Sounder-down-Under is a look at the beautiful game from the other side of the world, written by Seattle ex-pat Drew Dickson.
Across the world of FIFA, there are only two domestic leagues that do not have a system of promotion and relegation. Australia’s A-League and the United States’ MLS. In 2008, FIFA made clear that their policy regarding domestic competitions should include capacity for relegation of clubs as well as promotion of those from lower leagues who had performed the best in their competition.
As I have stated previously, with the ethnic makeup of many supporter bases in Australia you bring elements into matches that not everyone is keen on in this format. Seeing that several factors contribute to Australia only having a top flight of ten teams, this means that there is little margin for error. Even now the top eight go into a playoff fixture to decide the season champions, so you have a better chance of making the playoffs than not.
But what this also means is that there is no incentive for teams to perform well after the math eliminates them from the playoff scene. Since there is no draft structure like in the MLS, the only reason to stay off the bottom rung of the ladder is so you can say “At least we didn’t finish in last place!”
This policy did not meet with everyone’s approval. A lone delegate from the United States stood up to argue that for many fledgling leagues would have a hard time gaining investors if there was a prospect of relegation looming above their invested team after a set of bad results for one year. That delegate was shouted down by another representative who pointed out that football was not just about business and money.
And rightly so. But unfortunately football is a business for many investors and the idea of your money or investment slipping out of the top is not something that a lot of businesses would relish every week as their side loses.
So that was FIFA in 2008. Their position has not changed. It might be excusable for Australia to say they were unaware or the full impact of the news had not filtered down to them, but the 2008 FIFA Congress was held in Sydney.
This past year the Football Federation of Australia (FFA) sent out a 106 page proposal known as the Whole Football Plan. Despite relegation/promotion being part of the plan set forth in 2008 by FFA Chairman Frank Lowy and FFA CEO Ben Buckley, there is only a paragraph mention of the concept in the entire document when referencing the future of the A-League:
A-League competition expansion will come as a product of sustainable commercial growth, via a managed process of ‘in and out’ as circumstances arise, rather than a relegation and promotion system based purely on results. This is critical to retain the strategic market placement of clubs which underpins the commercial viability of the league.
Both the MLS and Australia have had issues with clubs that have not been sustainable in the league and for a variety of reasons (there was once a team in Hawaii! How about that for an Away supporter trip!). Look at the likes of Chivas USA or North Queensland Fury. Both clubs left their respective competitions due to not being financially viable after compounding loses on the field caused a drop in ticket sales and revenues. In a promotion/relegation set up, these clubs would drop down a tier and start to rebuild. As they did not have that option you see the clubs fold. Players all of a sudden are without a club they had pledged the next one or two years to in a league has lost a team despite trying to promote more players and teams.
Currently in Australia the Central Coast Mariners have a grand total of 12 points, having lost 16 of the 22 games played so far this season. They are all but assured the bottom of the ladder (the wooden spoon) with ten points separating them from 9th place Wellington Phoenix. There is no fear of coach Tony Walmsley being fired, he can do better next season in the same top flight. The supporters are not pleased, but like MLS supporters, it is a case of “this wasn’t our year, but we will get it next time.” If you look across to England and any of the teams that are hovering around the drop zone, their supporters, staff, coaches, and ownership group are frantic to keep them out of Championship.
This also affects the players. If CCM were threatened with dropping down their play would also pick up to at least threaten Wellington with relegation. But the players are not upping their game with the fear of having to take a pay cut or potentially being traded off due to lack of money made by a club who is not in the top flight.
According to current FFA CEO David Gallop, just days ago, promotion/relegation is not on the agenda. Attempts to bring the National Premier League clubs into better contact with the A-League have been made with the FFA Cup, but the gap between the semi-professional players and professionals will remain.
