It was the experiment that sparked a unique idea, and helped to create a unique proposition in Australian sports broadcasting.
Last April Adelaide United opened their doors – literally – to a camera crew filming every moment of United’s preparation for the Isuzu UTE A-League Men’s finals, providing hours of compelling raw footage behind the scenes of an elite sports club.
In the manner of lauded documentaries overseas, it captured key moments – such as when fullback Josh Cavallo, filmed earlier in the season coming out as gay to his teammates, is told privately by head coach Carl Veart that for football reasons he won’t play in the preliminary final, or even be on the bench.
Now the two films that were made – and the myriad storylines emerging from just one club – have led to a far more ambitious project that will take viewers behind the scenes across the A-Leagues, in close to real time.
Each week, A-Leagues All Access will premiere on Thursday evening via KEEPUP.com.au, the KEEPUP app and KEEPUP YouTube, with each episode featuring a different character– across the Isuzu UTE A-League and Liberty A-League – from players to coaches and fans, going beyond match days with unlimited access to their football, their lives and their passions.
Uniquely the turnaround from shooting to showing will be less than a week, and the project has required an open-door policy from players and coaches across the two leagues.
The precedent was set by Adelaide, with Veart acutely aware of the need to offer viewers a unique experience in watching Australian club football.
“As a club but also for me as a coach, we were completely fine with it,” Veart told KeepUp. “The story-telling that we’ve seen in those amazing documentaries overseas has drawn people into sport in brand new ways, and we know our game needs to appeal to the widest possible audience.
“I actually had no hesitation, even though it was the finals we were talking about – I spoke to the playing group to make sure they were comfortable, but there was no issue there either. In fact the guys are so professional that looking back I don’t think having the cameras around affected us at all.
“The feedback will be interesting once it goes live, but I found it quite enlightening from a personal point of view – I hadn’t realised how much I swear during games, or got so emotional.
“But this is the kind of behind the scenes stuff that people want to see now that those documentaries have shown what can be done.”
Watch the two exclusive films behind the scenes during Adelaide’s finals series coming on keepup.com.au soon.
