The A-League wants to bring the All Stars fixture back in 2024 after hopes collapsed of a deal to fly German giants Bayern Munich to Australia for this year’s exhibition match.
After announcing Parramatta’s CommBank Stadium as the venue for the ALM grand final on Saturday, June 3 there was disappointment the All Stars game would not be a part of the ‘festival of football’ billed by A-Leagues chief executive Danny Townsend.
The revival of last year’s All Stars game was a highlight of the domestic calendar, with Garang Kuol catapulting himself into the public consciousness with a starring role against Barcelona in front of more than 70,000 fans in Sydney.
But Townsend said the congested calendar – a result of the mid-season World Cup that has affected competition across Europe – had made it tough to tempt a drawcard club to Australian shores.
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“We had never made any public announcement about All Stars because we know it’s a funny thing with football negotiations,” Townsend told AAP.
“It’s complex, probably more so this year than any other with the World Cup.
“Our window to get a team was very small, and any team that we think would be worthy of playing the A-League All Stars couldn’t commit until they were knocked out of the Champions League.
“We’re confident that when we get back to a normal calendar it’ll be much easier and we can announce the opponent a long way out.”
Reports in German newspaper Bild claimed Bayern withdrew because the A-League was unable to stump up the cash in a deal said to be worth more than $8 million.
Townsend said those reports were “totally incorrect”, adding: “The money wasn’t in question.
“The issue was dates and timing, and them wanting to get their players off on leave.
“There’s always financial negotiations, but I don’t think that was something we couldn’t overcome.”
The failure to attract a big European drawcard will no doubt add to the ill-feeling towards the A-Leagues following the controversial decision to sell grand-final hosting rights to Destination NSW late last year for about $20 million.
Townsend described a boycott of the finals series by Sydney FC’s active supporter group, The Cove, as “disappointing”.
He said the governing body stood by its decision and would be open to moving from the CommBank to stadiums with greater capacity, such as Accor Stadium at Homebush, if the concept took off.
“We’re in a nascent stage of where the league is at and we’ve got a lot of work to do to build generational fandom in our clubs,” he said.
“In time we’ll be confident that Accor will be potentially where (the grand final) is because we can fill it.”
-AAP
