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How old is the 
A-League? | A Thread
With @thepfa and @FFA releasing reports recently that looked at player ages, I took a look myself.
A-League? | A ThreadWith @thepfa and @FFA releasing reports recently that looked at player ages, I took a look myself.
While @thepfa report suggests the average age in the #ALeague is 25, when adjusting based on how many minutes players have played, the average age increases significantly (to 26.8).
As an example @SydneyFC's average squad age goes up.
- Most of their minutes are played by a core group of players whose average age is 29
- U23 Players are not playing much (most less than 500 min)
This results in Sydney's squad age increasing by 3.6.
#SydneyIsSkyBlue
- Most of their minutes are played by a core group of players whose average age is 29
- U23 Players are not playing much (most less than 500 min)
This results in Sydney's squad age increasing by 3.6.
#SydneyIsSkyBlue
Meanwhile @AdelaideUnited's squad is younger, with minutes are going to a set of 9 players with an average age of 24, hence their low average age of 24.8 even when adjusting by minutes played.
#AUFC
#AUFC
Across the A-League, only 35 players managed more than 2250 @ALeague minutes - the benchmark given by the FFA as a significant indicator for career progression.
- Only 3 players were U23 (
x2, 
x1)
- 6 players were U25 (x3)
- 15 players are 30+
- Only 3 players were U23 (
x2, x1)- 6 players were U25 (
x3)- 15 players are 30+
Here's another look at it, showing one of the reasons why the @FFA report referred to the #ALeague as an "Experienced Player" competition.
The future does look more promising: 15 U23 players accrued 1500+ minutes (around 16 full games), with only 4 players not eligible for @Socceroos
@Socceroos
Full writeup here! https://aleagueapart.com/match-analysis/aleague-average-age-analysis
