Australian Professional Leagues
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43
MENTIONS
8
EPISODES
7
PODCASTS
Search complete. 43 mentions across 8 episodes found for "Australian Professional Leagues".
Oct 5, 2026
Lachie AvilHOST
I didn't really know this man's name, Simon Pearce, at least would have come across it briefly.
Lachie AvilHOST
He sits on the APL board as Melbourne City's club representative, so I would have seen his name in passing.
Lachie AvilHOST
But from all the reports that have come out in the last few days about him and obviously his links with CFG, Manchester City and Melbourne City, Had no idea just how much influence that he holds in the Australian game.
Lachie AvilHOST
So Martin Ziegler, who was a journalist for The Times, you'll remember his name from the Infantino story a couple of months ago, breaking the whole commercial entity selling the World Cup story.
Lachie AvilHOST
And that one, as I said, really caught me, Matt, because obviously you're sitting on the board, you're a co-director of a club, you're going to have some influence, but the most powerful man? That's almost startling.
Matt OlsenHOST
It highlights the flaws in this independent era of the A-League, I think.
Matt OlsenHOST
The thing with just the APL set up as an organisation is when...
Matt OlsenHOST
You have an organization that is sort of set up to be independent, to be run by the clubs.
Adam PeacockHOST
We'll delve into it a bit more with Mark Bosnitz tomorrow on Gloves Off and what we might expect.
Adam PeacockHOST
And Steve Rosich, the CEO of the Australian Professional Leagues, the APL, A-Leagues, clubs, he's going to join us on Gloves Off tomorrow for a special guest appearance.
Adam PeacockHOST
And by the way, on Agenda Setters tonight, just switching the boat back towards a bit of rugby league, Kevi Walters is going to be the special guest.
Adam PeacockHOST
You can catch it on 7 tonight, Agenda Setters live.
Rob GilbertHOST
We ask the questions: Where do the Socceroos truly stand under Tony Popovic? We'll unpack it all with the Sydney Morning Herald and Age football writer, chief football writer that is, Vince Rugari, starting with Australia's tactical evolution, whether the defensive gaps against elite opposition can be plugged in time for Asia.
Rob GilbertHOST
Then we'll move to the question du jour: What are the domestic ripple effects for Melbourne City and the A-League if Manchester City and the City Football Group face the seismic allegations and are punished to the very letter of the law with the man at the center of it all, so pivotal to the game in Australia, and we speak of none other than Manchester City board member Simon Pearce, who is also on the board of the Australian Professional Leagues and is vice chair of Melbourne City.
Rob GilbertHOST
We'll talk to Vince about all of that.
Rob GilbertHOST
Then we cross live to London to speak to ITV's chief football presenter and veteran broadcaster Mark Pougatch, to sink our teeth deeper into the City story.
Lachie AvilHOST
I didn't really know this man's name, Simon Pearce, at least would have come across it briefly.
Lachie AvilHOST
He sits on the APL board as Melbourne City's club representative, so I would have seen his name in passing.
Lachie AvilHOST
But from all the reports that have come out in the last few days about him, and obviously his links with CFG, Manchester City and Melbourne City... had no idea just how much influence that he holds in the Australian game.
Lachie AvilHOST
So Martin Ziegler, who was a journalist for The Times, you'll remember his name from the Infantino story a couple of months ago, breaking the whole commercial entity selling the World Cup story.
Lachie AvilHOST
And that one, as I said, really caught me, Matt, because obviously you're sitting on the board, you're a co-director of a club, you're going to have some influence, but the most powerful man? That's almost startling.
Matt OlsenHOST
It highlights the flaws in this independent era of the A-League.
Matt OlsenHOST
I think the thing with just the APL set up as an organisation is when...
Matt OlsenHOST
You have an organization that is sort of set up to be independent, to be run by the clubs.
Peggy GiacomellosHOST
A-League's team Melbourne City has been owned by City Football Group since 2014, with the club's vice-chairman Simon Pearce sitting on the board of directors for Manchester City.
Peggy GiacomellosHOST
Australian Professional League chief executive Steve Rosich has declined to comment on the scandal.
Peggy GiacomellosHOST
but is adamant the group's involvement in the A-League would not impact the reputation of the Australian competition.
Peggy GiacomellosHOST
Meanwhile, Manchester City's chief executive, Ferran Soriano, has told staff on a video that the club does not agree with any of the findings and intends to push back hard.
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BezHOST
Meanwhile, Brisbane Royal also locked in a crucial re-signing on Friday, securing young star midfielder Zara Krupa on a two-year extension.
BezHOST
And we just saw the Australian Professional League's officially confirmed the Ninja A-League 2026-2027 season kickoff date is locked in for this first week, end of November.
BezHOST
Put it in your calendars.
BezHOST
Super exciting stuff.
Gideon HaighHOST
They never really, uh, entertain or, or discuss the, the cautionary tales of, uh, of, of private investment in sport, and they're not far to seek, you know.
Gideon HaighHOST
Silver Lake in the Australian Professional Leagues, CVC in Premiership Rugby, um- CVC in League One in France.
Gideon HaighHOST
Uh, you know, German fans, when they got an eye for the potential CVC investment in Bundesliga, they rejected it.
Gideon HaighHOST
They rejected it.
James JarvisHOST
I think the Air League, for one, needs to renegotiate that agreement with the FA in terms of forcing clubs to always release players.
James JarvisHOST
But that also then means the FA need to do a better job of helping the APL, right? It's a two-way street.
James JarvisHOST
Secondly, I think we need to look at bringing back things like the National Youth League.
James JarvisHOST
I think not having a proper National Youth League has been a negative overall.
James JarvisHOST
So you need to create a system for these young players to continue to grow and develop to then be different makers.
James JarvisHOST
right lawrence wong shouldn't be the exception to the rule there should be a pathway for players like him who maybe aren't quite as good or just a late bloomer so we need options like that it's
Lachie SandsHOST
interesting you reference there i guess a conversation or some negotiations between football australia and the apl at the moment there are reports that there are unpaid referee bills whether that is Football Australia or the APL, because they're in charge of the A-Leagues, but obviously referees are paid for by Football Australia.
Lachie SandsHOST
And there's some disagreements about, I guess, unpaid fees there.