AFL Champions League Concept

[MitchellMc8]

Instead of bringing back State of Origin, what if the AFL started a european champions league type tournament which goes for a few weeks throughout the season with the ‘final’ to be played just before the start of the finals series. It would work like this:

• Top 12 Teams from season before qualify for the tournament, the bottom 6 don’t compete.
• They are split into 4 groups, A, B, C & D. The groups would be A: 1st, 5th, 9th. B: 2nd, 6th, 10th. C: 3rd, 7th, 11th. D: 4th, 8th, 12th
• In the group stage each team plays each team in their group once. There would be 3 rounds (1 bye each) which you could space out a month inbetween each round (similar to european soccer).
• 4 points for a win. If game is a draw then they play extra time then golden goal if required.
• The winner of each of the 4 groups goes through to the semi-finals, the rest are eliminated.
• The 4 teams remaining are seeded by how well they went in the group stage (if equal on points, % decides the best team).
• In the semi-finals no.1 seed hosts no.4 seed at their home ground & no.2 seed hosts no.3 seed at their home ground.
• The 2 semi-final winners face off in a final to be played at a random stadium. One idea is that city’s/clubs bid for the right to host the final or the winner from the previous years tournament could host the final?

I may simulate a tournament to give you a better idea of what I mean.

 

[RUNVS]

Would not involve AFL clubs though would it, because the gap between the AFL and lower leagues is so much greater than the gap between soccer competitions and their lower leagues. Hell, a few years ago in the World Cup New Zealand which was a half amateur team competed with some of the most expensive teams in the world and New Zealand held their own.

 

[MitchellMc8]

No, it would be purely for AFL teams only, from 1st to 12th on the ladder from the season before

 

[jatz14]

No, it would be purely for AFL teams only, from 1st to 12th on the ladder from the season before

Why?

Sent from my XT1068 using Tapatalk

 

[Gigantor]

Doesn't really make sense to be honest, the top 8 play off in a finals series at season's end.

 

[eth-dog]

Would only work as a lower league thing.

 

[telsor]

and where are you going to find the 5 weeks required to do this?

 

[MitchellMc8]

and where are you going to find the 5 weeks required to do this?

Make the season 17 rounds, play every team once. Theres an extra 5 weeks

 

[Taylor]

I'd have thought the top two teams from the VFL, WAFL, SANFL and the top side of the NEAFL and TSL etc all play in the competition and then the winning club gets $1,000,000.

The ranking system works in the NFL so they could do that in this to seed the top four clubs to play against the bottom four and knockout to the final.

8 teams, 4 teams, two teams and the final played on tv.

Subiaco v who

 

[BobbyMorri]

It is not in footy's culture to have a 2nd rate cup tournament, not anymore after the pre-season contest died. Couldn't even get the minor leagues to play in one.

our "cup competition"(ala FA Cup, FFA Cup etc) are the finals. sudden death knockout games between the best of the business with a big one-off game at a neutral ground*. Sounds like the UCL to me.

 

[Taylor]

There was a Foxtel Cup before​

 

[Isaac Cumming No 1]

I'd have thought the top two teams from the VFL, WAFL, SANFL and the top side of the NEAFL and TSL etc all play in the competition and then the winning club gets $1,000,000.

The ranking system works in the NFL so they could do that in this to seed the top four clubs to play against the bottom four and knockout to the final.

8 teams, 4 teams, two teams and the final played on tv.

Subiaco v who

I think it has merit in that format, AFL sides definitely not. I'd exclude the AFL reserves sides in the NEAFL at least. Frankly we're not very committed to the comp as such, and it should be a chance for the clubs who are to perhaps play a game in front of a big crowd and television audience.

Hard to exclude all the VFL sides who generally have an affiliation rather than existing solely for the AFL club to develop players.

 

[telsor]

There was a Foxtel Cup before​

and it died because nobody cared.

 

[telsor]

Make the season 17 rounds, play every team once. Theres an extra 5 weeks

and for those 5 weeks, 6 teams sit out? How would you handle the salary cap for that?

Also remember that there would be less money coming in due to having only 13 games over those 5 weeks (rather than 45).

 

[kid_a]

and it died because nobody cared.

Yep, but the AFL did a horrible job at marketing and scheduling for it.
I actually loved the concept and idea and think if they actually ran it properly and did some clever scheduling plus offer a big enough reward for clubs involved it could work.

Eg:
VFL, SANFL, WAFL- top three
NEAFL- top 2
TSL- premiers

So you have 12 teams.
The VFL, SANFL, WAFL and NEAFL premiers get a bye into the 2nd round.
The other 8 clubs contest the first round, the four winners from round 1 go to round two, then its straight KO from there culminating in a final to be played on the pre AFL finals bye week.
Schedule games at the actual home grounds of the clubs involved, and at better times than tuesday 7:30pm.
Maybe have a few Thursday night gamesand also even some weekend clashes if you can sort out byes for the competing clubs in their state leagues for that week.
(North Launceston or the NT thunder hosting Norwood or Box Hill on Thursday night or sunday evening would get a few of the locals out i reckon)

Throw up a big cash rewards for the winners annd there you may just have a decent national 2nd tier comp, that is relatively short in terms of the overall amount of games played (the max amount of games any side will play is four), but can be stretched out with just one game a week being played.

 

[telsor]

Yep, but the AFL did a horrible job at marketing and scheduling for it.
I actually loved the concept and idea and think if they actually ran it properly and did some clever scheduling plus offer a big enough reward for clubs involved it could work.

Eg:
VFL, SANFL, WAFL- top three
NEAFL- top 2
TSL- premiers

So you have 12 teams.
The VFL, SANFL, WAFL and NEAFL premiers get a bye into the 2nd round.
The other 8 clubs contest the first round, the four winners from round 1 go to round two, then its straight KO from there culminating in a final to be played on the pre AFL finals bye week.
Schedule games at the actual home grounds of the clubs involved, and at better times than tuesday 7:30pm.
Maybe have a few Thursday night gamesand also even some weekend clashes if you can sort out byes for the competing clubs in their state leagues for that week.
(North Launceston or the NT thunder hosting Norwood or Box Hill on Thursday night or sunday evening would get a few of the locals out i reckon)

Throw up a big cash rewards for the winners annd there you have you may just have a decent national 2nd tier comp, that is relatively short in terms of the overall amount of games played (the max amount of games any side will play is four), but can be stretched out with just one game a week being played.

Blame the AFL all you want, but you only need to look at the crowds at most VFL/SANFL/WAFL games to realise that there just isn't a lot of support there.

 

[kid_a]

Blame the AFL all you want, but you only need to look at the crowds at most VFL/SANFL/WAFL games to realise that there just isn't a lot of support there.

Decent point.
I guess I believe if you do set up a good comp in the right way then you can draw interest and crowds. Like for the freo derbies on Anzac day and WA day you get good crowds, when NT thunder host finals usually it's the talk of the town and Big SANFL games can get 5000-6000. Itd just be nice to see interest and genuine passion at games away from the AFL.
I think it could work, but am well aware that it may not also.

 

[Kappa]

Make the season 17 rounds, play every team once. Theres an extra 5 weeks

So you're cutting the season 5 weeks short to play a meaningless hit and giggle tournament for 5 weeks with teams that will play each other in the finals anyway

 

[footyfan1978]

You got too much time on your hands and coming up with an idea nobody wants.
The last time I remember an in season comp outside the premiership proper with a cup that had any interest or relevance was 1987 when Melbourne beat Essendon in the night series in May. That is over three decades ago now. Then that got moved back to a purely pre-season comp only, as the VFL expanded to AFL when Crows etc came in after Bears and Eagles.

So at times players were playing a game on weekend for season proper and a Tuesday night game midweek.
That can not happen now with the players needing 5 day break via players union.

These videos show it stopped having relevance back in 1980's. Melbourne winning the 1987 Night series cup in May meant something to their fans as not seen any finals in day for over two decades at the time. But when we won it in 1983 beating Richmond it meant very little to me other than the odd game to watch as a school kid midweek at night.

 

[Gigantor]

and it died because nobody cared.

That's right, even Central Districts refused to play in it, such was its prestige.

Plus a team like Ainslie was getting thrashed by the VFL/SANFL/WAFL teams.

It always surprises me that people don't appreciate this crucial point: Australian Football is different to soccer.

In soccer, a 3rd tier team can get on the same park with a top tier team and be quasi-competitive, can even get a result.

That does NOT happen in Australian Football. The second you have a gap in the teams, it's a guaranteed thrashing, which makes the concept pointless.

 

[Taylor]

There could be a tournament within the premiership season, with the fixturing intentionally matching up the teams playing during the middle of the year and while they are for the four premiership points they are also for this cup points.

It don't expect a club to prioritise the cup over the premiership in any circumstance though.

If the AFL felt it had a ratings dip in the middle of the year it would be a means of invigorating the audience for it, but it would be a gimmick and the fans would see that.

Like a western Derby trophy, but no history behind it. Winning it is nice but both clubs are most interested in the premiership points. Ultimately it gives the fans something to crow about.

 

[Bomberboyokay]

Instead of bringing back State of Origin, what if the AFL started a european champions league type tournament which goes for a few weeks throughout the season with the ‘final’ to be played just before the start of the finals series. It would work like this:

• Top 12 Teams from season before qualify for the tournament, the bottom 6 don’t compete.
• They are split into 4 groups, A, B, C & D. The groups would be A: 1st, 5th, 9th. B: 2nd, 6th, 10th. C: 3rd, 7th, 11th. D: 4th, 8th, 12th
• In the group stage each team plays each team in their group once. There would be 3 rounds (1 bye each) which you could space out a month inbetween each round (similar to european soccer).
• 4 points for a win. If game is a draw then they play extra time then golden goal if required.
• The winner of each of the 4 groups goes through to the semi-finals, the rest are eliminated.
• The 4 teams remaining are seeded by how well they went in the group stage (if equal on points, % decides the best team).
• In the semi-finals no.1 seed hosts no.4 seed at their home ground & no.2 seed hosts no.3 seed at their home ground.
• The 2 semi-final winners face off in a final to be played at a random stadium. One idea is that city’s/clubs bid for the right to host the final or the winner from the previous years tournament could host the final?

I may simulate a tournament to give you a better idea of what I mean.

You know the appeal of the UEFA Champions League is the clubs are from different leagues and wouldn't otherwise meet? This is just 12 AFL clubs playing each other.

 

[Pykie]

I don't think you understand what the Champions League is.


What you are describing is more inline with the FA or League Cup.

 

[Bunk Moreland]

There’s no way AFL clubs would bother with a meaningless secondary tournament in the middle of the season. They’d field reserves teams.

As for the Champions League, it’s lost it’s meaning a bit due to money - and will lose it big time when the next lot of changes go through - but at its core about what the name implies - the champions of seperate leagues from different countries playing each other.

 

[footyfan1978]

There’s no way AFL clubs would bother with a meaningless secondary tournament in the middle of the season. They’d field reserves teams.

A West Aussie side did exactly that against Richmond in a Tuesday night game in 1980's. Lost by about 30 goals.