Newcastle Jets face $31.5m Kashima in Champions League opener
The Newcastle Jets play Kashima Antlers, whose squad is valued at $31.5 million against the A-League's $2.55 million salary cap.
Newcastle Jets open their Asian Champions League campaign against Kashima Antlers on Tuesday, facing a team worth roughly twelve times the entire A-League salary cap. Kashima's squad carries a $31.5 million transfer value, while the A-League's spending limit is just $2.55 million.
Kashima's goalkeeper was the J-League player of the year and attended the World Cup. The Jets have faced Kashima twice before in Asian competitions, losing 4-1 in a 2019 playoff.
Club great Jason Hoffman, who was in the 2009 team that reached the round of sixteen, notes the technical sophistication of Japanese football poses a different challenge to the physical, direct style of the A-League.
- $31.5 million
- Kashima squad value
- $2.55 million
- A-League salary cap
- Kashima worth 12 times A-League cap
- Value disparity
Why it mattersThe Jets represent Australian club football on the continent's biggest stage, but the resource mismatch shows how far the A-League lags behind Asia's elite.
AustraliaAustralian football fans will see how one of the country's strongest teams fares against Asian powerhouses with vastly bigger squads and budgets.
✓ Claims checked against the source and corrected before publish. checked 9 d ago
