MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Australia’s top flight soccer league has cancelled a deal sending its championship-deciding Grand Final matches to Sydney following a major backlash from clubs and fans.
The Australian Professional Leagues (APL) agreed last year to stage the A-League Men and A-League Women’s Grand Finals in the country’s largest city until 2025 in a deal with the New South Wales state government.
The Grand Finals had previously been staged at the highest-placed teams’ home grounds.
The Sydney move was condemned by a number of clubs and supporters groups, with one APL director quitting its board in protest.
It was also blamed for a violent pitch invasion by Melbourne Victory fans during the A-League Men’s derby against Melbourne City last December.
The criticism continued as Sydney hosted the women’s Grand Final, won by local club Sydney FC, in April along with the men’s decider in June.
Melbourne City, which finished top of the league, were thrashed 6-1 by Central Coast Mariners for the men’s title in front of an underwhelming crowd at Western Sydney Stadium.
In lieu of the Grand Finals, Sydney will now host an entire round of A-League Men and A-League Women matches, APL said in a statement on Wednesday.
The first ‘Unite Round’ will be from Jan. 12-14 next year and another will be held in Sydney during the 2024/25 season.
“We have worked closely with our clubs and fans to ensure that there are suitable constructive mechanisms for the voices of fans to be heard,” APL boss Danny Townsend said.
“Many of the resulting conversations have included the hosting of the Grand Finals, and the strong sentiments around that.”
The A-League Men’s 2023/24 season starts on Friday, with champions Central Coast playing at Adelaide United.
(Reporting by Ian Ransom in Melbourne; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
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