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State of Football: In forward motion, springing more into Australia's sporting fabric

17th September, 2014
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David Gallop and FFA might now want South Melbourne in the comp. (AAP Image/Lukas Coch)
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17th September, 2014
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This morning, at the Museum of Contemporary Art at Circular Quay in Sydney, FFA CEO David Gallop will address the media on the current state of football.

The setting, in many ways, paints an interesting connection to football in Australia given the use of the words “contemporary” and “art”. Yet, dive deeper into the various offerings at the museum and you will find a few more metaphors on the state to the game.

One of the current offerings is “emotion/motion” from French artist Annette Messager, described as “at once playful and disturbing”. No doubt it will evoke memories of the “90 minutes, 90 emotions” ad used in season three of the A-League.

Indeed, the words “emotion” and “motion” are very apt given the ups and downs of the A-League’s opening nine seasons, and the fact it finally appears to moving in the right direction. Gallop has previously spoken of the game being in an “execution phase”, and there’s no doubt he will address this forward trajectory this morning.

The museum’s links don’t stop there. Starting next week is the annual Primavera, an exhibition for Australia’s brightest young artists. It’s symbolic in many ways of the general direction football Down Under is headed, giving more and more opportunities to young Australian football practitioners.

While the game has a long and storied history, it is still seen by many Australians as a sport in its infancy as far as mainstream appeal is concerned. The fact it’s a sport converting so many youngsters into passionate and knowledgable fans paints a very bright future.

The other symbolic aspect to the Primeravera is that, in Italian, it means spring, and given the A-League kicks off in middle of spring, and had its biggest push when a certain Italian turned up in the spring of 2012, it’s another apt descriptor.

I’m not sure the FFA thought of all this when they were choosing the location for Gallop’s address, but the symbols are everywhere. Showcasing overseas quality, mixed with the best of the local kids, trying to get noticed, is very much the selling point for our various domestic competitions, the A-League and W-League.

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Whether Alessandro Del Piero even gets a mention today remains to be seen, but there’s no doubt his arrival was the big game-changer for the A-League.

After some staggering growth in the first couple of years, there’s no doubt the competition stagnated before the turn of the decade, as interest plummeted on the back of some average football being dished up by managers, and poor decisions from both head office and most of those involved.

On the field the standard was very average, and off it the leaders and those driving them got too far ahead of themselves. Australia, on a whole, showed it wasn’t yet ready to fully embrace a sport it had always struggled to be fully accepted.

Nowhere were these dynamics more evident than when the FFA put its hands up to host the 2022 World Cup.

But step by step things started to turn for the league with the return of Socceroos likes Jason Culina, Brett Emerton and Harry Kewell, some better foreign recruitment and better choices in the dugout.

Then came Del Piero, the Western Sydney Wanderers, Emile Heskey and Shinji Ono, all at the same time, and things changed in a big, big way in season eight. Suddenly the game had the credibility and media attention it had long craved, both domestically and overseas.

The perception of a troubled past was being replaced by the feeling this was a sport on the move in Australia. The headlines and depth of coverage in the newspapers and mainstream media that season where quite phenomenal, and rarely let up.

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While last season was a little bit of a comedown as the cricket Big Bash League made an imprint over summer, the feel is that football continues its rise on so many fronts.

Gallop will address all this, talking about the number of members across the A-League, the growth in crowds and media “penetration”, and the number of kids and girls playing and watching.

He will talk of a Socceroos that have started to turn the corner under an Australian coach, how we can look forward to hosting the Asian Cup in January and how football now spreads itself across the calendar, touching us at every juncture.

Little doubt Gallop will reflect on the diversity and multicultural aspect of the game that can continue to help build bridges in a world trying to bring them down.

He will highlight the structural work the FFA have done by connecting to the top with its history and grassroots through the FFA Cup and the National Premier Leagues, and how the governing body is looking to be more “strategic” about where it expands the national competition after the mistakes up north.

Gallop will reflect on the state of the “technical revolution” designed to change the way we develop players and coaches, and update on the progress of the national curriculum and high performance units.

Overall he will paint a rosy picture, and given how many boxes have been ticked in “execution”, it would be a fair assessment. This is particularly relevant when you consider the financing of football, which doesn’t yet have access to the multi-millions that the NRL, AFL and cricket access through their TV deals.

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Considering this, football is punching well above its weight.

There’s no doubt the FFA, over the past couple of years, has certainly evolved from the mood of distrust and disfunction that blighted Ben Buckley’s time in charge, but it is by no means yet the flavour of the month. Many fans remain cautious and skeptical about the control head office continues to exude, particularly over its management of active A-League fans.

Only last season the atmosphere generated by these fans was used as a selling point, yet active supporters around the country continue to protest about what they see as restrictive and draconian measures meant to stifle the scene they set. Working with these fans still remains the best way forward given that the atmosphere at A-League games still remains a prize asset.

But there remains other significant work for Gallop over the coming years.

One of the more pressing relates to player and coaching education costs. FFA should never take their participation levels for granted. Other codes continue to make themselves attractive through affordability, and football must also move with the times.

As well, there remains a need to educate more coaches in order to push the technical revolution through, and making these courses more affordable would help. Another key initiative it to continue to push for better standard football pitches and infrastructure. There has been some excellent work over the past five years on this front.

Local councils, one senses and sees, are starting to make decisions to the benefit of football, enabling amenities, pitches and granting better access. Slowly but surely football appears to be seeping into the thoughts of state and federal government too, and this remains important structural work for it lays the foundations for future use.

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Other things in need of attention includes spreading coaching education as far down the pyramid as possible, and ensuring player development in the formative years is of a consistently good standard.

What the bedding down of technical player and coaching pathways will do is create a broader depth of knowledge, and this is still required at every level, right up to A-League player retention and recruitment.

This cuts across the coverage of the game too.

Right now the standard of coaching and development remains scattered, with pockets of brilliance, but far too much being done without the benefit of education. As great as the addition of the FFA Cup has been, it’s also served to highlight the issues that run deep down into the state tiers, from poor coaching to under-financing.

But highlighting these remains very important. It’s no good having a glitzy and glamorous top tier, and a huge gulf beneath it. This needs to be bridged.

With better club structures down the divisions and the next couple of TV deals likely to grow the football pie, head office can start to get its head around the creation of a national second division.

Once structures are embedded and there is a depth of sustainable clubs, the idea of promotion and relegation might get a run, giving clubs down the chain something to strive for, and those already there some heat from below.

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Having the appropriate governance and oversight, dangling the carrot and keeping stakeholders engaged all remain big areas of focus over the coming years.

So much good foundation work has been achieved, but as Gallop reflects on this and looks around at the artwork today, he ought to be inspired by the creative opportunities that lie ahead.

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