The A-League are considering expanding the amount of teams in the league and one option that they are closely looking at is the including of a team from Tasmania. Most soccer fans are excited by the prospect of them been including and it is gathering much support.
There are a number of other exciting options to be included in the A-League. Many want to see Wollongong’s return and Brisbane are perfect for inclusion along with a team from Canberra. There is also talk about a team from South Melbourne but it does not have as much support as the others.
Australian football forums have seen an influx of A-League fans air their personal views on the expansion plans. One of the most talked about topics was from Wollongong fans who did not want to see their team merge with Sutherland-Illawarra. Most wanted each different region to have its own identity.
A-League Expansion Options
The most registered Australian football players in the country are from The Sutherland Shire. Wollongong has produced many top class players such as Mile Sterjovski, Luke Wilkshire, and Scott Chipperfield got very strong support.
Many fans think that if Tasmania is included then they should try to emulate the Portland Timbers who play in the MLS. They have an amazing stadium which is packed to the rims for all their home matches. It has a fantastic atmosphere along with great food and beer.
If Tasmania were able to play their home matches at the North Hobart Oval, they would be able to create a similar model to the successful Portland Timbers. It would attract both home and away fans as it is a great place to visit for the weekend.
The expansion is a great opportunity for the A-League to financially take center stage in Australia and to be taken seriously. With it having a larger national presence it will help it improve it fan based and become the number one sport in Australia.
As well as looking at teams to be included questions have also been raised about Wellington Phoenix long term viability. It caused a stir when the FFA gave a license to a New Zealand based team but ignored expansion within Australia instead.
One of the things that have been holding back the popularity of the A-League is the fact that many matches are played at AFL grounds. Fans want rectangular stadiums to watch their team play and too many clubs have accepted that near is good enough.
One area that is seen as having huge potential is a Dandenong-Casey club to be based in Victoria and Geelong is getting some support but is not as popular as other options.
In a recent survey carried out of A-League fans across Australia the most popular choice was South Melbourne who collected 38% of the votes. Tasmania was close behind though on 35% and Wollongong was third with 8% of the vote.
The FFA have recently announced that they will reveal the expansion plans at the start of next year, however, fans are pushing them to make a decision as soon as possible.
About
Tony Samboras is a freelance sports writer and analyst. His work also includes writing many more sports including: soccer, football, Rugby and MMA. Another look at and some more information about Tony's work can be found at many leading gambling websites.
Would be interesting to see the AFL’s response if there was a soccer team in Tasmania, I would imagine an instant team in the AFL which was always logistically impossible for whatever vague reasons they could think of, North & Hawthorns intermittent visits were considered sufficient to capture the Apple isle’s attention …