A-League

infobox football league

pixels = 160
country = flagicon|AUS Australia
flagicon|NZL New Zealand
confed = AFC
founded = 2004
first = 2005-06
teams = 8 (expanding to 10 in 2009-10)
confed_cup = AFC Champions League
champions = Newcastle United Jets
season = 2007-08
premiers = Central Coast Mariners
most successful club = Melbourne Victory
Newcastle United Jets
Sydney FC (1)
most_prems = Adelaide United FC
Central Coast Mariners
Melbourne Victory (1)
website = http://www.a-league.com.au/
current = A-League 2008-09

The A-League is the premier Australasian domestic Association football competition. Run by Australian governing body Football Federation Australia, it was founded in 2004 and staged its inaugural season in 2005-06. It is sponsored by Hyundai Motor Company Australia, and is therefore officially known as the Hyundai A-League.

The league is contested by eight teams: seven covering Australia's major cities and regional centres and one from New Zealand. [cite news |title=FFA Statement Regarding New Zealand Knights |url=http://www.a-league.com.au/default.aspx?s=newsdisplay&id=6349 |date=2006-12-14 |accessdate=2006-12-16] In the 2009-10 season, this will expand to ten teams.cite news|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/08/28/2348941.htm|title=North Qld, Gold Coast to join A-League|date=2008-08-26|accessdate=2008-08-26|publisher=ABC News] Related leagues include a National Youth League for youth development, and the W-League women's league.

History

In 2003, a report on soccer (as it was then called) in Australia was published by the Australian Federal Government which ultimately led to an overhaul of Soccer Australia and the end of the National Soccer League, Australia's previous domestic soccer competition. In its place, Football Federation Australia (named the Australian Soccer Association at the time) announced plans for a new national competition set to start in 2005. The competition was based on a one-city, one-club format based on the sports franchise system used in North America, which was already in use for other Australian football codes. This was for two reasons - to concentrate player talent, and possibly more importantly, break the connection between clubs and specific immigrant groups (the previous NSL had a number of teams whose players and fans largely came from one specific immigrant community). The plan called for privately owned franchises to represent Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Newcastle and New Zealand, with the eighth and final club to be selected from the remaining expressions of interest. [cite news |title=ASA announce several significant initiatives |url=http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/default.aspx?s=insideffa_newsfeatures_newsitem&id=7435 |date=2004-03-22 |accessdate=2006-11-03] The selection of teams, with The Central Coast the eighth area represented, was announced on November 1 2004, along with the competition format which was shortened to provide a basic structure for further expansion. The FFA scheduled the inaugural season to begin in August 2005, budgeting for an annual turnover of AU$50 million and average crowds of 10,000. [cite news |title=Australian Soccer announces the Hyundai A-League |url=http://www.a-league.com.au/default.aspx?s=newsdisplay&id=614&pageid=11 |date=2004-11-01 |accessdate=2006-11-03]

2005-06 season

The opening season saw clubs attract a wide array of talent, most notably Dwight Yorke for Sydney FC, as well as bringing a large number of former and current Socceroos home, including Ned Zelic, Steve Corica and Archie Thompson. Adelaide United FC won the inaugural A-League Premiership after the end of the home-and-away season. The Grand Final was played in front of 41,689 people at Aussie Stadium. Sydney FC prevailed 1-0 over the Central Coast Mariners to become the first A-League Champions. The FFA's target crowd figure of 10,000 was achieved as the league had an overall attendance average of 12,100 during its inaugural season. [cite news |title=Facts and Figures |url=http://www.a-league.com.au/default.aspx?s=newsdisplay&id=3299 |date=2006-02-09 |accessdate=2006-12-19]

An AU$120 million deal between the FFA and Fox Sports was reached in 2006 after the end of the first season. Under the deal, Fox Sports will have exclusive rights from 2007 to all "Socceroos" home internationals, all A-League and AFC Asian Cup fixtures, FIFA World Cup qualifiers through the AFC, and all AFC Champions League matches. The deal will allow the FFA to increase the amount of TV money to each of the participating clubs in the league and increase the revenue streams for those clubs. [cite news |url=http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/default.aspx?s=aus_news_feat_press_releases_item&id=9956 |title=Historic deal to secure Football's future |date=2006-05-03]

2006-07 season

The A-League's second season saw the return of such Australian international players as Stan Lazaridis, Tony Vidmar and Joel Griffiths which has boosted the media attention of the league. The FFA also suggested the idea of sharing the expense of some of the wages of Socceroos players to bring them back to Australia. [cite web |url=http://www.theworldgame.com.au/aussiesabroad/index.php?pid=st&cid=73539 |title=Plan to bring back Socceroos |publisher=The World Game |date=2006-08-05]

The all time Australian domestic association football regular season crowd record was smashed twice during the season - on September 2 and December 8 2006 both times when Melbourne Victory hosted Sydney FC at the Telstra Dome. The crowd figures were 39,730 and 50,333 respectively. Kevin Muscat, the Melbourne captain, was quoted as saying: "You'd do well to find an Australian abroad this weekend who'll play in front of a bigger crowd than that".

In December 2006 the ALeague NZK had their licence revoked because of mounting debts. New Zealand Football was allocated control of the team for the remainder of the season. The FFA called for bids from prospective operators to take over the New Zealand license for the next season. [cite news |url=http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/dominionpost/3956695a6033.html |date=2007-02-10 |title=Tough trip for Waitt's lineup |publisher=The Dominion Post|accessdate=2007-02-10]

On February 18 2007 ALeague MV defeated ALeague AU 6-0 to become champions of the A-League 2006-07 season in front of a crowd of over 55,000 people. Archie Thompson was awarded the Joe Marston Medal, scoring five goals for Melbourne Victory.

ALeague MV Chairman Geoff Lord has suggested the inclusion of overseas clubs in the pre-season cup competition, particularly targeting teams from Asia and the west coast of the United States. [cite news |first=Michael |last=Lynch |title=Victory chairman wants Asia, US teams in pre-season |url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/soccer/victory-chairman-wants-asia-us-teams-in-preseason/2007/01/31/1169919403655.html |date=2007-02-01 |accessdate=2007-02-06]

2007-08 season

Important signings before the start of the third season of the A-League have seen former Socceroos Danny Tiatto, Craig Moore, Ljubo Milicevic, Nick Rizzo, Paul Agostino, Hayden Foxe and Tony Popovic return to Australia with various A-League clubs. Socceroos' striker Sasho Petrovski left Sydney FC in favour of the ALeague CCM. On October 20, the Central Coast Mariners completed perhaps the biggest signing coup in A-League history when they announced the signing of Socceroos' hero, John Aloisi. [cite news |url=http://au.fourfourtwo.com/news/63393,aloisi-nows-the-right-time.aspx |title=Aloisi: Now's the Right Time |date=2007-10-20 |accessdate=2007-10-20 |publisher=FourFourTwo] This spawned a large amount of controversy, as Aloisi's relatively large wages weren't included in the salary cap, because of a loophole involving replacing injured players. Also returning home was Stephen Laybutt signing with the ALeague NUJ after round 4.

The A-League salary cap has spawned much controversy in the close season with champions Melbourne Victory unable to re-sign star midfielder Fred due to an offer from Major League Soccer club DC United that is reportedly worth three times the amount the Victory can afford to pay him. As well as this, Sydney FC have been unsuccessful in signing ex-Liverpool FC striker, Robbie Fowler because the club could not offer as much money as other English clubs. [cite news |url=http://www.a-league.com.au/default.aspx?s=hal_newsdisplay&id=18545 |title=Sydney FC misses out on Fowler |date=2007-06-20 |accessdate=2007-09-14 |publisher=Football Federation Australia]

On March 19 2007, it was confirmed that a bid from Wellington, New Zealand, later to be announced as ALeague WP, would be replacing the ALeague NZK for the 2007-08 season. [cite news |url=http://www.a-league.com.au/default.aspx?s=newsdisplay&id=7283&pageid=11 |title=NZ franchise for A-League |publisher=Football Federation Australia] cite news |url=http://www.news.com.au/heraldsn/story/0,21985,21463845-2883,00.html |title=NZ Phoenix to rise in A League |date=2007-03-28 |publisher=News.com.au |accessdate=2007-03-28] FFA granted New Zealand Football a three year license to stay in the competition in partnership with a Wellington-based consortium.cite news |url=http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,8659,21407148-5000940,00.html |title=Kiwis alive as Townsville pulls pin |date=2007-03-19 |publisher=Fox Sports |accessdate=2007-03-19]

Squad sizes were increased from 20 players to 23 players for the 2007-08 season. [cite news |url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/soccer/the-time-is-right-to-go-into-the-refs-book/2006/12/30/1166895525216.html |title=The time is right to go into the ref's book |publisher=The Age |date=2006-12-31 |accessdate=2007-01-24]

Going into round 21 of the season, four clubs (Sydney FC, Central Coast Mariners, Newcastle Jets and Queensland Roar) were all on equal points, the first such occurrence in Australian football history (including AFL, NRL and Super 14). Central Coast and Newcastle won their matches and Central Coast were crowned Premiers after Queensland failed to beat Adelaide in their final match. As well as winning the Premier's Plate, Central Coast also qualified for the AFC Champions League 2009. Sydney FC qualified for the Pan-Pacific Championship 2008 when they lost the minor semi-final.

On February 24 2008, ALeague NUJ became 2007-08 Champions when they defeated Central Coast 1-0 in front of over 35,000 people at Sydney Football Stadium. Mark Bridge was the goalscorer for the Jets, and Andrew Durante was awarded the Joe Marston Medal, in the tough contest between the F3 rivals.

2008-09 season

The 2008-09 season will see the introduction of both a seven-team Youth Leaguecite news|url=http://www.a-league.com.au/default.aspx?s=hal_newsdisplay&id=21676|title=National Youth League to start in August|date=2008-03-05|accessdate=2008-05-27|publisher=A-League] and an eight-team women's league known as the W-Leaguecite news|url=http://au.fourfourtwo.com/news/73143,spring-date-for-girls-aleague.aspx|title=Spring date for Girl's A-League|date=2008-04-03|accessdate=2008-05-27|publisher=FourFourTwo] [cite web|url=http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/InsideFFA/default.aspx?s=insideffa_newsfeatures_newsitem&id=22966|title=Women in a league of their own|date=2008-07-28|publisher=Football Federation Australia] which will run parallel to the A-League season. The season will also include breaks for FIFA match days for the first time.

2009-10 season

The 2009-10 season will see expansion beyond the original size of the A-League from eight teams to ten. The two new licenses were awarded to Gold Coast United FC, backed by Australia's fourth richest man Clive Palmer, and North Queensland FC, backed by local businessman Don Matheson.

Format

Pre-Season Cup

A Pre-Season Cup is held in August, as a precursor to the main season. In the Pre-Season Cup, the eight teams are placed into two groups. Each team plays the others in the group once over three rounds.

Beginning in 2006, an additional bonus round is then held, with each team playing a cross-over match with a team from a different group. In addition to the standard points (3 for a win, 1 for a draw), there are special bonus points on offer for the bonus round matches:
* 1 bonus point for 2 goals scored by a team,
* 2 bonus points for 3 goals scored by a team, or
* 3 bonus points for 4 or more goals scored by a team. [cite news |url=http://www.a-league.com.au/default.aspx?s=newsdisplay&id=3830 |title=Pre-Season Cup to go Regional |date=2006-05-01]

This format was edited for the 2007 competition. The bonus round was removed, and the bonus points system introduced into each of the first three rounds.

All eight teams then enter a knock-out round, culminating in the final in late August.

The FFA has indicated that, if successful, the bonus points system may be used in the main league season from the 2007-08 season. [cite news |url=http://www.theworldgame.com.au/home/index.php?pid=st&cid=73590 |title=New and old for Kossie (see Matt Carroll interview section) |date=2006-07-25] this did not happen though and the FFA has chosen to stick with the more traditional season format of3 points for a win1 for a draw0 points for a loss

Regular season

The regular season runs mainly during the Australian summer, from late August to January of the following year. The competition consists of 21 home-and-away rounds, with each team playing each other team three times – twice at one team's home stadium and once at the other's. The teams which are allotted two home matches against an opponent in one season are allotted one home match against that opponent in the following season. Each match sees the winning team awarded three competition points, or in the case of a draw, the teams receive one point each. At the end of the season, the teams are ranked firstly in terms of competition points accumulated, then goal difference, total goals scored, head-to-head records between tying teams and finally the number of cards each team has received. [cite web |url=http://www.a-league.com.au/default.aspx?s=rules |title=Hyundai A-League > Rules |work=A-League.com.au |accessmonthday=3 November |accessyear=2006] The club at the top of this ladder is crowned A-League Premiers, and as of the 2006 — 07 season, will be entered into the AFC Champions League.cite news |url=http://www.a-league.com.au/default.aspx?s=newsdisplay&id=3823 |title=Grand Final rematch to open HAL season |work=A-League.com.au |date=May 1, 2006 |accessdate=2006-11-03]

At the completion of the Regular Season teams are ranked from one through eight with the first four teams progressing to the finals series. The position of each team is determined by the highest number of points accumulated during the Regular Season. If two or more teams are level on points accumulated, the following criteria are applied, in order, until one of the teams can be determined as the higher ranked:
# Highest goal difference;
# Highest number of goals scored;
# Highest number of points accumulated in matches between the teams concerned;
# Highest goal difference in matches between the teams concerned;
# Highest number of goals scored in matches between the teams concerned;
# Lowest number of red cards accumulated;
# Lowest number of yellow cards accumulated;
# Toss of a coin.

Finals series

The top four-ranked teams at the end of the regular season are entered into a finals series based on the Page playoff system, where the first round of matches consists of two legs (with ties decided by the away goals rule). The top two ranked teams play the Major Semi-Final, with the winner progressing straight to and hosting the Grand Final. On the same weekends, the third and fourth ranked teams contest the Minor Semi-Final, which sees the losing side eliminated whilst the winner plays off against the loser of the Major Semi-Final in the Preliminary Final the following weekend. The winner of this match also progresses to the Grand Final, the winner of which becomes A-League Champions. As of the 2006 — 07 season, this team will also contest the AFC Champions League, although if the team that wins the Premiership goes through to Grand Final then the runners-up in the Grand Final are awarded the second spot in the competition, win or lose.

Promotion

The A-League logo, designed by Coast Design Sydney, is a three-dimensional sphere in the shape of a football. The two-toned ochre colours represent the sun, earth and desert while the 'glow' emanating from the centre of the logo depicts the playing season's Spring and Summer time span. The eight 'A' figures that make up the ball shape represent the eight foundation clubs. [cite news |title=Logo signals refreshing new era |url=http://www.a-league.com.au/default.aspx?s=newsdisplay&id=616 |date=2004-11-01 |accessdate=2006-12-19]

At the start of the inaugural season, an AU$3 million dollar advertising campaign was launched, with the television and film advertisements produced by Ridley Scott's production company. The theme for the campaign was: "Football, but not as you know it".

A new television advertisement was created for the start of the 2007-08 season, which debuted on Foxtel's program, Total Football. It was filmed at Bob Jane Stadium in Melbourne. The theme of the current campaign is "90 minutes, 90 emotions". [cite news |url=http://au.fourfourtwo.com/news/58536,aleague-ad-hits-the-screens.aspx |title=New A-League ad hits the screens |date=2007-08-09 |publisher=FourFourTwo |accessdate=2008-01-06]

The A-League has been featured in the FIFA series by EA SPORTS since the 2007 edition of the game, as well as the Football Manager series by SI Games and the Championship Manager series by Beautiful Game Studios. [cite news |title=Hyundai A-League To Feature in FIFA 08 Video Game |url=http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/InsideFFA/default.aspx?s=insideffa_newsfeatures_newsitem&id=18867 |date=2007-08-20 |accessdate=2007-08-21]

Clubs

There are currently eight clubs from Australia and New Zealand playing in the A-League. Only three of these clubs, ALeague AU, ALeague NUJ (previously known just as Newcastle United) Fact|date=September 2008 and ALeague PG existed before the A-League was formed.

Unlike most European leagues, there is no system for promotion and relegation of teams (although FFA is planning to release a report in late 2008 on how a second division would be implemented. [cite news|url=http://sportal.com.au/football-news-display/a-league-to-undergo-revamp-49441|tile=A-League to undergo revamp|date=2008-05-30|accessdate=2008-06-14|publsher=Sportal] ) nor a national knockout cup competition along the lines of the FA Cup. The A-League system thus shares some franchising elements with most other professional leagues in Australia, as well as Major League Soccer and other major sports leagues in North America.

On March 19 2007, it was confirmed that a Wellington based franchise would be replacing the ALeague NZK for the 2007-08 season. The name of ALeague WP was announced on March 28.

Other venues used by A-League clubs include:

Champions and premiers

The "Premier" is the team at the top of the league table at the end of the regular season although the common term for this type of competition in Australia is "minor premier". Media reports sometimes erroneously refer to the Premiers as minor premier. The "Champion" is the team that wins the Grand Final. [cite web |url=http://www.a-league.com.au/default.aspx?s=newsdisplay&id=2747&pageid=12 |title=Australia's finest designers in trophy challenge |date=2005-12-19 |publisher=Football Federation Australia |accessdate=2006-11-29]

Reebok Golden Boot

The Reebok Golden Boot is presented to the player who scores the most goals during the season. Only regular Hyundai A-League matches between Round 1 and Round 21 are included.

Fair Play Award

The Fair Play Award will go to the team with the lowest points on the fair play ladder at the conclusion of the home and away season (Yellow Card = 1 point, Direct Red Card = 3 points, 2nd Caution Red Card = 2 points).

Zurich Referee of the Year

TV Coverage

The Hyundai A-League, being a relatively minor league internationally, only has a small broadcast base, compared to the giant European competitions such as the FA Premier League or Serie A. The countries where the A-League is shown are mostly other Commonwealth nations, which have a larger than normal base of Australian immigrants.

* Australia - Fox Sports (live coverage & highlights)
* New Zealand - Sky Sports NZ (live coverage & highlights)
* United States - Fox Soccer Channel (1 game + highlights)
* Hong Kong - I-Cable (1 game per week + highlights)
* Canada - Fox Sports World (highlights)
* United Kingdom - Sky Sports (highlights)

The A-league is now more available to the world if you get a subscription to [http://www.the-afc.tv The-Afc.tv] website streaming live games international into countries that did not previously have any coverage. The website is officially partnered with the AFC and streams live games from different leagues and tournaments from the Asian region

Rivalries

Although there are no local derbies, due to the league's one-city one-team policy, many 'rivalries' have formed between A-League sides:

Major Rivalries
* "ALeague SFC v ALeague MV": The clash between Australia's two biggest cities is considered the biggest rivalry in the league by both sets of fans. Sydney and Melbourne have been historical rivals for over a century, and their football teams are no exception. The rivalry between Sydney FC and Melbourne Victory has become arguably the most bitter in the A League, with almost every match between the two teams characterised by spiteful confrontations, controversy and consistently record-breaking crowds. There is also an intense rivalry emerging between the supporters of the clubs.
* "ALeague NUJ v ALeague CCM": Labelled the "F3 Derby" by commentators, [cite news |url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/football/fans-steamed-up-for-derby--if-they-get-there/2006/11/10/1162661897396.html |title=Fans steamed up for derby - if they get there |publisher=Sydney Morning Herald |date=2006-11-11 |accessdate=2006-11-12] the two regional clubs, only an hour apart, are also big rivals. Due to their close geographic proximity, the Mariners/Jets rivalry is identified as the closest thing to a true 'local derby' that the league offers.
* "ALeague AU v ALeague MV": Contested the 2006-07 A-League Grand Final, in which Melbourne won 6-0. Also the confrontation with Melbourne's captain Kevin Muscat and Adelaide coach at the time John Kosmina has done nothing to help the situation.

Minor Rivalries
* "ALeague AU v ALeague SFC": The clash between the two most successful teams in the A-League's inaugural year (Adelaide the Premiership and Sydney the Championship). The finals series between the two teams was explosive and led to the establishment of a rivalry between the clubs.
* "ALeague NUJ v ALeague SFC": "(NSW Derby)" Newcastle have never beaten Sydney in the regular season since 2005. The rivalry between these teams was originally mild, with most Newcastle supporters more concerned with the Central Coast and most Sydney supporters more concerned with Melbourne. However, the on-field rivalry reached explosive levels in the 2006-2007 Minor Semi-Final, especially in the second leg in Newcastle, where Alex Brosque was sent off and the ensuing arguments led to Iain Fyfe falling over after being tapped by Jade North. [cite news |url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/Sport/Jets-down-Sydney-FC-in-night-of-spite/2007/02/02/1169919535736.html |title=Jets down Sydney FC in night of spite |publisher=Sydney Morning Herald |date=2007-02-02 |accessdate=2006-02-04] Sydney won all 3 encounters in the 2007/08 season.
* "ALeague CCM v ALeague SFC": "(NSW Derby)" Although not the most intense rivalry in the competition, there is still a history that adds an element of importance for the fans in this fixture. ALeague SFC beat the ALeague CCM in the inaugural A-League grand final in 2005. Due to this it is considered by the fans as the grudge match of the A-League. The ALeague CCM supporters "(The Marinators)" take great pride in beating ALeague SFC, and Sydney supporters "(The Cove)" take great pleasure in reminding them of the score in the final. This rivalry intensified after Round 15 of the 2007-08 season, where Central Coast were beaten at home 5-4. Two of Central Coast's players were sent off, the second being in the 94th minute for a handball in the penalty area which gave Sydney FC a penalty that won the match in the last play of the game.

References

External links

* [http://www.a-league.com.au/ A-League official website]
* [http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/ Football Federation Australia]
* [http://www.theworldgame.com.au/a-league/ SBS The World Game A-League section]
* [http://www.foxsports.com.au/football/aleague/ FOX Sports Australia A-League section]
* [http://www.oztifo.com/ A-League active support]