A-League: 51 more games this season!

An early start, (Aug 6th) and much later finish (March 20). Which extends the season by about 6 or 7 weeks.

We're getting closer to a real football season. 27 games plus finals...in A World Cup Year...it's only going to get better and better for Aussie football fans.

New teams, new players, more games. A-League takes another step forward.

The 2009-10 Hyundai A-League season will kick-off earlier than ever before to accommodate the increased number of games arising from the two new teams in the competition, Gold Coast United and North Queensland Fury.

Releasing the draw in Sydney today, Football Federation Australia (FFA) CEO, Ben Buckley, said that there would be 51 more games in the regular season in 2009/10 compared with the previous four seasons of the Hyundai A-League.

"There will be 10 teams this season playing 6 more rounds of football and resulting in 51 more games than previous seasons played in 13 cities.

"This draw is good news for players, fans, clubs and the media," Buckley said.

"We have two new teams, 135 games and a total of 12,150 minutes of game time in the regular season alone."

The Finals Series will involve a Top 6, with more chances for the two teams who finish in the Top 2, and with seven matches in total.

"The 2009-10 season will start slightly earlier than previously (on 6 August) to allow for the additional rounds but this was the preferred solution of FFA and the Hyundai A-League clubs."

Buckley also explained the issues that bear on the construction of the Hyundai A-League draw.

"We have a number of unique international factors which have to be taken into account which are placeholders for the draw."

These include:

§ FIFA match dates involving the Qantas Socceroos
§ Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup qualifying fixtures for the 2011 AFC Asian Cup
§ AFC Champions League fixtures involving Central Coast Mariners and Newcastle Jets, and
§ potential participation of either Central Coast or Newcastle in the 2009 FIFA Club World Cup (emulating Adelaide United's achievement from 2008).

Buckley said that there were other issues to factor into the draw, such as:

§ Club and fan preference
§ player and match official welfare
§ other major events including other sporting codes fixtures
§ venue availability, and
§ broadcaster preferences.

"We also want to ensure that as many people as possible can enjoy games in peak times such as public holidays and over the festive season."

FFA has continued with a Saturday evening Grand Final (on 20 March 2010), which was introduced this year.

The first round of the Hyundai A-League 2009-10 season will kick off on Thursday 6 August featuring champions Melbourne Victory against AFC Champions League participants, Central Coast Mariners.

The round continues on Friday 7 August when Adelaide United host Perth Glory, while Saturday 8 August sees the beginning of what Buckley described as a "beautiful rivalry" between Brisbane-based Roar and Gold Coast United, as well as North Queensland Fury and Sydney FC. The first round concludes with Newcastle Jets v Wellington Phoenix on Sunday 9 August.