When you read a headline such as ‘It’s all on the table: FFA boss foreshadows change’, you realise just how different football may look in a few months’ time when, hopefully, people are permitted to play the game once again.
The Sydney Morning Herald ran that headline on Friday and respected football writer Michael Lynch quoted James Johnson’s words that appeared in a podcast on FFA’s official Twitter account.
To state the obvious, Johnson is one of millions of people charged with overseeing businesses, organisations and governing bodies who has no certain read on the continuing timeline of the COVID-19 pandemic. Nor does he know whether the climax of it has already been reached or whether the body he controls will even exist when this madness is all over.
That is the cold, hard reality of just how potentially damaging the situation around the globe is and it will be the task of FFA to navigate the post-COVID period in Australian football.
Inevitably, sacrifices will be made. Rumours are already circling that the W-League may well be a casualty of the pandemic and it is almost impossible to see even an abbreviated version of the FFA Cup competition being played in 2020-21. The schedule falls further and further behind as each day passes.
The Socceroos’ important World Cup qualifiers look likely to now be played very late in 2020 at best, with international travel and players traversing the globe too soon the dopiest thing that could be done in an effort to get the game up and running.
How FIFA manages that problematic situation is yet to be seen, however, the last thing required in Europe and North America at this point is a loosening of border control that sees COVID-19 take hold even further.
When the new international scheduling is done, FFA may well be reluctant and/or unable to invest in warm-up or practise matches for the Socceroos squad. Much the same will apply to FFA’s plan for the Matildas, as they enter a vital period where rebuilding a squad to challenge at the World Cup of 2023 is paramount.
Needless to say, as one of the five bidders for the event, along with Brazil, Colombia and Japan, the Australia/New Zealand effort may well be completely derailed depending on the financial realities that present themselves, once the pandemic has passed.
In fact, the decision to withdraw from the running may be a gut-wrenching one that FFA, in consultation with its Trans-Tasman counterparts, has to make well before the expected June 2020 announcement of the winning bid.
With no professional football played for some time, the FFA hoping to receive its next payment from the A-League host broadcaster and Fox Sports laying off more and more staff; desperate to keep its own head above water, just how much cash will be left in the coffers of the governing body is unsure.
(Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
It would be a wonderful initiative to hold a nation-wide telethon or charity concert to raise money for the beautiful game; to inject some funds and enable it to rebound more quickly. It is a nice idea, except for the simple fact that every other sport, sector of business, government and industry would be thinking and deserved of the same.
The financial effect of the coronavirus may well take near a decade to be fully overcome. Australia, like most countries, will be balance-sheet broke. It stands to reason that the same will be said of the businesses and bodies that fall underneath a government, one that will be asked for handouts by all.
With history in mind, as well as the Prime Minister’s love of a certain rough and tumble code and the always-influential AFL, it is hard to picture a stunning and generous financial stimulus provided for FFA to use as it sees fit.
Thus, A-League football in Australia will take a few backward steps when it comes to professionalism. Wages, many already held back, will be reduced for 2020-21, the National Premier League will look ever more like the top tier and the W-League faces a scary six months, hoping for a season at all.
No one takes the blame on this one. While casual racism may be attempting to do so, the global village is now on full display and the pandemic that many predicted, has eventually arrived.
It has destroyed people, families and cities. No doubt it will also destroy a few sports. Let’s hope football can buck the trend and survive.
Stevo
Roar Rookie
Here we go. "The 15-year marriage between Fox Sports and Australian football appears to be coming to an end after the broadcaster did not pay the final instalment of this season's TV deal, which was due on Thursday." https://www.theage.com.au/sport/soccer/fox-sports-ffa-on-path-to-divorce-after-a-league-instalment-not-paid-20200416-p54kj0.html
Kewell
Roar Rookie
Yep same old problems. AFL get millions thrown at them Soccer get stuck with voodoo pins. Free to air tv treat the game like poison to their provincial little their own brands. Now is the time to fix this. Any sign of discrimination from Newscorp, Nine or Seven needs to called out. Australians like winners, Football needs to start winning by producing a high tempo technically high quality game. If not forget it.
stu
Guest
Was......which sectors of the Australian economy were in recession prior to covid-19?
Lionheart
Roar Rookie
makes sense Stuart. I think we're all saying the same thing here, and I also think we have the right guy in place at the FFA. Lots of other barriers though.
Nemesis
Guest
I don't expect any sport to be given Govt money, other than the usual grants the Govt provides. And, I'd expect Federal Govt to provide basic funding for National Teams to compete in major competitions. Don't expect them to provide any wages for players; or, at the most, just the minimum wage. I doubt The Galahs would be considered a National Team playing in a major competition.
Sam
Guest
Any sporting organisation that waits for a hand out will fail. The government “may” only consider assistance where & only when they are convinced that the said sporting body has done everything possible to survive. There are many organisations that are in this position, they need to be proactive and move forward with the view that nothing may be available from the government. This is increasingly the likely scenario.
Nemesis
Guest
Now that the A-League is independent, FFA's annual budget would be around $30-40M. $10m is from Govt Grants which will be unchanged, if not increased. There will be reduced revenue from National Team matches & Sponsorship, but this will mean reduced expenses for those items. Same with registrations. Reduced rego revenue will mean reduced distributions to States. So, I don't think FFA will be too badly hurt by this. A-League for sure will be significantly damaged.
Roberto Bettega
Roar Rookie
I'm guessing the FFA would accept a $20 million gift in a heart beat, without too much quibbling. Even half that amount would help. Even a quarter.
Nemesis
Guest
Agree, the FIFA cash reserves are not the answer. Nor should they be the answer. But, I think you've left out a zero in your $2m/nation calculation. With FIFA's cash reserves estimated at around A$4 billion, if they distributed all the reserves equally to each Member it would work out to around $20m per member.
Waz
Roar Rookie
The FIFA cash surplus, if it were all given out (it wont be) and given equally to all member countries, would amount to about $2m per country. FIFA won’t be saving the day for any one.
Waz
Roar Rookie
The Australian economy was not strong going in to this crisis - we already had many sectors in recession and massive personal debt was underpinned by inflated house prices which have just been smashed by 20%. High unemployment, high personal debt, negative equity and now massive State/Federal government debt will all combine to make the Australian economy an utter basket case for the foreseeable future. Not good for anyone but especially sport, there is no quick rebound from this.
Stuart Thomas
Expert
Spot on and the need to step back a little should not be seen as failure for any code, sport or competition. More a financial reality and the chance to reinvent for the undoubted surge in a few years time. Getting it right will be an enormous boon for whomever does.
Nemesis
Guest
Not just A-League. Ex-AFL coach, Kevin Sheedy has suggested a return to semi-pro competition for AFL might be needed if this season is abandoned, which would leave nearly all AFL franchises insolvent. If this happens it's likely the AFL will return to state competitions until the financial situation stabilises. Obviously some franchises won't make the transition. I'd expect the Victorian entities to be able to rattle the tins to play semi-pro VFL again. Maybe the Swans will finally return to Sth Melbourne? Some interesting times ahead for all sports.
Roberto Bettega
Roar Rookie
It's almost guaranteed we will be watching a semi-pro league from next season, and I agree that one advantage is the bridging of it with the NPL, which actually is a good thing for the introduction of a national 2nd division. On the flip side, don't expect anything to happen next year which requires the spending of money - there will be no money to spend on anything.
Stuart Thomas
Expert
Strongest economies will be the quickest to bounce back no doubt. We might be in a reasonable position, except that football still struggles to draw those mega-sponsors that other codes enjoy. Harvey Norman World Cup?
Stuart Thomas
Expert
You may well be right. Probably purely a financial decision in the end. All bids could potentially pull out of the race pending their circumstances.
Stuart Thomas
Expert
Not really Lionheart, more that with lessened budgets, a semi-pro feel may pervade the A-League, making it much like NPL1 play. Hence, the time for pro/rel is nigh, considering that some of the wealth of the A-League will be stripped away. A real chance to blend everything now, play in suburban stadiums and streamline the game in Australia.
pacman
Roar Rookie
Waz, you have highlighted what many have failed to recognize, the shortage of cash at the bottom of the pyramid. Shades of The Great Depression, which many economists believe was only ended by World War ll. Economic recovery this time around will almost certainly follow a different course, but it will likely be slow. Football, and sports in general, will take a back seat for many families. They simply will not be able to afford what will suddenly become luxuries. This will reverberate throughout the sporting community, from the local footy club right up to the top of the pyramid. Corporate sponsorships will mostly disappear, gate takings will decline, pay TV subscriptions will decline, athletes' wages will decline. We are fortunate in this country that we are able to produce just about all of our food requirements. Many imported non-food goods could well be in short supply pending normal supply chains recovering. This will impact on the many businesses involved in getting these goods to market. A long slow road to recovery, with no easy fixes.
Roberto Bettega
Roar Rookie
FIFA has a big cash kitty and has publicly stated it will use it to help out national FAs.
Roberto Bettega
Roar Rookie
It's a good point, within the next couple of months, Australia and NZ might look like paradises on Earth, it would be difficult to find anyone better placed than us to host a world cup.