Australian football legend Mark Bosnich has urged the A-Leagues to move the competition to the winter and autumn seasons, avoiding the sweltering heat during summer.
The debate on whether the A-Leagues should move to the cooler months has raged on for years but has hit its peak in recent years with dwindling crowd numbers and a larger emphasis on player welfare.
In the first two weeks of the 2023/24 season, teams were forced to play in temperatures north of 36 degrees which had a severe impact on the quality of games.
Although a seasonal switch is unlikely due to the popularity of NRL and AFL during the winter months, Bosnich stated his belief that the players and fans would be in support of the move.
“I would (move it to winter),” Bosnich said on SEN 1170 The Run Home.
“There’s one thing they would always say, about stadiums not being full, when I see the Rabbitohs play at Accor Stadium, when they’re going through a bad time it doesn’t look like there’s many people either.
“The only thing that’s stopping it, I think, is ground availability.
“If you asked every player (and fans), these are the lines of the spot, this is what makes the sport happen, this is why it’s upside down.
“Without the fans and players, you don’t exist, not the other way around.
“Go and ask the players, if you go back to winter, you’ll have to put up with poor pitches, would you rather that or play in the heat?
“I would put a lot of money of at least 80 to 85 per cent of players that would say, ‘I’ll take the bad pitches over the heat’.”
Listen to the extended chat below.
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