital to the long-term success of a professional football club.

So could FFA include a supporters' trust, run by Newcastle members, as a minority shareholder in the next ownership structure of the Jets?

Newcastle has long been considered one of the heartlands of Australian football.

Despite the Jets' off-field issues and the club failing to reach the A-League finals for the past five seasons, Newcastle have over 9,000 members in 2015-16 - more than five other A-League clubs.

In 2014, FFA sold Western Sydney Wanderers to a consortium of four businessmen - led by Paul Lederer - for a reported fee of $10million.

Assuming FFA would like to earn a similar figure on the Jets, $500,000 - or five per cent - would probably be the minimum amount to justify a supporters' trust being included in an ownership structure.

In the Bundesliga, members of Schalke - one of Germany's oldest clubs - pay staggered fees depending on their age for voting rights at the club's annual general meeting and other benefits.

The membership fee is separate from a season ticket to go to games.

Based on Schalke's membership prices for 2015-16, a supporters' trust of 10,000 members could contribute $515,000 to the Jets each year.

Five thousand people in the 30-60 age bracket, plus 2,500 in the 18-29 group and 2,500 in the 7-17 group.

Next week: Goal Australia's 'How to fix the A-League' series will look at expansion.