Australia, considered by some the world’s greatest sporting nation, is to have another go at setting up a soccer league and getting a team into the World Cup.
The A-League, launched in Sydney on Monday, has eight teams — one of them the Auckland Kingz from New Zealand.
Australia are serial champions at cricket and both the rugby codes, but soccer has struggled to get even a single league together or provide a livelihood for more than a handful of players. The last time Australia qualified for the World Cup was in 1974.
The formation of the A-League signals a return to Australia for former England and Australia coach Terry Venables. He will take charge of Newcastle United. Venables (61) has coached Leeds United, Tottenham Hotspur and Middlesbrough and was also in charge of Barcelona, the Spanish city where he picked up his ”El Tel” nickname.
Speaking at the launch of the competition, which will have Korean giant Hyundai as a naming rights sponsor, Australian Soccer Association chairperson Frank Lowy said: ”It’s a red-letter day for soccer in Australia today.”
Lowy, the billionaire shopping-mall mogul who heads listed Westfield, said the new league is just the start of what will probably be ”a decade-long effort to get the game on a sound footing on all levels”.
He flagged the possibility of more teams and a possible expansion into Asia.
The clubs will operate within a salary cap, but will each be allowed one player whose salary will not be included in the cap.
Clubs will be required to have three players under 21 years old on their books. — Sapa-DPA