Ahead of the Isuzu UTE A-League season starting on Friday night, Australian Professional Leagues Chief Executive Danny Townsend has a message for A-Leagues fans.
Dear Fellow Fans,
Like you, I cannot wait to get into the stands this weekend for the return of the Isuzu UTE A-League Men. Marquees Nani and Charlie Austin will be making their debuts, there is a return to Allianz Stadium, we have some new signings – Australian and international – with impressive pedigree, our Socceroos contingent have two weeks to make their final audition to be a part of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ and we will get to see Australian football’s hottest property, Garang Kuol, in our own backyard, before he takes on the bright lights of the English Premier League.
We are ready to dive into a season without restrictions, and with a normal fixture list – a season, moreover where we can benefit from and build upon the foundations that have been laid over the last 18-months.
A year ago we set out on our journey to make football the most watchable and entertaining sport in Australia. And then COVID-19 returned, with all the restrictions and effects across society, and suddenly our ambition simply became to complete our season.
Despite the challenges, we did it and we completed the season on time – but having to reschedule half of all our games played havoc for everyone, especially you as the passionate supporters of our teams. We felt your frustration, and the difficulties it caused and have been listening to and taking on board your feedback.
Moving forward, at the heart of our strategy is making football more accessible and easier to connect with, whether you want to go to games, watch the highlights on your phone or read about our fantastic players. Our KEEPUP digital platform, launched last year, will this year be home to even more brand new and original content, including A-Leagues All Access, a groundbreaking weekly documentary series giving never seen before access to teams, players and the league as a whole. We are also launching a brand new ‘goal rush’ style studio show for the Liberty A-League Women, meaning that fans can follow simultaneous games in an innovative format every week.
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Our partnership with Paramount ANZ means that original content from our leagues has access to a huge and growing platform – Paramount+ was the fastest growing streaming service last year – and we have already launched a Sydney FC documentary on Paramount+ with more announcements to come. Necessary improvements to the platform are in the pipeline and should be in place soon. But truly, there has never been so much domestic football content available to Australian football fans.
After three disrupted seasons, our focus is on filling our stadiums. We want to rebuild the fan experience, to get behind our active fans so they can bring their passion and noise and love of football, and show the atmosphere that only football can create.
We have the largest participant base of any sport in Australia, and with two FIFA World Cups in the next year, all eyes are on the success of our national teams. At the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ next month, we are on track towards having the most ever players from the Isuzu UTE A-League Men representing the Socceroos, and every single Matilda was made in the Liberty A-League Women.
The FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023™ that is just months away now represents a once in a generation opportunity for women’s football in this country and we have readied ourselves to realise that potential. We have expanded the Liberty A-League, extended its season, and have a CBA that embeds gender equity for our players. From your point of view, we have made every single Liberty A-League game live and free on Ten Play, as well as on Paramount+. We have also offered free access to every single registered player under 16 to Liberty A-League games all season. We are also the only league in the World that has a Club Championship which recognises the club with the best combined results of its men’s and women’s teams.
Our ambition is clear and simple. We want to connect all fans of football in Australia with the A-Leagues – the A-League Men All Stars game against Barcelona was an indication of the possibilities ahead of us. The essential ingredient that we need to achieve that is the passion that you have for our game and for your team.
Here’s to an unforgettable season of football.
Danny Townsend