The 2018/19 Season has been huge for the Hyundai A-League: We’ve had Keisuke Honda raise the benchmark for marquees; Adam Le Fondre become the fastest player to reach 10 league goals; and we saw the first player break the 300 appearance mark in Andrew Durante.
The open competition has served up a treat for all, making it one of the tightest seasons in memory. Four points separates three teams at the top as Perth Glory and Melbourne Victory look to thwart Sydney FC’s pursuit of a third successive Hyundai A-League Premiership.
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And, as our stats suggest, we aren’t the only ones stoked about the 2018/19, either.
There are currently 119,476 members of Hyundai A-League clubs which broke last season’s record of 118,500. Remarkably, the 2017/18 Season broke the previous record, too, meaning the Hyundai A-League has gone back-to-back in breaking membership records.
Leading this rise has been the Newcastle Jets, whose impressive run to last year’s Grand Final saw their membership numbers rise by 33% on last year.
Close behind them has been Brisbane Roar’s membership numbers, up 30% on last year.
Marco Kurz’s tenure as Adelaide United coach has brought success on and off the pitch for the Reds. Having won the FFA Cup 2018 Grand Final, and falling short the year before, Adelaide’s membership numbers have risen by 18%.
The boys from the west have been making some splashes across the Hyundai A-League, too. A new CEO in the form of Tony Pignata, the recruitment of Tony Popovic and an early unbeaten run to the season have seen Perth Glory’s figures improve by 11%.
With year-on-year improvements for the past two seasons, and a new team entering the Hyundai A-League for the 2019/20 Season, how far can we go?