The launch of the OFC Professional League (OPL) is drawing closer and two Australian clubs supposedly submitted bids including South Melbourne. I have been pessimistic about South’s potential inclusion in this competition, however upon some reflection I begrudgingly admit there may be some merit in the club’s participation when considering the current football landscape.

With the Australian Championship (AC) scheduled to go from October to December, and the OPL scheduled to go from January to May, South’s potential entry in these two competitions allows the club to string together a coherent narrative for its teams. Based on the currently proposed competition structures, South will be able to field its Senior Squad between October and May (to compete in the AC and the OPL), and its Reserves Squad between February and September (to compete in the NPL Victoria).

Overall, this potential change offers South an opportunity to improve its on-field and off-field operations, elevating the club from its semi-professional state based environment. However the potential changes must be carefully managed as they could also pose a risk to the financial sustainability club and pursuit of the club’s ultimate purpose, whatever that seems to be these days! How will the OPL impact the club? Here are a few impacts I imagine.

The Senior Squad will operate professionally from October to May

Pending player registration regulations, South will likely field a single Senior Squad between October and May, for both the AC and the OPL. However, the travel requirements of the OPL will impact Senior Squad composition. The OPL season proposes football meet ups, where all clubs travel to the same destination and play two or three games over the course of the week. This means that players won’t be able to play football and hold down full time jobs, as is currently the case for many players in the NPL.

The inability of quality NPL players to commit to these travel arrangement essentially puts a floor on our recruitment. However it is also unlikely that the OPL will generate enough revenue for us to match A-League wages, which also means there will be a ceiling on our recruitment.

In combination this means South will need to target either young players who aren’t currently working outside of football, or older players between A-League contracts looking to maintain the lifestyle of a professional footballer.

This means the only way I foresee South successfully managing these constraints is by providing a fully professional environment for players. This would offer an attractive point of difference for players to sign up to, and would also help improve squad quality despite player pool limitations. A fully professional environment for players would likely include training at least 4 or 5 times a week during the day, increased logistical support for players off field, and increased staffing of the football department. All in all, the club would need to beef up its football department.

The NPL program will become similar to those of A-League clubs

Changes to the Senior Football Program will have flow on effects to the rest of the club’s football operations. The shift of the Senior Squad to Summer football will likely means the reserves will compete in the winter NPL competition, consequently this will grow the U23s player pool. The increased opportunities for younger players paired with the increased full time staffing of the men’s football program should improve our Youth pathways and attract more players to our junior programs. From a results perspective though, the fielding of reserves in the NPL will likely see a deterioration of results to a level similar to, or worse than, similar A-League programs who currently operate with this model.

The club will hire more backroom staff

Changes to the Senior Football Program will also impact the club’s off-field operations. The increased logistical requirements to deliver a more professional Senior Squad program, travel associated with the OFC and the new regulatory burdens of the competition will necessitate an increase in administrative staffing. The increased costs associated with the competition will also necessitate an increased revenue function at the club. This could be in the form of government grant managers, sponsorship officers, or membership service personnel to create and manage the new revenues necessitated by the OPL.

The club will be more engaged with Government Bodies

Non-commercial funding sources will likely be key to the suitability of the club in this competition, likely in the form of Government Funding to host league wide meet-ups in Melbourne, and FIFA funding to allow for international travel. These items alone significantly increase the stakeholder management required of the club, however the logistics and potential for foreign relations management also increase this workload and offer opportunities.

The OPL will offer the Australian Government a relatively cheap form of sports diplomacy with the important Pacific nations (note the $600 million PNG commitment for the NRL) and the OPL means South Melbourne will become an important vehicle to manage these international relations. As a result, the club would hope for increased support from the Government to help manage logistics, financial sustainability and its other stakeholder matters. This could include securing more consistent access to Albert Park grounds through Parks Victoria, more community support from the City of Port Phillip, and importantly support in the club’s relationship with the State Sports Centre Trust for access to Lakeside – particularly during the OPL season which is when Athletics is meant to have priority access to the ground.

The fan experience will become more unconventional

The refocus on summer football poses a big enough shift in fan engagement alone, however the competition structures also pose threats to the consistency of the football product. The AC only guarantees three home games during its group stage, and the OPL only seems to guarantee a a few home games for a single week if Melbourne is selected as a host for a meet up. This means the Senior Squad may only play as few as five home games a season which is certainly not enough.

The fledging competitions will also need to create a strong sense of purpose which at the moment appears to be lacking. The AC is still very much seen as a trial competition ahead of a hopeful home and away competition, and the OPL is seen as rushed reaction from FIFA surrounded by question marks. The fact that Wellington and Auckland seem intent of fielding reserve teams in the competition doesn’t inspire much confidence in the competitions football merits or competitiveness. In all likelihood South fans may be left following a Senior Squad in two competitions they don’t really care about, playing a lower standard of football, and only playing out of Lakeside a few times each season.

Government and FIFA Funding is key to long term sustainability

Although participation in the OPL will almost certainly result in an increase in club professionalism primarily driven by Government or FIFA funding the overall composition of the likely summer season appears too unconventional to be sustainable in the long term with impacts to fan engagement and potentially even football quality.

It is unlikely this will be seen as a long term plan for the club and both competitions currently lack long term certainty in form or even existence. There is significant upside in the OPL particularly however the key concern for the club in its negotiations to join the league must be an appropriate exit option if things turn pear shaped.

The OPL can never be the club’s long term focus

I think it is clear that the club’s priority is playing the highest level of Australian Football it can, and that the OPL is simply an exploratory initiative pursued to elevate operations until such a time where South is participating in a proper Australian First, or Second division competition. However I can foresee two scenarios where South participates in the OPL for the long term.

In the case where the AC fails and the OPL is extremely financially sustainable (likely through Government support or FIFA funding) and popular with fans (likely through engagement with Melbourne’s Pacific Islander communities) South could justify funding the venture alongside a Senior Squad also representing the club in the NPL.

In the case where South enters a home and away AC or even A-League competition, the Senior Squad will primarily compete domestically, and the OPL participation will be filled by a South Melbourne Reserve team, similar to how Auckland intends to use the competition. This scenario may be sustainable where South’s OPL squad comprises of Australian based Pacific players, effectively creating a second Senior Squad, with a different development purpose.

Conclusion

It is absolutely crazy to me that South could be playing in the OPL and I still question its purpose and long term viability, however when reflecting on the potential risks and opportunities, I have to admit there’s a world where this isn’t so crazy after all.