At the start of the season there were a ton of questions about the OFC Pro League (OPL) and what it meant for South. So far, the club has been able to answer many of the on-field questions. In that respect, the senior team and under 23s have been successfully rotated and this has allowed South to compete on all fronts. Impressively, South currently finds itself in the
play-off spots for both the NPL and the OPL. But off-field, how has the club managed the two competitions?

A short pre-season

From a fan’s perspective, there have been real challenges. Firstly, the short break between the Australian Championship and the OPL didn’t give fans much of a chance to refresh and the season kick off actually caught many fans off-guard. Fan fatigue is a concern. This season for example, fans may have to follow over 60 matches. Many may get burnt out and lose interest.

Home game headaches

Secondly, the OPL’s competition format sees most games played outside of Australia. As a result, most South fans have only been able to watch games online via FIFA Plus, which is no substitute for regular home games.

In fact, the few home games South has been able to host weren’t even hosted at Lakeside due to the F1 lockout. This meant the club’s home OPL games had smaller crowds and lacked the authentic Hellas match-day experience.

Impact to the NPL

The overlap with the NPL has also caused problems. South has been forced to heavily rotate its squad and has used more U23 players. This has brought into question the integrity of some NPL fixtures. One week South lose to Dandenong Thunder 3-0 fielding U23s, the next, South defeat Dandenong City 4-2 playing a full-strength squad. This is hard for some fans to process.

Lessons for next year Look, overall, I would actually say the club has handled this new fan experience very well, but it must learn its lessons for next year if this arrangement is to be sustained in the long term. At a minimum the club will need to play its OPL home games at Lakeside. However, it will also need to work with fans more meaningfully throughout the year so that they stay engaged throughout these potentially long and intense competition periods.