The A-League players' union urged Football Federation Australia to "seriously consider the merits of a national second division," according to Rugari & Kemp of the AAP. But Professional Footballers Australia CEO John Didulica warned any efforts to "reverse engineer" a "cut-price, semi-professional blueprint" to suit state-league clubs would be "doomed to fail." The Association of Australian Football Clubs, a lobby group of more than 100 National Premier Leagues clubs, held its first board meeting in Brisbane on Saturday as it seeks to further its "plans to establish a second division with eventual promotion and relegation to the top tier." The AAFC board discussed three potential models -- including a "dual conference structure to negate travel costs" -- and intends to publish a report in October detailing its preferred option. However, AAFC Chair Rabieh Krayem suggested it would "most likely be a semi-professional competition involving former National Soccer League clubs" like Sydney Olympic, Melbourne Knights and South Melbourne. The AAFC also "dismissed PFA modelling" that suggested it would cost A$5.5M ($4.4M) per year to run a professional second division club, arguing it "could be done for around half that amount." Didulica is "adamant that doing it on the cheap would not create the sort of playing opportunities Australian football desperately needs." He said, "It's fine to dismiss that figure, saying, 'We can't afford it' -- but then you're not ready to have a fully professional second-tier competition" (AAP, 7/17).
