Wednesday News Summary

A-league

• ACL: Urawa Reds v Western Sydney: Crowd: 5,590 @ Campbelltown Stadium
• ACL: Brisbane Roar v Muangthong United: Crowd: 4,536 @ Suncorp Stadium

• 5	LIVE: FOOTBALL: AFC CHAMPIONS LEAGUE	FOX SPORTS 4	47,000
  6	LIVE: FOOTBALL: AFC CHAMPIONS LEAGUE	FOX SPORTS 4	46,000

• Fairfax reports that the Professional Footballers Australia on Tuesday unveiled a pathway for development of women’s soccer that targets a minimum earnings package of $60,000 a year for the top 60 players in the W-League, a move that it argues would “leverage … competitive advantages” that soccer enjoys.
• News Limited reports that the PFA has declared war against other female sporting codes.
• Foxsports reports on how the AFLW was catalyst for change at the W-league
• Adelaide United have signed a sponsorship deal with Ausgold Mining Group for their entire 2017 AFC Champions League campaign. Ausgold’s logo will appear on the front of the team’s playing strips for the first time tomorrow night when they kick off match day one against J-League club Gamba Osaka in Adelaide.
• The Financial Review reports that Telstra chief executive Andy Penn has pledged to avoid Optus’ controversial English Premier League football strategy of forcing fans to become telecommunications customers to watch its coverage, as it ups the ante on streaming content as a competitive weapon. Mr Penn told The Australian Financial Review that as Telstra secured content, it would make it free to Telstra customers, while charging customers of other telcos to watch its coverage.

AFL

• The Advertiser reports that AFL officials will ask the Stadium Management Authority and State government to waive the $60,000 fee for opening Adelaide Oval if the Crows earn hosting rights to the first AFLW grand final. This is to allow the AFL to keep free entry at the gate for the premiership play-off on Saturday, March 25, in line with the fan-friendly policy at AFLW round-robin games.

NRL

• Roy Masters writes that when the NRL club presidents and the two state representatives walk into Friday’s AGM of the ARLC, they will be in broad agreement on three issues – constitutional change is dead; NRL clubs will receive 130 per cent of the salary cap in funding and John Grant has another year as commission chair.

ARU

• Fairfax quotes Wallabies back Dane Haylett-Petty as saying the ARU would be “crazy” to chop the Western Force from Super Rugby altogether in 2018.  Haylett-Petty implored the ARU to stick with their national footprint with five teams spread across the country.

Stadiums

• The ABC reports that food and drink prices at Adelaide Oval remain at a “ridiculous” level, punters have said, despite requests by South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill last year to keep prices down. At the Guns N’ Roses concert on Saturday night, concert-goers were forced to spend $9.20 for a common beer such as Hahn Super Dry and $8.90 for a locally brewed West End Draught, while spirits cost $13.90 and soft drinks $5.60.