Sunday, December 27, 2020 looks set to become a date to remember for South Western Sydney soccer fans.
Football Federation Australia (FFA) has announced that is the day the A-League will kick off its 2020-21 season – with Macarthur FC playing for the first time.
The full fixture schedule will be released early next month, but Macarthur FC were super confident their first ever match would be a home fixture played at Campbelltown Sports Stadium.
From a marketing point of view it would make sense for the FFA to start the new season with a match involving the Bulls, but we’ll find out soon enough if that’s the case.
Macarthur FC, which won its a-League licence in 2018, will be the competition’s twelfth team.
The FFA also announced that the A-League and Westfield W-League will start on the same day, Sunday, December 27, 2020
This is the first time the two leagues will begin in summer and on the same date.
The new calendar also mean that the majority of the season will be played concurrently with the grassroots football season.
The 161 men’s matches will be played over 23 weeks, with the Grand Final set for June, and the women’s 57 games will finish with a Grand Final in April.
“This year’s calendar sees us kicking off two seasons of Australia’s best football on the same day, right in the middle of summer,’’ says Greg O’Rourke, FFA head of leagues.
“The men’s competition now features 12 teams, including three in Sydney and three in Melbourne, meaning more derbies, more intensity and more fans.
“With families at home together during the holiday season, great weather, and games broadcast live on multiple platforms, there are so many ways for fans to be close to the action, at home or in the stadium,” he said.
Matches will be broadcast live on the My Football Live App, FOX SPORTS and Kayo, with selected matches on ABC TV.
