The following is from the official A-League website
Football Federation Australia today released the Hyundai A-League 2011/12 season draw live through host broadcast partner Fox Sports and Fox Sports News.
The Hyundai A-League will this season start in a brand new football window with an all new kick-off set for October 8 with a feast of opening Week 1 clashes including Melbourne Victory v Sydney FC, Perth Glory v Adelaide United, and the Hyundai A-League 2011 Grand Final re-match between 2011 Champions Brisbane Roar and Central Coast Mariners at Suncorp Stadium.
While the much anticipated first week of action will feature the Hyundai A-League 2011 Grand Final re-match, the first three weeks of football will offer even more with huge clashes set to ignite Hyundai A-League season seven with Adelaide United taking on Melbourne Victory at Hindmarsh Stadium in Week 2 and three titanic battles in Week 3 when Brisbane Roar host Gold Coast United, Newcastle Jets take on Central Coast Mariners and Victory re-launch their battle for Melbourne supremacy against Heart.
In addition to the bumper start to the Hyundai A-League 2011/12 season, the draw also contains further significant changes to the schedule including:
A reduced number of mid-week games from 30 to 10, clustered in the December to January summer holiday period allowing more fans and families to watch the game they love during the holidays. To assist and broaden community visibility and engagement with the Hyundai A-League Regional Rounds have been introduced where five matches involving all 10 Hyundai A-League clubs will be played in new regions to give more quarters of Australia a taste of live Hyundai A-League action. Less back-to-back games for clubs and fans with a more regular 'week in, week out' feel to the season - 27 rounds with 13 home games for each club spread over 25 weeks. A regular 8.00pm east coast Friday night timeslot for football on Fox Sports and more consistent programming to get your weekly football fix.
And in a Hyundai A-League first, Wednesday 4 January, will see a football bonanza with five matches, back-to-back, starting in Wellington and moving through Melbourne, Newcastle and Gosford before finishing off in Perth for an amazing 11 hours straight of Hyundai A-League action, all live and exclusive on Fox Sports.
The 25 week, 27 round regular season will end on Sunday, 25 March and again the top six teams at the to feature in the Hyundai A-League 2012 Finals Series commencing on the weekend of March 30, 2012.
The Hyundai A-League 2011/12 season will also see a greater marketing effort with substantial increase in marketing spend and innovation in new digital channels and social media growing the Hyundai A-League into a bigger, brighter and more interactive season than ever before.
