A-League clubs announced end of Tasmanian FIFO matches with local football team given priority

The CEO of the Football Association of Tasmania has made a bold statement to the mainland’s A-League clubs: “We don’t want you anymore.”

Mike Palmer says his organization will no longer pursue A-League content for Tasmania, after years of trying.

Instead, he will devote his efforts to supporting a bid for a standalone Tasmanian A-League club.

“We are no longer looking to go down that route,” Mr Palmer said.

“We don’t want to be seen as a place that just plays a few games. We want to be a place with our own team.”

Previously, the Tasmanian Football Federation had entered into commercial agreements with Melbourne Victory and Melbourne City A-League clubs.

Melbourne Victory’s deal included sponsorship of state league naming rights, pre-season matches and community camps, while City’s deal focused on player development.

But Mr Palmer said deals with fly-in clubs were no longer the best way forward.

“We’ve really given up on the idea of ​​casual matches. We’re not sure it brings us the real long-term value we’re looking for.

“We have hosted an A-League match from time to time, but now our focus and support is on building our own A-League team.”

Expansion of the A-League could still be a long way off, with the FFA still at odds with A-League and NPL clubs over control of the match.

Mr Palmer said Tasmania’s bid, led by a consortium of Melbourne businessmen including Harry Stamoulis, was still on the table and had been discussed with Tasmania’s two main political parties ahead of the looming national election.

“It’s been open on several fronts. We’ve discussed it with key stakeholders, but the real work is being done by the consortium,” Mr Palmer said.

“The consortium that came forward about a year ago is still very, very involved, working behind the scenes to secure an A-League license”