Tasmania United

Football is un-Australian – why are you trying to sell it here?

It is a common misconception that, because it is not Australia’s national sport and a large proportion of passionate football supporters are of European or South American origin, that the game is one for foreigners and not Australians.  In reality, there are more registered footballers in Australia than the other three major codes combined (AFL, rugby league and rugby union).  These statistics are equally true within Tasmania.  Also, the first recorded football match in Australia took place way back in 1880 – that makes the game in this country 128 years old.  Football may not have been the most successful sport in Australia and it traditionally may not have received the same kind of media exposure as the other codes, but it is as much a part of Australian culture as barbecues, corked hats and Waltzing Matilda.

I prefer AFL – why should I back this campaign ahead of that one?

Another popular misconception is that a Tasmanian A-League bid is a rival to the AFL bid.  This is not the case.  The two campaigns can co-exist because the sports do not actually clash.  AFL is a winter sport, running from March through to September.  The A-League begins in August and the finals finish in March.  There is almost no overlap. There is no reason why the public should not support either or both ventures.  An A-League bid does have one thing in its favour though – it is far more realistic and achievable as it can be run on around 20% of the resources of an AFL club.

I don’t like football – what’s in it for me?

A Tasmanian A-League franchise would put a lot back into the Tasmanian community.  As well as widespread publicity for the State and the sponsors, the club will be driven by a fierce commitment to the community.  It will also encourage our elite young sportsmen and women to pursue football as a realistic long term goal, with the A-League, National Youth League and Women’s teams all providing potential opportunities for talented players to develop and progress.  Our Club Charter confirms our commitment to the Tasmanian community.

Even if the bid is successful, how can the club possibly hope to compete with the bigger clubs?

Bigger clubs and even bigger budgets do not necessarily mean more success.  A quick look into the short history of the A-League shows that, with the exception of the New Zealand teams, all the other clubs have played finals football.  The bigger budgets might be able to land big marquee players, but the distribution of quality players throughout the smaller clubs means all are competitive.  We can take heart from the success of the Central Coast Mariners – a region with a similar demographic to Tasmania.  Even the more remote teams, like Perth Glory and the New Zealand clubs have been able to attract a procession of quality players, such as former Socceroos Stan Lazaridis, Hayden Foxe, Shaun Murphy, Damien Mori, Bobby Despotovski, Jon McKain, Ahmad Elrich and Richard Johnson, promising youngsters like Troy Hearfield, Nikloai Topor-Stanley, Nikita Rukavytsya and Jimmy Downey, and successful imports like Daniel, Filipe, Leilei Gao and Eugene Dadi. 
Furthermore, the club is already working hard to establish scouting networks across the world to ensure we do everything we can to bring quality to this club.  There is no reason to be concerned that Tasmania United will not be able to attract quality players and build a competitive team.

How can I help?

Register your support  and maybe refer a friend or two.  The more people sign up, the stronger our support becomes.  It’s that easy.  Keep an eye out for future membership opportunities and for merchandise that will help people to be more visible in their support.

Where will the club be based?

Initially, the club plans to rotate home matches between the north and south of the State.  In the north, Aurora Stadium is an obvious choice, having successfully hosted many national and international sporting events, including football.  In the south of the State, options continue to be assessed.  North Hobart and Bellerive are obvious choices but the Taskforce is considering a variety of short and longer term options.