Why the A-League must remember the associations

I believe that is what FFA intend to do. The XI points outline is meant as a discussion paper with the intention of encouraging all football fans to participate via an online questionnaire. For me No.1 is the key; ie: 'build a strong identity which inspires all Australians'. In other words, find what makes us proud to be Australian and adapt that to our sport. We are not a homogenous culture, but, even though we are from different backgrounds, we identify as Australian.

yep $ 28 K who parts with that wtf

maybe we should drop the term “the sleeping giant of Australian sport” and embrace the term “the sleeping giant that has left Australia”.

create a questionnaire with appropriate questions and ask the grassroots why they are not connecting should be easy with current technology the answers may provide some guidance as to how to fix the problem

Interesting that you mention the churches leagues. We in NSW also have a church run comp. It used to be quite big actually. I also understand that FFA does not count these in their participation numbers. I guess if it doesnt fall under their control they don't bother to count them as participants.

What determines a good playerf? If you have half a dozen world renowned clubs vying for the signature of one teenager, odds are that you are talking about a good player, as in world class, not just a good local player good enough for the local leagues. When was the last time an Australian player had half a dozen world renowned clubs vying for their signature (actually, you might be able to plonk a few current Matildas in that bracket).

Chris - You pose a very good question here. What determines a good player?. You could ask 6 different people that question and get 6 different answers. Football is a highly skilled game and in coaching lingo the requirements that can be measured are 5 in number,Heading,Tackling, Kicking a ball, (Shooting, Volley,Half volley,chip,), Dribbling, and Passing. Side issues are strength, fitness, and speed being necessities to be part of a player's skill set. You mention my mentioning the fact that we don't appear to be making players today that can move directly into A-League teams and ,more importantly , hold their place. There is numerical evidence from overseas that our latest "exports" are finding it difficult to penetrate the top leagues with only four or five holding positions in top sides compared with the twenty or so we had in the GG days, You mention why we don't appear to be filling A-League positions with locals,surely I don't have to spell out to you why it is that A-League clubs consistently ,year after year ,rush to raid overseas to fill their quotas, ie four or 5 players with experience. I for one will be happy when we see all A-League teams playing fully Australian teams but,to be honest,I am not holding my breath. Cheers jb.

Mid.- Football in Europe is in a constant sate of flux and there was a time in the early eighties when France was recognised by pundits as being the home of the best academies in the game. To keep this in perspective it has to be remembered that in the late sixties,early seventies, that mantle was worn by Dutch football,and if one has to go back further, most of the innovation started in Russia,Hungary, and to a lesser extent East Germany and back further Austria and Sweden.. Nowadays we are finding a growth towards good players not being "finished" at home based academies but rather players being purchased in order that a team be improved. in short ,let someone else do the hard work and then the 'big boys" will move in to do the "finishing". I do remember a very well qualified educator / football coach being brought to Australia in 1974 ,his mantra being to set up a coaching system where qualified coaches would be set up all around the country their task being to coach coaches so that a system would be in vogue where a common language would be used. His early efforts were to hire coaches who were school teachers as well as qualified football coaches. This was the man accused by some as initiating a "Pommy Mafia", a ridiculous claim, when one realises any incumbent had to be able to teach adults in a country where the language is English. I spent some long hours discussing this man's hopes and aims and it was to take another 45 years before an attempt was made to again try this, when Lowy hired Dutch coaches to write a curriculum that was to solve all our problems. Now some 12 years later we have yet to see the promised improvements. The argument to play young players in age groups is also flawed. Football is not a hugely physical sport and there is little to suggest that a very talented 13 year kld could not play in the company of 15 or 16 year old players., in fact there are numerous examples of players in the game who won their place in top class teams at a comparatively young age, Messi, Best etc,etc. yours jb

This is not entirely correct. In Victoria we also have the Bayside Soccer association and the Victorian Churches Football Association both which are not run by FFV and play Saturdays. I play for a team in the VCFA. Whilst we have had City come and visit a couple of times over the last 11 years I have played, we have never had Victory bother. So not much traction achieved through the two A-league clubs. We're east side of Melbourne so WU would'nt be interested. Training out of the 90 odd players, you'd get maybe 5 who actually wear A-league shirts. The vast majority wearing various EPL shirts, and a few with other Euro leagues. Talk is always about the various EPL teams, very little about A-league

NEW FFA DISCUSSION PAPER: XI Principles for the future of Australian football - 1. Build a consistent and strong identity for Australian football which inspires all Australians. 2. Develop a new narrative for football which signifies a fresh start for the game in Australia, successfully ties together all new initiatives and distinguishes it from other sporting codes in the country. 3. Establish an integrated and thriving football ecosystem driven by a modern domestic transfer system. 4. Create a dynamic and engaging football product by optimising competition structures to connect Australian football; promote competitive balance and tension; promote uncertainty of outcome; incentivise sporting achievement; and prioritise the fan experience. 5. Create a world class environment for youth development / production by increasing match minutes for youth players and streamlining the player pathway. 6. Create a strong culture around coach development by emphasising the importance of the role as a skilled position and a vital link in player development. 7. Transition towards a modern, fit-for-purpose governance framework for football in Australia in line with global standards and best-practice sports governance in Australia. 8. Create an operating and governance model for the A-League, W-League and Y-League which is fit for the current circumstances. 9. Ensure that football becomes more open and accessible to the Australian community and that cost does not remain a barrier to participation. 10. Continue the growth of the game by driving participation of women and girls and enhancing existing competition structures to promote player development. 11. Position the Westfield Matildas and the Socceroos as the unifying symbols of the game and heroes who epitomise the Australian football identity to inspire every young Australian regardless of their ability or background - https://www.ffa.com.au/sites/ffa/files/2020-07/FFA%20-%20XI%20Principles.pdf

A true pyramid with promotion and relegation from top to bottom will assist in growing the game. Simple stuff that could have increased knowledge of the game and the results could have been a revamp of the soccer pools with smaller clubs becoming agents for the sales and distribution of the pools. Based upon the results of the games played in the top divisions would get subscribers to look for the results at least. The clubs would earn a commission based upon the amount invested by their members etc. If it grew large enough the media would have to comment on the games and results.

Chris, I think it is a matter of scale. AFL develops the highest standard of AFL players, what a challenge! NRL develops high standard RL players in QLD and NSW and is able to attract Pacific Islanders. There is some competition coming from Yorkshire & Lancashire, but not much else. RU? We don't seem to be doing very well at the moment. Now to football. Played on a global scale, and due to our relatively small population, we find ourselves minnows in the biggest pond of all. That may explain the paucity of Australians playing at the top levels worldwide. Overseas players in semi-retirement are often stars in the A-League, due to their skill levels, not their physical prowess. Players from lower tier overseas leagues perform adequately in the A-League, but I have difficulty naming a top flight overseas player at his peak playing in the A-League. So I am in agreement with JB. We are not producing highest level players, but I will stand corrected if someone is able to name half a dozen locals presently playing,

Mid, correct me if I'm wrong, but this sort of sounds like the SAP sides in that younger bracket that arrived after - selecting kids for technical development. Listening to a podcast from Garry van Egmond from the other week and he identified that not all the very talented kids play against all the other very talented kids regularly, or for as much of the year as needed. Similar sentiments to what has been said before. There appear to be gaps in youth development but who knows when that will be looked at, considering the changes can take a decade to emerge.

On the other hand you have kids in Jets kit, but you also have the Messi's, Ronaldo's, Salas, etc. etc. etc. on various kits as well. The A-League could do with celebrating it's own heroes more, if it could cut through the noise from other leagues. Potentially the only way is for an A-League player to make it big. The only candidate right now is Sarpreet Singh with Bayern Munich. Maybe wrong team for this part of the world. In part a few players from various teams making it in the EPL, or just becoming as big to be mentioned in the same breath as Messi et al, would have local associations and the A-League celebrating this more to connect with local kids. Having more players make it overseas would help connect a few more among the player base to consider supporting their own professional league.

The question is why you would pay $28k for an 'academy' without any guarantees for the kid? It's not like they've said: Hey, we want your kid! We'll pay to move you to Barcelona... Sure clubs can't exploit kids at their main academies anymore, but the income is still streaming in.