Entries Tagged 'Northern Thunder' ↓

Neither the North Queensland Thunder nor the Gold Coast Galaxy will join the A-League in 2008/09. The A-League will remain an 8-team competition for another season.

While the Galaxy’s bid to join looked promising, North Queensland’s efforts at securing a place next season started to crack last week. The Thunder lost the financial backing of Millissa Fischer, without whom their bid just didn’t float. So they were out.

For the Galaxy, who had players and a coach ready to go, the FFA’s decision to scrap expansion for the time being will be disappointing. It will also be disappointing for A-League fans looking forward to a longer season. Continue reading →

The A-League is likely to become a 10-team competition next season, with the Gold Coast Galaxy and Townsville’s Northern Thunder set to join. The new clubs were officially approved by the FFA yesterday, though they are still required to meet certain financial criteria.

It’s good to see the FFA acting progressively to spread the A-League throughout Australia. It’s important for the competition itself to expand beyond the bare bones 8-team format of the first three seasons. New teams bring a new dynamic and a sense of excitement. And they prevent the A-League from becoming stale, something which can happen when teams playing the same narrow band of competitors over and over again.

Presumably, the expansion also promises a longer season, with six additional rounds to be played. Whether this means the A-League starts earlier or ends later, I’m sure fans will be pleased to have an extra month and a half of football to enjoy each year.

What do you think of the A-League expansion?

Source: Northern Expansion for A-League, The Age