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FFA sets out 20-year plan for Australian football

David Gallop and FFA might now want South Melbourne in the comp. (AAP Image/Lukas Coch)
5th May, 2015
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The FFA has today set out their ‘Whole of Football Plan’, which aims to set goals for the growth of the game in Australia over the next 20 years.

Embarking on a lengthy consultation process with the stakeholders and fans, the FFA today revealed what would be their key objectives and benchmarks for the next two decades.

With over 20,000 respondents to the survey, and a set of public forums designed for fans to have their say, the FFA have set an ambitious target of an Australia-wide football community of 15 million by 2025, including a million members of A-League clubs.

The full list of objectives was revealed in the statement.
– A 15 million strong Football community by 2035, including 1 million club members
– A distinctive Australian style of playing that puts our National Teams in contention for all FIFA and AFC championships
– Hosting the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup as the driver of women’s Football participation and professionalism
– National competitions that attract 75% of participants to support a Top Tier club
– A combined pool of 3,000 elite male and female players from 12 to 19 vying for future national selection and professional contracts
– Academies that provide world-class coaching so that no Australian youth needs to go overseas to find elite development
– A redistribution of resources to community Football
– Lower cost and higher quality coach education from the grassroots to professional tier
– Making schools and social Football the focus of an “Anytime, Anyhow, Anywhere” approach to playing the game
– Sourcing Football facilities that accommodate the increasing urban density of Australian society
– Redefining the role of referees as game facilitators, not just as arbitrators of the Laws of the Game

Some of the more vague and perhaps more interesting objectives include the ‘redistribution of resources to community football’, and the plan to implement ‘A distinctive Australian style of playing that puts our National Teams in contention for all FIFA and AFC championships’.

There’s also no doubt that the organising body are setting ambitious number targets.

Football Federation Australia Chairman Frank Lowy said he was confident a unified approach to the goals of the game would benefit each stakeholder around the country.

“Ten years ago at the outset of Football’s new beginning, publishing a Whole of Football Plan for the decades ahead would have appeared premature and overly optimistic,” said Lowy.

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“We first had to rebuild the foundations and restore credibility to our game.

“Today, much hard work has brought us to the point where we have the unity and sense of destiny that means the time is right to think big. There are millions whose lives are enriched by Football and we owe it to them to fulfill the game’s great promise.”

FFA CEO David Gallop remained steadfast in his goal that football would become the biggest and most popular sport in the country.

“Football is on a mission to become the largest and most popular sport in Australia,” said Gallop.

“It’s a bold idea, but now is the time for the Australian Football community to bring it to life.

“The Whole of Football Plan gives everyone in Football a long-term view of what the game needs to do in order to fulfill its potential and reach its destiny.”

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