Australian football fans have received more positive news this afternoon, with Football Australia and the Association of Australian Football Clubs confirming that there were positive and productive talks surrounding the creation of a National Second Division.
A statement from Football Australia read:
“Football Australia held a meeting with the Association of Australian Football Clubs (AAFC) and a number of representative clubs from around Australia on Thursday 26 August as part of a consultation to discuss the objectives and vision for a National Second Tier, commercial and financial modelling considerations, the Domestic Match Calendar and access to and from a proposed national second tier.”
With James Johnson and other senior executives present, the FA said that they “welcomed the opportunity to hear directly from the clubs on some of their views on these considerations and look forward to having more detailed discussions in the coming months as we move the conceptual discussions towards practical ones.”
In another statement, the AAFC echoed these sentiments, stating that a “very productive and collaborative meeting” had taken place between the two groups in regards to the development of a National Second Tier.
“We are committed to helping FA in its development of the right model for the game’s long term benefit. The positive relationship and engagement between FA and clubs augurs well for the ongoing unification of our game.” The AAFC statement concluded.
With a planned 2022/2023 commencement date, variations and iterations of the NSD have been proposed with a potential expanded NPL finals series floated as a possibility.
Progress will be bound to be welcomed by the Australian footballing fraternity, with an integrated pyramid including the introduction of the domestic match calendar illustrating the need for the game to be aligned within Australia.
