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Rival codes threatened by football: Kosmina

13th April, 2012
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Rival football codes create much of the negativity about football in Australia because they feel threatened, Adelaide United coach John Kosmina says.

Kosmina dismissed concerns for the future of football, but called for the A-League to consolidate after losing their Gold Coast club and Nathan Tinkler returning his ownership licence of Newcastle Jets.

“Nathan Tinkler might find out that you don’t dirty your own nest – which is what he has done,” Kosmina said on Friday.

“It’s great for him to be a proud Novacastrian but you back it up with actions, not just talk about it.

“And he has certainly really done the wrong thing by the local football community.”

Kosmina said football was healthy in Australia despite the current controversies.

“A lot of the negativity comes from the rival codes,” he said.

“And people that generally throw knives at other people feel threatened by those people.

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“And I’d say certainly in this case, the AFL never miss a chance to have a dig – the NRL are probably a bit more subtle about it.

“… And I’ll be blunt – you guys in the media probably jump on the bandwagon of the other sports because they have got a bit more clout than we have.”

Kosmina said A-League clubs needed to rein in spending.

“If you throw money at things, generally you just have to throw more at it,” he said.

“And it doesn’t get better – it gets worse and you create more problems that you need to solve.

“So consolidate – maybe everyone should just look at how they go about their business.”

Kosmina believed professional sport worldwide wasn’t viable.

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“How much money did the (AFL club) Gold Coast Suns lose last season? – I heard a number of $23 million touted around,” he said.

“Gold Coast Titans in the NRL – $27 million in the red … Manchester United – half a billion pounds in the red.

“So is professional sport viable?

“No it’s not. It relies on benevolent billionaires. That is how it survives all around the world.”

But he cautioned about giving the billionaires too much power.

“How far do you bend over?” Kosmina said.

“You have got to give people respect. But that doesn’t mean they’re allowed to disrespect you back.”

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