Welcome to The A League
Posted by Jasper Reed in A-League | 4 February 2006
…….you join us just as the first season of the A League is about to start it’s finals series. There is much to talk about, but this summary of the of the story so far will bring you up to speed (honestly, we were only killing time ‘til you got here, anyway…)
So, what’s it all about then?
Australian Football has undergone a major revolution. The unloved National Soccer League (NSL) has been replaced by a bright, shiny new one based on the likes of the Japanese J League and K League in Korea. Cryptically, the new league is called the ‘A League’. Meanwhile, Soccer Australia is now called Football Australia (but the national team is still the Socceroos), Australia has joined the Asia Confederation and, having qualified for the World Cup for the first time since 1974, interest in the game is at unprecedented levels.
What is the format of the A League?
The 8 teams play 21 rounds of home and away, before the top 4-teams contest the finals. At first, a straight home and away system was suggested, but it was rightly considered that a 14 game league was little more than an extended exhibition tournament. So each team now plays each other 3 times. This creates an imbalance of home and away between the sides, but this is not uncommon in Australian sport. In Aussie Rules, for example, the 16 clubs play 22 home and away rounds, so teams play some opponents once and others twice.
It is generally accepted that the ideal number of teams in the A League would be 12, giving a 22 game season before the finals. Growth is anticpated in future years.
Finals are an Aussie must. Even in state cricket, a 6-team contest, the top 2 still fight it out in a showpiece (i.e., lucrative for the governing body) final. This leads to some injustices of major proportions, but lets draw a veil over that for now…
The top 4 after round 21 of the ‘minor’ league advance to the finals. The format is:
Major Semi Final; 1st v 2nd (2 legs, Winner advances to Grand Final, loser to Preliminary Final)
Minor Semi Final; 3rd v 4th (2 legs, winner to Preliminary Final, loser eliminated. Are you following this?)
Preliminary Final (1 game at the ground of losing Major Semi Final loser. Winner of this game goes to Grand Final, loser eliminated)
Grand Final (1 game between…have you been paying attention…Winner of Major Semi Final v Winner of Preliminary Final)
The final will be played at the ground of the winning Major Semi Finalist’s choosing on March 4th.
Adelaide United secured up the Minor Premiership, i.e., finishing top after the home and away season, with 3 rounds to go. Syndey FC, Newcastle United and the Central Coast Mariners rounded out the top 4 before the last round of the season leaving Perth Glory, Queensland Roar, Melbourne Victory and New Zealand Jets to plan for next year.
