A-Leagues Commissioner Nick Garcia addressed Canberra Expansion, VAR and much more on this week’s broadcast of The Global Game with Simon Hill and Mark Bridge. We’ve summarised the main points of the discussion to see if we can understand the current thinking at APL land.
“This last season was the first time we started with a football strategy”
In addressing the shutdown of KeepUp, Garcia explained that the platform was ultimately commercially unsustainable and many A-League fans showed no interest in engaging with foreign football content. A switch to aleagues.com.au has resulted in fans staying on the site for longer and engaging better with the content.
Garcia also mentioned how this season was the first time the APL focused on a football first strategy. This means the APL is focused on maximising on-field product quality, which will guide them in their support of clubs and fan engagement plans. Garcia also mentioned the existence a ‘Fan Relationship Group’ which meets quarterly. This confirmation follow through on a promise made by the APL in the wake of the Grand Final hosting fiasco.
The switch in strategy will no doubt allow many A-League fans to breathe a sigh of relief, although the comments did not reflect any sort of admission of failure for the initial ‘tech-bro’ style media platform strategy. Garcia wasn’t specifically pressed on the finances of the league but remained upbeat pointing out the APL has seen growth in all aspects of the League. This may not be as substantive as face value suggests, as is could include COVID related impacts which significantly reduced comparison benchmarks for the League’s key metrics.
Expansion
Regarding the Canberra expansion, Garcia suggested the team is still a possibility despite only seven months until the next season. The consortium working on the deal has been able to benefit from previous bid work, the existing women’s team, government support and a large latent fan base, meaning the club needs a shorter run up than the already announced Auckland expansion. It should be noted though it was implied that there was a chance the club would not be ready by next season.
Regarding Newcastle Jets, Garcia was quick to absolve the APL of the pressure of the sale process. Newcastle is in fact being supported by four individual A-League clubs, not the APL. The APL has met the bidders, implying some parties have experience in football, but again, the APL is not directly involved in the process.
Understand that the above expansion comments in particular may not be enough for impatient supporters but TBG does understand the commercial difficulties in the market at the moment. Noting also the successful sale of Glory to Pelligra, fans do need to consider that more important than finding owners soon, is finding the right owners.
A-League Womens
Regarding A-League Women expansion, Garcia suggested both Auckland and Macarthur are on track to enter the competition in the 2025-26 season.
He also underlined the growth of the competition since the Women’s World Cup including:
- An increase from 8k to 27k in Liberty A-League Pass customers
- A 700% increase in memberships (not that this is likely driven mostly by Sydney FC)
- A 123% increase in attendance
- A 140% increase in viewing hours (note though the competition moved from behind the Paramount paywall to Ten Play)
Interestingly though Garcia also underlined that the competition was actively pursuing a marquee strategy, unlike the case in the men’s competition. This was largely to benefit from the brand exposure afforded to players post the Women’s World Cup.
Limited APL influence
Regarding Stadium appropriateness and pitch quality, beside agreeing these were concerns, Garcia ultimately indicated the APL has limited ability to help what was really a club issue, but did identify the worrying growth in summer concerts and discussed differences in treatments between Sydney and Brisbane, favouring the former.
Similarly on the Western United Stadium development, Garcia indicated the APL have limited ability or appetite to fast track the progress or reprimand the club for failing to deliver as promised.
Football considerations
Regarding VAR, Garcia seemed to suggest APL research was split on the technology’s popularity. He did however indicate that it works when ‘fans are brought on the journey’ and that there have been initial trials with new technologies that would provide more insight into the process live during games, similar to what was employed during the Women’s World Cup.
Regarding the Ladder system change this year, Garcia suggested that the change was made with due process, however a review will be conducted post season. He did emphasise the APL desire to present an attacking on-field process.
Other Thoughts
A couple of things that would have been nice to hear include comments on the upcoming second division and the status of the A-League Youth. The latter, firmly in the APL control, has been banished to purgatory for a number of years now.
It also would have been nice to hear specifics about how the APL plans to improve the product, i.e. season format changes, change in media strategy, working with active support?
The interview did provide some insight in the APL perspective but mostly added minor details to existing public knowledge. Understanding this is one of the first times Garcia has presented himself to the media and perhaps a softer interview approach was needed (also considering the time made available).
TBG hopes to see more from Garcia in the media communicating to fans, and hopefully more detailed and insightful interviews in the future.
The Beautiful Game 