A-League Faces Up to Steep Funding Cuts

Australia's top-flight soccer league, the A-League, faces severe funding cuts as it tries to cover recent financial losses. Annual distributions to 12 clubs will fall drastically. The cuts are attributed to reduced broadcast revenue and failed digital investments. APL Chairman Stephen Conroy confirmed no clubs plan to shut down.

Clubs in Australia's top flight soccer league face steep funding cuts as the A-League battles to cover losses in recent years. Annual distributions to the competition's 12 clubs will drop from A$2 million ($1.34 million) to A$530,000 for the coming season, Australian Professional Leagues (APL) confirmed.

Australian professional soccer has lurched from crisis to crisis since the COVID-19 pandemic, with cuts to broadcast revenue and an ill-fated investment in an abandoned digital strategy contributing to the A-League's financial troubles. APL chairman Stephen Conroy said no clubs had indicated they would go out of business due to the cuts.

"We've just finished a briefing with every club and while clubs are obviously hurting by the size of this reduction, no one gave any indication of that level of problem in the meeting at all," Conroy told Australian media on Wednesday. "Obviously they weren't dancing a jig, but no one said, 'Right, that's it, we're shutting the doors'."

Conroy said the cuts would help the league break even. "We've had to stabilise the business, we've had to get it back on an even footing," he added.

"We were targeting that to be the case this financial year, and then we've got to ensure that we don't run too fast, as has happened in the recent past." ($1 = 1.4970 Australian dollars)

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