Sydney FC and the A-League try to recapture their bling in new documentary series

COVID state border restrictions and constant rescheduling arguably wreaked greater havoc on the national soccer competition than their bigger rival football codes - the AFL and NRL - given the importance of crowds in creating the sport's atmosphere.

In the 2020-21 A-League men's season, 10 of the 12 clubs recorded their lowest seasonal average attendance.

Then last season Wellington Phoenix, who were playing out of Wollongong's WIN Stadium due to New Zealand's border restrictions, opted to play their match against Melbourne Victory behind closed doors to mitigate their financial losses.

The A-Leagues also weren't helped by the absence of big-name imports and the switch to the freshly-launched Paramount+ streaming service, which lacked the mainstream exposure of Fox Sports and Kayo.

However, all isn't lost. Football fans are a loyal bunch and as the cliche goes, "there's always next season."

The next A-League men's season kicks off on October 7. Network 10 has increased its free-to-air showing to two games every weekend on Saturday night and Sunday afternoon, with all games on Paramount+.

The FIFA World Cup also begins on November 20 and the Socceroos' appearance in Qatar is expected to translate to more interest in the A-League.

A-League fans will also have more content than ever before with two new documentary series focused on the competition.

The A-Leagues All Access is a 30-episode weekly series which follows various players and personalities throughout the season. Episodes will be uploaded weekly on Thursday nights on the competition's website, keepup.com.au.

On Friday Paramount+ will debut the first episode of their four-part Sky Blue: Inside Sydney FC documentary filmed last season.

Sports documentaries have become sought-after content on TV streaming services, as often sport produces greater drama and characters than the best script-writers.

The Michael Jordan-Chicago Bulls series The Last Dance was a worldwide phenomenon for Netflix in 2020 and Amazon Prime's The Test and Making Their Mark were hypnotic viewing for cricket and AFL fans.

Football has arguably produced the most engrossing of all in Sunderland 'Til I Die, which plotted the continued demise of the once-proud English Premier League club.

The first episode of Sky Blue: Inside Sydney FC carries a similar vibe. Narrated by actor and former Sydney FC part-owner Anthony LaPaglia, Sky Blue attempts to present a glittering image of the club.

There's ample panoramic shots of Sydney harbour and the bridge and scenes from the club boardroom meetings held inside the prestigious Chifley Tower, all seemingly shot to portray the image of "Bling FC."

However, the bling loses its lustre when the series shows games played in front of vastly-unpopulated suburban stadiums.

What Sky Blue does present clearly is the personalities that provide the club's heartbeat.

There's the team's Chilean chef Jorge Ledesma, who enjoys dropping F-bombs in amongst his words of encouragement and chicken tagine, and we meet new recruit Elvis Kamsoba.

The young striker was four months old when his family was forced to leave their war-torn African country of Burundi, to live in a refugee camp in Tanzania. Kamsoba lived there for 11 years before migrating to Australia.

Sky Blue also places a major focus of Sydney FC's women's team, who have dominated their competition.

Yet despite their success, they live a very different existence to the men.

The documentary follows defender Ally Green, who drives to training a 5.30am before continuing on to work.

"Women's football is still part-time here in Australia, it's only when you get your first semi-professional contract that you start to actually get paid," Green says.

"Most players are on a minimum of $16,300 and that's a six-month contract.

"It's more of a compensation. It's not really earning a wage like the men can. It's not fair."

Sky Blue: Inside Sydney FC begins streaming on Paramount+ on Friday.