In the early hours of Wednesday morning, two days out from Adelaide and Central Coast marking the start of the new season, the A-League Men was stuck in its usual cycle of pessimism and suspicion. There was, of course, some enthusiasm for the 2023-24 campaign, but it was tinged with caution – last season’s hugely controversial decision to sell off grand final hosting rights to Sydney had dramatically compounded the usual cynicism that permeates Australian football.
Then came the news of a U-turn. The Australian Professional Leagues (APL) had negotiated with the New South Wales government and Destination NSW to scrap the ill-fated deal, with the concept to be replaced by a “Unite Round” with immediate effect. The new plan, which had first been reported in September, was met with an almost universal, rapturous approval. It fostered an inescapable feeling that, in one moment, the entire narrative surrounding the beginning of the new season had shifted.
