The way forward for football was shown by Remo Nogarotto back in the heady days of the NSL.
The NSL in Sydney had three strong sides, Sydney Olympic, Sydney United and Marconi, later on extending to four other sides with Parramatta Power. There were also a number of strong state league teams who had been in the NSL at one time or other.
Into this array of teams to a competition we know was dying on its feet came the Northern Spirit who followed the path developed by Perth Glory in being an openly non-ethnic team.
The crowds were on par with Sydney FC in their first three years.
What Remo identified as the answer to building crowds was working with the associations and through association with the committees of the local park teams. He often spoke about the need to connect to the committees of local clubs or at least get them to do things for you.
In return for park teams handing out advertising flyers and generally promoting the game, Remo provided free entry to all registered players under 16. He understood the need to offer the park teams something in return and arranged for many presentations etc.
FFA identified the massive gap between player to active supporter and fan. In football the conversion rate was around 17 per cent with other codes in the mid 80s. There are lots of reasons for this, including a lack of free-to-air coverage over the years, many involved in coaching being the only person who could turn up resulting in no real driver from within.
However the three to eight committee members of the park clubs control the flow of information and can be a major influence on coaches, players and parents of players. It’s these very folk Remo negotiated with through their associations.
I asked Remo why other NSL teams had not tried what he was doing and he said he was astounded no one else had done so. From my experience the A-League has not marketed direct to park players other than by way of gathering email addresses and global Socceroo marketing. The Mariners have and it worked to great effect when they did it.
Remo believed the answer to crowds and ratings was always with the park teams and the associations that manage them. Further he believed the best way to connect to the players was through their committees.
I tend to think he was right. At a time of low crowd averages, no media, and playing in a rugby league and union heartland, he managed to bring in huge crowds.
I was a committee member of my local club in Sydney and only the Mariners asked for help. They also offered little in return.
This is how I would connect the A-League to its player base, via the committees of the park team through their associations.
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