Australia News
Call For A-League To Link With MLS
EXCLUSIVE The A-League's match day presentation should look to the MLS for inspiration say one NSW state league club which recently visited the US league on a fact finding mission.
Manny Spanoudakis, football director at Sydney Olympic in the NSW premier league, recently visited MLS club San Jose Earthquakes as a guest of their technical staff.He said that A-League's match day operations pale into insignificance compared to their US counterparts.
“I believe A League clubs would benefit from establishing links with MLS clubs and having a closer look at marketing, promotions and match day event management,” Spanoudakis told au.fourfourtwo.com.
“Of particular interest was the information and insight into the running of the football operations, match day operations and marketing which were very impressive. The training facilities and stadiums are exceptional too.
“The US market from that perspective has more similarities to Australia than Europe. They really package a good event on match day.”
But he added the A-League was heading in the right direction on the field. “After only three years, I would say the A-League is well on track to meet and exceed the MLS from a football standard and training facilities.”
The former NSL championship winning club hope to form a relationship with the San Jose club. “It was a very informative and valuable experience and I look forward to returning in August so that we can progress discussions about a potential affiliation or sister club relationship between our two clubs," said Spanoudakis.
The football director attended training and San Jose's first home game of the season against the Chicago Fire. Spanoudakis met with San Jose coach Frank Yallop – who coached David Beckham's LA Galaxy last season – and John Doyle, the club's GM of football operations.
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