Football Federation Australia have released the draw for the Hyundai A-League 2013/14 Season with 27 Rounds of action set to kick off on 11 October 2013.
Football Federation Australia have released the draw for the Hyundai A-League 2013/14 Season with 27 Rounds of action set to kick off on 11 October 2013.
Click here to download a copy of the 2013/14 Hyundai A-League draw.
For the first time ever, the Hyundai A-League will go all the way through until May with the Hyundai A-League 2014 Grand Final set to close out the season on 4 May 2014.
In another first, this season the Hyundai A-League will be broadcast on free-to-air television when the first of the weekly Friday night matches is broadcast live into homes on SBS2 and Fox Sports from 7.30pm.
Kicking off the season in an action packed opening weekend will be last season-s all time highest rating regular season match, Sydney FC v Newcastle Jets.
On Saturday a Grand Final rematch between Hyundai A-League 2013 Champions the Central Coast Mariners against the Hyundai A-League 2013 Premiers Plate winners Western Sydney Wanderers before the Melbourne Derby later in the evening. And on Sunday, Wellington Phoenix will take on Brisbane Roar before Adelaide United and Perth Glory go head-to-head.
Fox Sports will for the ninth straight season show all matches of the Hyundai A-League 2013/14 Season and Hyundai A-League 2014 Finals Series exclusively live, with Friday nights shared with SBS2 at 7.30pm. The broadcast on free-to-air television will give the Hyundai A-League an even wider audience, expanding Australian football to more football fans around Australia than ever before.
FFA CEO David Gallop has praised the creation of the draw as an example of cooperation in building a dynamic draw for all fans of the game.
“This season-s draw has been crafted to ensure that whether you are an avid supporter of a team or the many new fans discovering the Hyundai A-League there is always something to look forward to in every round of the 2013/14 competition,” Gallop said.
“This season will also see the competition fight for more turf with the Hyundai A-League 2014 Grand Final set to take place on 4 May.”
With the introduction of one match a week being shown live on free-to-air television the Hyundai A-League is set to get even bigger.
“For the first time we will have Hyundai A-League action on both subscription and free-to-air television which can only be a good thing for the greater growth of the sport in Australia,” continued Gallop.
“Fox Sports and SBS coverage of the Hyundai A-League will allow for football to continue its sharp growth trend. Reaching a wider audience meaning more fans can get closer to the action than ever before at our fantastic venues or via our television, radio and digital properties.”
All 135 matches will be broadcast exclusively live on FOX SPORTS with the Friday night match now broadcast simultaneously on SBS2 at the regular slot of 7.30pm AET.
This season, Hyundai A-League matches will also be broadcast into China, Italy, the US, UK, Hong Kong, Singapore and Myanmar as well as international live streaming of all matches by Perform.
To coincide with the release of the Hyundai A-League 2013/14 Season Draw, FFA has welcomed the fact that long-term naming right-s partner, Hyundai, has extended their grassroots partnership that will see Hyundai increase their support of Australian grassroots football.
The opening match of the Hyundai A-League 2013/14 Season will kick off on Friday night, 11 October, at Allianz Stadium.
Hyundai A-League 2013/14 Snapshot:
– Hyundai A-League 2013/14 Season to kick off with last season-s record regular season TV audience (164,000) match when Alessandro Del Piero-s Sydney FC hosts Emile Heskey-s Newcastle Jets
– First ever match on free-to-air television on SBS
– Round 1 to also feature the Melbourne derby and a Grand Final rematch
– A series of major derby / rivalry matches distributed over the course of the season
* Melbourne derby – Rounds 1, 11, and 21
* Sydney derby – Rounds 3, 14, and 22
* Big Blue – Rounds 5, 16, and 25
* F3 derby – Round 4, 16, and 23
* Melbourne Victory v Adelaide United – Rounds 2, 7, and 20
* Combined, these matches fall in Rounds 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 11, 14, 16, 20, 21, 22, 23, and 25
– Huge holiday calendar with 16 matches over 18 days (19 December to 5 January), inclusive of matches on Boxing Day, New Year-s Eve, and New Year-s Day
* Note: The Round 6 match between the Central Coast Mariner and Wellington Phoenix is postponed from the original round 6 weekend (due to FIFA World Cup play-off for New Zealand and impact on Wellington Phoenix roster) and will take place on Thursday 19 December 2013 (kicking off that holiday run)
– Big Blue on Sunday afternoon of the Australia Day weekend
