quentinOPINION: How to restore confidence in Australian Soccer
September 17th 2010 00:08
It has been the most bizarre couple of weeks imaginable in Australian Soccer. Sport Talk has been sitting back and reading all the commentary on the A-League and all the stories going around and came to the most ugly conclusion imaginable, there's just too much negativity around the traps at this moment in time.
Is it justified though?
Sport Talk has used various comments not to mention opinion and has put 2 and 2 together to find an answer to this very question.
My disillusionment with the FFA began in February 2010 when I sat down to watch the league deciding match between Sydney FC and Melbourne Victory. I was looking forward to this game and was hoping that the Victory would claim the "Premiership" for the 3rd time in 5 seasons. That we lost the game is irrelevant, what caused me the greatest concern is the bewilderment of seeing FFA Chairman Frank Lowy wearing a Sydney FC cap and scarf. Suddenly I became fixated by the horrifying possibility that Frank Lowy could potentially influence the league to see his Sydney FC win the title.
Sydney did ultimately win the double and there were any number of refereeing decisions which did go their way however I am of the belief that Lowy didn't influence the outcome. What can't be denied though is that this would be considered a "conflict of interest" which shouldn't be allowed and it is astounding that he can get away with it. Upon further digging I discovered that Frank Lowy actually was a part-owner of Sydney FC along with their Russian owner and this sort of situation shouldn't be tolerated.
Since then we had a rather average World Cup where everyone lined up to criticise both Pim Verbeek and the FFA with SBS commentator Craig Foster taking it to the ultimate extreme by demanding that Pim Verbeek be sacked after Australia's 4-0 loss to Germany.
Unfortunately all the bad news/negativity has come in spades since that point. To list it all would be a worthwhile exercise to show the sorts of issues that have occured since the World Cup
- Robbie Slate/Harry Kewell war after allegations made concerning an incident in the Socceroos camp
- Lack of promotion
- Sydney Rovers may not have enough money to be the 12th club next year
- Clive Palmer reintroduces controversial crowd cap
- Newcastle Jets on the brink of extinction due to owner Con Constantine's financial woes
- Attendences continue to fall everywhere except Perth
- Criticism of the FFA for the lack of promotion/way the board is run/refusal to grant autonomy for the A-League/refusal to listen to clubs/pursuit of World Cup at expense of stable A-League
- Allegations of bribes in the Australian World Cup bid with the 2 books scandal
As a very concerned soccer fan reading more and more negativity, I say, enough is enough. Something has to change and rapidly. So what can be done to change the perceptions out there and revitalise the game in this great country.
I came up with a 9 point plan on things that need to change
1. Frank Lowy must sell his or his family's stake in Sydney FC
Some may call this trivial and some may just accuse a Melbourne person of being cynical and whinging for the sake of whinging but there is no way that this sort of situation is acceptable in sport. I mean, you don't see Andrew Demetriou putting his own money into North Melbourne or David Gallop putting his own money into Wests Tigers so why is it acceptable for the Lowy family to be putting some money into Sydney FC. This creates the perception of conflict of interest and it's not the sort of situation the FFA Chairman should be finding himself in.
2. There needs to be a lot more promotion
For any sport to survive, it requires itself to be promoted quite heavily to ensure they remain relevant. Whether this be by a concerted ad-campaing or whether you have someone from the FFA coming out and talking about the game and the challenges it face or having the clubs climb off their backsides and actually do something about the issue themselves. Offer discounts, showcase what the league is about. Use youtube to get your message out there, connect with the fans and sell yourself. Fair dinkum, it frustrates me no end that people complain about the same things and yet fail to address it. Having said that, the FFA does need to support the clubs and the league a lot more than they are at this point in time.
3. Don't put Sydney Rovers in the competition
There are stories going around that the competition's 12th team next year doesn't have the required startup capital needed to compete in the A-League and apparantly this bid was favoured over more-funded bids. If this should be the case, there should be an enquiry into how that is possible. Frank Lowy is an astute businessman and even he's made mistakes before but Sydney Rovers could very well be the biggest mistake the game has ever made. If they don't have the money, there should be a couple of options
3.1. Give them another 12 months to get the money together and a solid business plan in place
It's fair to say that this wouldn't be ideal for the league as we'd have to live with the situation of teams having the bye. While it's the current situation, it was on the proviso that the bye would be removed for the 2011-12 season with the entry of Sydney Rovers. As they can't guarantee they'd be ready in time, maybe it's a situation that will have to continue for a while yet.
3.2. Put the Rovers' license back on the market for those bids that were funded
As fas as we know, there are a couple of bids that are heavily funded and could guarantee a reasonably successful team. Canberra is one such team that comes to mind and for god's sake, what about Tasmania? I would rather one of these teams than a team that could fall over in Season 1 (Sydney Rovers) and it would be a sign that the FFA are looking to gain support nationally instead of their NSW focus (with Sydney Rovers, there would be 4 teams in NSW)
4. Phase out private ownership of clubs and encourage the supporters to help fund the club
It was important in the early years for the A-League teams to have private ownership to enable them to survive and build a market. As we've seen though, this has been a recipe for disaster with a number of clubs struggling. Here's a list of those struggling and what's happened now
North Queensland - Bruce Mathison was the owner and pulled out at the end of Season 5 with $3 million loss. FFA run the club with plans to transfer to community based structure
Gold Coast - Clive Palmer's been at loggerheads with the FFA and his controversial crowd cap, losing $5 million and yet still there
Brisbane - Have had FFA intervention at their club and now things have started to sort out with Dutch club FC Utrecht wanting to buy a share of Brisbane
Newcastle - Con Constantine has put a lot of money into the club over the years but has now hit severe financial woes
Adelaide - Had owners but then they pulled out due to lack of money and the FFA took over the running of that club
Perth - Had multiple owners before a couple pulled out which left Tony Sage wearing the losses the club has endured. To their credit, crowds have increased
NZ Knights/Wellington - NZ Knights were a disaster being pathetic on and off-field and in fact, had their owners lose the license and handed to Soccer NZ
That's 7 out of 11 clubs that have had ownership issues and this simply isn't good enough, nor is it acceptable.
These private owners should be encouraging the fans to buy a share in the club. Not only would this enable the fans to have a sense of belonging but it also forces the clubs to be more accountable to the fans and could introduce some democracy at clubs similar to the AFL in that people are elected to the board. Not only that, this would allow the club to raise money through a share issue and could help offset some of the losses that the club has had for the season.
5. Autononmy for the A-League
This is a rather controversial topic because it could be argued that without the support of the FFA, the A-League would never have lasted this long. I agree with that view but I also think that from reading the disillusion with the governing body, that maybe it's time for the A-League to get autonomy.
Instead of the FFA setting the rules for the A-League and their clubs, let a new board run the A-League and agree on the framework for the league with regards to sponsorship/promotion/fans etc
It makes sense as it then removes the likes of Frank Lowy and Ben Buckley to concentrate on the day-to-day running of the game looking at:
- Women's football
- Junior football
- Futsal
- Men's international teams
- Professional Referees
6. Make sure whoever is the face of the FFA has the necessary charisma and shows confidence and passion for the product
This may be a harsh sleight at Ben Buckley but as the face of the FFA, he really lacks charisma and most importantly lacks passion for the product. This is simply not good enough and very bloody unacceptable. Buckley obviously has the qualities needed to lead the FFA and secure votes for our bid for the 2022 World Cup but let's all remember where he's come from. He's come from the AFL as Demetriou's number 2 and has been well versed in cliches and tripe like that. If Buckley is to truely earn the respect of all, come out and be honest. Instead of tired old cliches, tell it how it is. Tell us what it is you want to achieve and how we, as fans can help out because we want nothing more than to see the game succeed in this country
7. Change the start time of the season so it doesn't clash with AFL/NRL Finals
This is an absolute no brainer. The A-League cannot keep starting the season in August and then wonder why the crowds aren't attending. It's lunacy to start a season when finals are approaching in both AFL and NRL. It would explain the lack of stories about the A-League and the lack of promotion because the FFA have already conceded the first 2 months as a lost cause. This is not good enough. If you start the season in October and finish in March, you could still fit in a 30 game season plus finals. Yes, this would mean a lot of midweek games which are the bane of clubs but if you still want a finals series, this is what has to be done. Seriously, I'm still not fully into the A-League this season because of AFL finals and really, my situation is repeated all over the country.
8. Introduce an FA Cup style knockout
I don't know how many times this idea has been discussed but it's really not rocket science. This would have to be the most obvious way of engaging with those who may be a bit reluctant about the A-League. A knockout tournament with A-League teams taking on State League teams would be of great importance and would give the grassroots some connection to the A-League. I cannot believe that this hasn't been introduced and it needs to be looked at ASAP
9. Put the A-League on free-to-air
This isn't rocket science either. Foxtel has been fantastic for the A-League in that they backed it to the extent that they have. This has been fantastic for the league but it has restricted who watches the games as it's only available to those who are foxtel subscribers. I am a foxtel subscriber so this doesn't affect me but for those who aren't, I have the deepest sympathy for them because they deserve to see the games on TV. Even if you put a highlights package on, at least that would be a start. If Foxtel were to onsell a game with a % of that money going to the FFA, that would also be a good move.
As a football supporter, I am deeply concerned by the current situation and the question at the moment is this
What happens if we wake up on December 2nd and we haven't won the rights to host the 2022 World Cup?
Where would we go from there?
The FFA need to show some leadership and ensure that we have a strong working A-League and a good feeling around the game instead of this constant negativity
The time for talk is over. The time for action has begun
Is it justified though?
Sport Talk has used various comments not to mention opinion and has put 2 and 2 together to find an answer to this very question.
My disillusionment with the FFA began in February 2010 when I sat down to watch the league deciding match between Sydney FC and Melbourne Victory. I was looking forward to this game and was hoping that the Victory would claim the "Premiership" for the 3rd time in 5 seasons. That we lost the game is irrelevant, what caused me the greatest concern is the bewilderment of seeing FFA Chairman Frank Lowy wearing a Sydney FC cap and scarf. Suddenly I became fixated by the horrifying possibility that Frank Lowy could potentially influence the league to see his Sydney FC win the title.
Sydney did ultimately win the double and there were any number of refereeing decisions which did go their way however I am of the belief that Lowy didn't influence the outcome. What can't be denied though is that this would be considered a "conflict of interest" which shouldn't be allowed and it is astounding that he can get away with it. Upon further digging I discovered that Frank Lowy actually was a part-owner of Sydney FC along with their Russian owner and this sort of situation shouldn't be tolerated.
Since then we had a rather average World Cup where everyone lined up to criticise both Pim Verbeek and the FFA with SBS commentator Craig Foster taking it to the ultimate extreme by demanding that Pim Verbeek be sacked after Australia's 4-0 loss to Germany.
Unfortunately all the bad news/negativity has come in spades since that point. To list it all would be a worthwhile exercise to show the sorts of issues that have occured since the World Cup
- Robbie Slate/Harry Kewell war after allegations made concerning an incident in the Socceroos camp
- Lack of promotion
- Sydney Rovers may not have enough money to be the 12th club next year
- Clive Palmer reintroduces controversial crowd cap
- Newcastle Jets on the brink of extinction due to owner Con Constantine's financial woes
- Attendences continue to fall everywhere except Perth
- Criticism of the FFA for the lack of promotion/way the board is run/refusal to grant autonomy for the A-League/refusal to listen to clubs/pursuit of World Cup at expense of stable A-League
- Allegations of bribes in the Australian World Cup bid with the 2 books scandal
As a very concerned soccer fan reading more and more negativity, I say, enough is enough. Something has to change and rapidly. So what can be done to change the perceptions out there and revitalise the game in this great country.
I came up with a 9 point plan on things that need to change
1. Frank Lowy must sell his or his family's stake in Sydney FC
Some may call this trivial and some may just accuse a Melbourne person of being cynical and whinging for the sake of whinging but there is no way that this sort of situation is acceptable in sport. I mean, you don't see Andrew Demetriou putting his own money into North Melbourne or David Gallop putting his own money into Wests Tigers so why is it acceptable for the Lowy family to be putting some money into Sydney FC. This creates the perception of conflict of interest and it's not the sort of situation the FFA Chairman should be finding himself in.
2. There needs to be a lot more promotion
For any sport to survive, it requires itself to be promoted quite heavily to ensure they remain relevant. Whether this be by a concerted ad-campaing or whether you have someone from the FFA coming out and talking about the game and the challenges it face or having the clubs climb off their backsides and actually do something about the issue themselves. Offer discounts, showcase what the league is about. Use youtube to get your message out there, connect with the fans and sell yourself. Fair dinkum, it frustrates me no end that people complain about the same things and yet fail to address it. Having said that, the FFA does need to support the clubs and the league a lot more than they are at this point in time.
3. Don't put Sydney Rovers in the competition
There are stories going around that the competition's 12th team next year doesn't have the required startup capital needed to compete in the A-League and apparantly this bid was favoured over more-funded bids. If this should be the case, there should be an enquiry into how that is possible. Frank Lowy is an astute businessman and even he's made mistakes before but Sydney Rovers could very well be the biggest mistake the game has ever made. If they don't have the money, there should be a couple of options
3.1. Give them another 12 months to get the money together and a solid business plan in place
It's fair to say that this wouldn't be ideal for the league as we'd have to live with the situation of teams having the bye. While it's the current situation, it was on the proviso that the bye would be removed for the 2011-12 season with the entry of Sydney Rovers. As they can't guarantee they'd be ready in time, maybe it's a situation that will have to continue for a while yet.
3.2. Put the Rovers' license back on the market for those bids that were funded
As fas as we know, there are a couple of bids that are heavily funded and could guarantee a reasonably successful team. Canberra is one such team that comes to mind and for god's sake, what about Tasmania? I would rather one of these teams than a team that could fall over in Season 1 (Sydney Rovers) and it would be a sign that the FFA are looking to gain support nationally instead of their NSW focus (with Sydney Rovers, there would be 4 teams in NSW)
4. Phase out private ownership of clubs and encourage the supporters to help fund the club
It was important in the early years for the A-League teams to have private ownership to enable them to survive and build a market. As we've seen though, this has been a recipe for disaster with a number of clubs struggling. Here's a list of those struggling and what's happened now
North Queensland - Bruce Mathison was the owner and pulled out at the end of Season 5 with $3 million loss. FFA run the club with plans to transfer to community based structure
Gold Coast - Clive Palmer's been at loggerheads with the FFA and his controversial crowd cap, losing $5 million and yet still there
Brisbane - Have had FFA intervention at their club and now things have started to sort out with Dutch club FC Utrecht wanting to buy a share of Brisbane
Newcastle - Con Constantine has put a lot of money into the club over the years but has now hit severe financial woes
Adelaide - Had owners but then they pulled out due to lack of money and the FFA took over the running of that club
Perth - Had multiple owners before a couple pulled out which left Tony Sage wearing the losses the club has endured. To their credit, crowds have increased
NZ Knights/Wellington - NZ Knights were a disaster being pathetic on and off-field and in fact, had their owners lose the license and handed to Soccer NZ
That's 7 out of 11 clubs that have had ownership issues and this simply isn't good enough, nor is it acceptable.
These private owners should be encouraging the fans to buy a share in the club. Not only would this enable the fans to have a sense of belonging but it also forces the clubs to be more accountable to the fans and could introduce some democracy at clubs similar to the AFL in that people are elected to the board. Not only that, this would allow the club to raise money through a share issue and could help offset some of the losses that the club has had for the season.
5. Autononmy for the A-League
This is a rather controversial topic because it could be argued that without the support of the FFA, the A-League would never have lasted this long. I agree with that view but I also think that from reading the disillusion with the governing body, that maybe it's time for the A-League to get autonomy.
Instead of the FFA setting the rules for the A-League and their clubs, let a new board run the A-League and agree on the framework for the league with regards to sponsorship/promotion/fans etc
It makes sense as it then removes the likes of Frank Lowy and Ben Buckley to concentrate on the day-to-day running of the game looking at:
- Women's football
- Junior football
- Futsal
- Men's international teams
- Professional Referees
6. Make sure whoever is the face of the FFA has the necessary charisma and shows confidence and passion for the product
This may be a harsh sleight at Ben Buckley but as the face of the FFA, he really lacks charisma and most importantly lacks passion for the product. This is simply not good enough and very bloody unacceptable. Buckley obviously has the qualities needed to lead the FFA and secure votes for our bid for the 2022 World Cup but let's all remember where he's come from. He's come from the AFL as Demetriou's number 2 and has been well versed in cliches and tripe like that. If Buckley is to truely earn the respect of all, come out and be honest. Instead of tired old cliches, tell it how it is. Tell us what it is you want to achieve and how we, as fans can help out because we want nothing more than to see the game succeed in this country
7. Change the start time of the season so it doesn't clash with AFL/NRL Finals
This is an absolute no brainer. The A-League cannot keep starting the season in August and then wonder why the crowds aren't attending. It's lunacy to start a season when finals are approaching in both AFL and NRL. It would explain the lack of stories about the A-League and the lack of promotion because the FFA have already conceded the first 2 months as a lost cause. This is not good enough. If you start the season in October and finish in March, you could still fit in a 30 game season plus finals. Yes, this would mean a lot of midweek games which are the bane of clubs but if you still want a finals series, this is what has to be done. Seriously, I'm still not fully into the A-League this season because of AFL finals and really, my situation is repeated all over the country.
8. Introduce an FA Cup style knockout
I don't know how many times this idea has been discussed but it's really not rocket science. This would have to be the most obvious way of engaging with those who may be a bit reluctant about the A-League. A knockout tournament with A-League teams taking on State League teams would be of great importance and would give the grassroots some connection to the A-League. I cannot believe that this hasn't been introduced and it needs to be looked at ASAP
9. Put the A-League on free-to-air
This isn't rocket science either. Foxtel has been fantastic for the A-League in that they backed it to the extent that they have. This has been fantastic for the league but it has restricted who watches the games as it's only available to those who are foxtel subscribers. I am a foxtel subscriber so this doesn't affect me but for those who aren't, I have the deepest sympathy for them because they deserve to see the games on TV. Even if you put a highlights package on, at least that would be a start. If Foxtel were to onsell a game with a % of that money going to the FFA, that would also be a good move.
As a football supporter, I am deeply concerned by the current situation and the question at the moment is this
What happens if we wake up on December 2nd and we haven't won the rights to host the 2022 World Cup?
Where would we go from there?
The FFA need to show some leadership and ensure that we have a strong working A-League and a good feeling around the game instead of this constant negativity
The time for talk is over. The time for action has begun
| 61 |
| Vote |
subscribe to this blog
