It seems expansion is off the table as the FFA are broke. Good one Gallop
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A-LEAGUE hopefuls have vowed to push on, despite Football Federation Australia admitting they can’t afford to expand as they were broke.
Two months after hailing their new TV deal as a “quantum leap for football”, the besieged governing body revealed that adding merely two new teams within six years would incur losses for the A-League.
It’s understood that the $346 million-dollar, six-year deal that FFA trumpeted in December already incorporates moneys that would be paid for expansion and the Free-to-Air component.
The actual deal was $331m, with the expansion and FTA money part of the $15m in bonuses.
After advising clubs that an expansion criteria would be released in February, FFA issued a carefully-worded press release late Tuesday _ the last day of February _ warning that “unsustainable” losses can’t be maintained.
FFA conceded a new funding model was urgently needed, but didn’t detail any plans.
“Analysis of football’s financial position following the conclusion of a new six year broadcasting agreement shows that rapid growth in the game will require significant (sic) more (money),’’ the FFA said.
“The FFA’s analysis found that expanding the A-League by two teams under the current model would result in net losses over the next six years. Such losses are not sustainable.’’
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/football/a-league/aleague-hopefuls-have-vowed-to-push-on-despite-ffa-admitting-they-cant-afford-to-expand/news-story/b6bbd930d366179072e845c88ccfce00
