Delaying 12th licence is riskier than granting it

Delaying 12th licence is riskier than granting it

Michael Cockerill
August 26, 2009

THE A-League will grow to 12 teams next year, when Australia's two biggest cities each get a second team. While other sports remain hesitant to expand in a difficult economic climate, Frank Lowy made it clear in an interview with the Herald at the weekend that Football Federation Australia would not be getting ''cold feet''. Trouble is, while their feet may not be cold, they seem to be carrying plenty of lead.

The consortium behind Melbourne's second team was effectively given its licence 12 months ago. But the bids from western Sydney still don't know their fate. For the third meeting in a row the FFA board has stepped away from making a decision. Ideally, the two new teams would be competing on a level playing field, but they're not. In terms of preparation, Melbourne is approaching the home straight before Sydney is even out of the blocks. If expansion is to be orderly and sustainable, then the FFA's hourglass has run out.

Quite why it's so hard to make a call on western Sydney is anyone's guess. A process that has been ongoing for about 18 months has allegedly produced three bids. The word is only one, that constructed by colourful businessman Joe Meissner, has substance. It has bricks and mortar, a board of high-quality suits and - most important of all - enough money. Supposedly, this is the bid now backed by management. Yet the board still hasn't budged. Meissner's controversial past does make some inside the boardroom at College Street uncomfortable, but not necessarily the man that matters most, Lowy. So what's the hold up?

If it's not to be Meissner then you would think it should be one of the other two bids - one of which is fronted, but not financed, by Socceroos skipper Lucas Neill. And if not one of those two then surely it should be Canberra, which ticks all the boxes and has done everything asked of it. The FFA has long made it clear that, for strategic reasons, it wants western Sydney served before the national capital. But what it doesn't want, in a fraught economic environment, is to end up empty-handed. Constantly delaying a decision runs the risk of scaring off investors and if that happens the A-League suddenly doesn't look so robust. With the fate of the World Cup bid to be decided next year, Australia's showpiece competition needs to be in showroom condition.

Of course, the FFA is right to be cautious and prudent. But what is clear from the brief history of the A-League is that no matter how many checks and balances are carried out, there are no guarantees. The competition has already lost one club, New Zealand Knights, and there have been cash-flow problems of varying degrees at a host of other clubs. Even two-time champions Melbourne Victory struggled to find enough backers in season one.

The point being, the awarding of every licence comes with a leap of faith. So it's as much about timing as anything else. The FFA delayed the inclusion of Gold Coast United and North Queensland Fury by 12 months and it may have cost the competition some momentum. Now, having made it abundantly clear it wants a 12-team competition in 2010 - a target that suits two key objectives of a World Cup bid and extra places in the Asian Champions League - the FFA is dithering again.

So far, the FFA has got a hell of a lot more right than wrong in building the A-League. But Lowy is not the type to rest on his laurels. Let's hope taking too long to award a licence to western Sydney is not it's first big mistake.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/sport/football/delaying-12th-licence-is-riskier-than-granting-it/2009/08/25/1251001901517.html

mike cockerill

that article reaks of hidden agenda with the whole talking up meissners bid.

Half of that article is crap

I think it's fairly accurate.. Meissner's bid would be the favoured but what I gather from this is the possibility that only Melbourne Heart would get in.. is that possible?? could they just let the second melbourne team in?? as for Canberra I still think we are an outside chance

im sick of mick cockerill

JohnLovesCanberraUnited wrote:im sick of mick cockerill

FFS. Mike Cockerill is giving everyone in Australia the sh*ts- even the crew of Fox Sports FC.

Also, I would be very scared if the FFA accept the Meissner bid. If the 12th team is to come from Western Sydney, I would hope it would be Lucas Neill's.

What's the history behind Meissner?

Here is an article from the Brisbane Times on Meissner.
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/articles/2009/04/21/1240079671060.html

He stole machine guns from a defence base and then did time for it.

Yes, and "the love-boat scandal" allegedly involved him trying to curry favour from poli's including the then Senator Graham Richardson by suppling them with a boat-load of prostitutes.

JohnLovesCanberraUnited wrote:im sick of mick cockerill

arent we all