A-League chief executive Steve Rosich’s seven-word answer to a question that Australian soccer has wrestled with for decades offers a tantalising glimpse into a future that, not so long ago, seemed unthinkable.
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that → wrestle → future
Will South Melbourne Hellas’ Greek heritage count against them in their latest attempt to return to the top flight?
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heritage → count → flight
“It’s certainly not something I think about,” Rosich told this masthead.
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Rosich → ’ → masthead
That sounds like poetry to South Melbourne Hellas co-president Bill Papastergiadis, who wants his club to become a “Trojan horse” for all the fallen giants of the old National Soccer League, and indeed, any other club across the country with aspirations to play at the highest level.
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club → sound → level
“It’s refreshing,” he said.
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he → ’ → ?
“It’s the first time I’ve actually heard that it’s not an issue.
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it → ’ → ?
It’s a positive step, and one which we embrace.”
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we → ’ → which
On Saturday night, South Melbourne will face Melbourne Victory in an Australia Cup final that is about much more than a trophy.
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that → face → trophy
A sold-out AAMI Park will host the first competitive meeting between two clubs that represent opposite sides of Australian soccer’s great divide: one a powerhouse of the old NSL, the other among the most successful products of the A-League era.
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that → sell → era
The creation of the A-League in 2005 under Frank Lowy’s Football Federation Australia was a much-needed reset after the slow, painful demise of the NSL, ushering in a bold commercial era for the sport - but it also deliberately broke with the past, replacing clubs closely associated with the migrant communities that had built Australian soccer with broad-based franchises designed to attract mainstream support.
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that → need → support
The extraordinary appetite for this occasion, with tickets snapped up within 48 hours of going on sale, has reignited debate over whether clubs like South Melbourne should have been left behind in the first place, and how that divide can be bridged.
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divide → snap → place
Spat out into the Victorian system when the A-League launched, and forced to watch Victory take their place as the state’s leading club, South Melbourne have spent the past 21 years agitating for a return to the national stage, sometimes with an air of entitlement that suggested their illustrious history should have been enough to get them in.
Papastergiadis led their last bid for an A-League licence in 2018, when FFA overlooked South in favour of Western United and its promise of a privately funded stadium for a supporter base that had also yet to be built on Melbourne’s western fringes.
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that → spit → fringes
“I was told, ‘Bill, great bid.
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I → tell → ?
We loved what you did.
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you → love → what
We love what you offered.
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you → love → what
But we couldn’t knock back new stadium infrastructure for football in this country, and that was the determining factor for us,’” he recalled.
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he → knock → us
“Well, we know how that ended up.”
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that → know → ?
South Melbourne argued they not only had a ready-made fanbase, but a generous, long-term deal at an existing venue: Lakeside Stadium.
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they → argue → venue
Papastergiadis said the arrangement enables them to break even on crowds of little more than 1000, in contrast with many A-League clubs, which pay through the teeth to access their stadiums.
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which → say → stadiums
Even though it wasn’t said by FFA, the club’s suspicion was that, once again, their “ethnic club” status counted against them.
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status → say → them
But if the Lowy era of Australian football administration gave clubs like South Melbourne the cold shoulder, the sport’s custodians today appear more willing to hear them out.
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custodians → give → them
The day after the Australian Professional Leagues formally ended Western United’s participation in the competition, South Melbourne publicly declared their intention to try again.
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Melbourne → end → intention
This time, the atmosphere has changed.
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atmosphere → change → ?
The A-League’s slide away from mainstream relevance has made the appeal of a club like South Melbourne, and the prospect of regular high-stakes rivalry matches against clubs like Victory, much clearer; the things that once counted against them may no longer matter if they can enhance the product and grow the pie.
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they → make → pie
South’s own recent transformation has made their case more compelling.
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case → make → ?
Last year, they narrowly avoided relegation from the Victorian NPL, which would have been an unprecedented disaster for a club that has not dipped below Victoria’s top division since 1961, their second season of existence.
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that → avoid → existence
A personal investment of over $500,000 from Papastergiadis and co-president Andrew Mesourouni helped save them from the drop, accelerating a professional overhaul that positioned them for success in two new competitions.
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that → help → competitions
South Melbourne spearheaded the creation of the second-tier Australian Championship, which they won last year (the new season begins next weekend), while they also reached the final of the inaugural OFC Pro League, a circuit-style roadshow played in centralised locations across Oceania.
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they → spearhead → Oceania
Throw in their NPL commitments and extraordinary run to the Australia Cup final, and they have become one of the busiest clubs in Australia this year, playing more than 50 competitive matches - almost the length of two full A-League seasons.
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they → throw → seasons
More importantly, they have begun building the infrastructure of a professional club - better players, bigger budgets, greater revenue, smoother off-field operations - rather than waiting for an A-League licence to give them a reason to do so.
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they → begin → reason
The ultimate goal, however, remains unchanged: a full-time place in Australia’s national league.
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goal → remain → league
Even if they beat Victory in the final, the prize on offer is not automatic promotion; by their own admission, a move into the A-League remains some way off.
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move → beat → League
Rosich admires South Melbourne’s ambition but is making no promises.
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Rosich → admire → promises
“They’ve done a great job in promoting their club and delivering on the field in their competitions, and they’ve got a great opportunity to showcase that against Melbourne Victory on Saturday,” Rosich said.
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Rosich → do → Saturday
“There’s a considered process that South Melbourne will go through.
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Melbourne → ’ → that
Pleasingly, we have interest from different parties looking to enter the league in different markets.
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we → have → markets
Our board will go through, in time, what are the right markets for expansion, who are the right parties to initiate that expansion with, and under what circumstances and timing.
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parties → go → expansion
Some of those other interested groups, according to sources familiar with the A-League’s expansion landscape, include consortiums based in south-east Queensland and Christchurch, as well as the new owners of A-League Women side Canberra United, who have an exclusive option to form a men’s team in the capital in the 2028-29 season - although it is unlikely any teams besides Canberra will be added until the season after that, when the new broadcast rights deal will begin.
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The asking price for a licence to play in the A-League is about $15 million, according to sources not authorised to comment publicly.
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price → play → sources
Even if South Melbourne can find that money, there is also the challenge of funding an ongoing A-League operation: Papastergiadis estimates their annual budget of $3.5 million would need to double, but believes the club’s existing stadium arrangements and commercial growth prospects give it a head start.
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arrangements → find → start
…and 18 more, not listed.
The Aporia
