A-League back in old Saturday timeslot

THE A-League grand final will almost certainly be played on a Saturday night for the first time since 2010, as competition chiefs bid to balance the demands of fans going to the game and broadcasters wanting to maximise TV ratings.

If Sydney FC, Newcastle, Melbourne Victory or Western Sydney host the grand final it will be played on Saturday May 5, with a likely kick off time as early as 7pm.

If Melbourne City hosts, the venue and day would depend on the opponent, and could be on the Saturday or Sunday of that weekend.

City’s home base AAMI Park, which seats 28,000, is available on both days, while 55,000-cpactity Etihad Stadium is only available on the Saturday, with St Kilda hosting Melbourne in the Sunday Round 7 clash.

An Etihad Stadium spokeswoman confirmed the FFA had not booked the Docklands venue for the Saturday, but it was available.

Only if Adelaide wins the right to stage the grand final would it be on the Sunday, with Adelaide Oval unavailable the day before.

If Sydney FC suffers a shock loss in their semi-final and Newcastle Jets go through it will most likely be played at Newcastle, while Etihad Stadium and ANZ Stadium are both free to host Victory and the Wanderers respectively.

The move marks an end to Football Federation Australia’s efforts to establish a Sunday grand final as an A-League tradition, after fierce criticism of the governing body last year over the effects for supporters of trying to attend a game on a Sunday evening.

FFA confirmed the likely change from a Sunday.

“We listened to feedback from last year when we sat down to schedule the grand final, that it wasn’t an optimum time for the fans,” said the head of the A-League, Greg O’Rourke.

“We took that on board, and we’re working towards holding a Saturday night grand final.”