The HUGE fail that prompted A-League to make $10million deal to sell its grand finals to Sydney

A lack of subscriptions from A-League fans for Paramount+ is the reason why grand finals for the next three years will be played in Sydney, it has been reported.

Last season, a five-year, $200million broadcast deal was signed with Network 10 and Paramount+ – but a key clause in the contract revealed a certain number of subscriptions for A-League coverage on Paramount+ was integral.

Once those targets were not met, the flow-on effect saw less money passed onto the A-League and its clubs – leaving Australian Professional Leagues CEO Danny Townsend to chase a deal worth at least $10million with Destination NSW, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.

When Townsend announced the deal on Monday, many football fans, players and clubs were blindsided.

The backlash has been severe, with supporters from Melbourne City and Melbourne Victory planning to walk out of this weekend’s derby at AAMI Park in protest.

A lack of subscriptions from A-League fans for Paramount+ is the reason why grand finals for the next three years will be played in Sydney – it left APL boss Danny Townsend scrambling for a new deal, which he struck with Destination NSW

Adelaide United skipper Craig Goodwin appeared in a video promoting the deal with Destination NSW in the aftermath of the decision, but didn’t support the outcome

Sydney FC’s main supporter group, The Cove, have announced they won’t attend this Saturday’s match versus the Central Coast Mariners, while their fans based at Gosford on the NSW central coast will boycott finals series games for the next three seasons.

Brisbane fans have also pledged to stage a protest on December 23 when they host the Wanderers at Kayo Stadium in Redcliffe – and Melbourne Victory chairman Anthony Di Pietro this week stepped down as a director of the APL following the Sydney grand final announcement.

However, not all the clubs were opposed to the deal with Destination NSW.

Western Sydney Wanderers chairman Paul Lederer, who also heads up the APL board, conceded the commercial reality for football in Australia is confronting and applauded Townsend for thinking outside the square.

‘We have just experienced two of the worst years in the history of football due to the impacts of the global pandemic,’ a statement from Lederer this week read.

‘This unprecedented global event (Covid-19) has affected our community as a whole and decimated the livelihood of professional football clubs.

‘This grand final agreement creates a necessary step towards ensuring our game has a sustainable future. 

Broadcaster Lucy Zelic has blasted the A-League, stating they have ‘sold their soul’ by taking $10million from the NSW Government so Sydney holds the competition’s men’s and women’s grand finals until 2025

Fans from Adelaide United and Brisbane (both teams pictured) will have to fork out for flights and accommodation to see the grand final in Sydney for at least the next three years if their teams are in the decider

‘The APL board decision is for the benefit of every club in the League.’

Adelaide United skipper Craig Goodwin appeared in a video promoting the three-year deal with Destination NSW in the aftermath of the decision – but didn’t support the outcome.

‘When they were doing the filming, there were two questions that I was asked and one of them I refused to answer,’ the Socceroos star in Qatar told Channel 10.

‘The other question was about what grand finals can do for Australian players.

‘The question (I refused to answer) was, ‘why do you support this initiative by the APL and the DNSW?’ and I didn’t want to answer that question because I didn’t support it.

‘I believe that it’s not in the best interest of the fans.’

Socceroos star Craig Goodwin lashed out at the decision to hold the Grand Final in Sydney until at least 2025

An all-Sydney A-League grand final (both teams pictured) would be a promoter’s dream – but selling a decider in the Harbour City between two interstate teams won’t be easy for a competition already struggling with low crowd numbers

Fans are worried about rows of empty seats at the grand finals if no Sydney teams are participating (pictured, the crowd at last Saturday’s clash between Western Sydney Wanderers and Wellington Phoenix in Wollongong)

For many football fans across the nation, their gripe with the APL was the lack of consultation.

Since the A-League started in 2005, clubs have needed to earn the right to host the grand final based on how they performed in the finals series.

Essentially emulating the NRL (Sydney) and AFL (Melbourne) grand final models has taken away one of the competition’s most attractive selling points.

The proof has seen many capital cities host the A-League grand final, including Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, Sydney and Brisbane.

Newcastle, north of Sydney, was the venue for the decider in 2018, with an attendance of almost 30,000 fans, which was close to capacity.