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Harry Kewell of Australia is challenged by Mohammed Addullah of Oman and team-mate Mohamed Rabia Jamaan Al Noobi during a FIFA Asian Cup qualifying match. AAP Image/Joe Castro
It’s officially a saga now. Harry Kewell’s career as a whole seems to have been one great saga, but nothing the 32-year-old has done previously has polarised Australian football fans like this current soap opera, which stars he and his manager, Bernie Mandic, as they negotiate a deal with the FFA to play at either Sydney FC or Melbourne Victory in the A-League.
The saga has taken so many twists and turns in recent months it’s hard to keep track, dominating the A-League off-season (have we ever seen an A-League off-season like this?) and shining a light on the A-League’s plight.
Yesterday, Mandic declared that Kewell would not be playing in the A-League, despite having agreed to terms with both Melbourne and Sydney, and being in the process of making his final choice.
The deal breaker, according to Mandic, was on how much the FFA would put up for Kewell’s services as the new face of the A-League. Mandic even went into detail on one facet of the deal, saying he and his client were after a 30/70 split of increased away game revenues generated by Kewell’s presence.
Given the depth of the ongoing saga, you sense Mandic’s declaration that Kewell won’t be in the A-League next season is just the latest twist; a Machiavellian subplot, or the latest front to push the final the deal through.
One can only hope Mandic is not trying to divert blame for any failed deal, or change of heart from Kewell, onto the FFA, who could be seen as an easy target given the recent angst against the governing body regarding their handling of the game.
Ultimately, the complex deal comes down to two key questions: how involved should the FFA be in deal? And how altruistic should Kewell be?
On the first question, a solid argument can be made for the FFA to cave to Mandic’s revenue demand in the name of growing the league. After all, Kewell’s worth to the A-League cannot be underestimated. As the magnitude and reach of this saga highlights, his profile exceeds the game’s boundaries.
Only Tim Cahill, Mark Schwarzer and Lucas Neill have a similar profile in mainstream Australia, but Kewell’s fame exceeds that. He is the golden boy of Australian football, and shouldn’t be confused with other Socceroos who have failed to cause much of a ripple on their arrival in the A-League. None had anywhere near the public profile that Kewell enjoys.
So, given that his arrival has the potential to do more for the A-League than any marketing campaign the FFA can come up with, why shouldn’t the FFA allow Kewell to cash in on his return home? The AFL manipulates matters for its most needy clubs – see the draft concessions to Gold Coast FC and Greater Western Sydney Giants, let alone the role it played in the poaching of Karmichael Hunt and Israel Folau.
But mingling creates a dangerous precedent, particularly with independently owned clubs. Given the recent allegations regarding Sydney FC’s salary cap and the role certain FFA higher-ups have at the club, the last thing the governing body needs to do is unfairly favour one club by helping this deal through. After all, there are some very real concerns around the A-League and multiple clubs are in challenging predicaments. Why should one benefit most when there are more pressing matters?
While the AFL media tends to turn a blind eye to the inconsistent interfering the governing body partakes in within its own league, the FFA and A-League cannot afford such accusations and attacks to the game’s integrity during this challenging growing period.
It needs to tread a very fine line between doing its best to encourage Kewell and not selling its soul and corrupting the competition.
That brings us to Kewell’s role in all this. Knowing the precarious position the FFA is in, and what a difference his arrival would make to the A-League, why doesn’t he just accept no extra revenue from away games?
While on the one hand he and his manager have every right to fight for what they deem acceptable demands at the negotiating table, having worked so hard to build the Kewell-brand, you would hope there is some part of Kewell that is being driven to assist the A-League in its time of need.
While he has no obligation to do so, the Socceroos hero has this great opportunity to help the A-League’s strive forward. Football fans can only hope that opportunity is not squandered by greed.
Sadly, that can be the only motivator when you are demanding the FFA other clubs hand over revenue generated from their home games – games they have promoted, in communities they have worked within to build a football club.
Should these other clubs not benefit from Kewell’s return, particularly when the FFA is helping to orchestrate this deal? If the FFA is involved, it must be beneficiary for all in the league.
Limiting the amount they too can benefit from his arrival seems unjust. It’s just not very altruistic, Harry and Bernie.
The general public knows the A-League has been bleeding – the demise of North Queensland Fury, the off-field struggle of Gold Coast United, and diminishing crowds. They also know the FFA doesn’t have the pots of gold of the AFL or NRL to be throwing around.
By squabbling over away game revenue and declaring that as a deal-breaker, Mandic, and Kewell by extension, are coming across as holding the FFA and A-League for ransom, at a time when the governing body only has so much to give.
Even if this facet of the deal relates to future revenue streams created as a result of Kewell’s arrival, the perception being created is of a footballer with millions in the bank jeopardising a deal that could change the domestic game, for a few thousand dollars. That may not be the case, but that’s the image coming across.
Rather than hurting the FFA – and, by extension, the A-League – in his claims, Mandic is in fact hurting the carefully cultivated brand he has built around his client.
If Kewell does not end up in the A-League next season, having come so close, his brand will be scarred back home, rightly or wrongly.
Follow Adrian on twitter @AdrianMusolino