Excellent point, Post_hoc. That definitely slipped my mind. And, I think you’re right, there should be no vote for NIX at FFA Congress.

True. If the ALeague becomes a separate entity, independent of the FFA, then there may not be a need for the ALeague clubs to have any votes at the FFA Congress.

In relation to local associations, I don’t know about other State Federations, but in Victoria, the Members are

“two Zone Representative from each Zone, and
the chair of each Standing Committee”

The Zone Representatives are listed here & they cover all regions of Victoria (suburban & regional)

Zone Representatives

The Standing Committees are: refs, coaches, women, Futsal, juniors, men’s

It’s no longer a Thought Bubble, or Whiteboard Strategy.

Could this be the Birth of a National 2nd Division for Football in Australia?

https://goo.gl/photos/b3th9GSRfs3yuw1K8

Jeff,

With my model, the grassroots level holds 42% of the votes.
The combined ALeague/WLeague only have 26% of the votes.

It needs to be mentioned that, according to estimates reported in the media, ALeague/WLeague (mainly ALeague) currently provides 75% of the FFA’s annual revenue.

@Waz

I definitely like the idea of fans forming a Union or Association.

And I definitely like the idea of this Association being used to lobby politicians.

Just don’t think it’s required at the FFA Congress level.

If the ALeague were to become independent, then maybe fans could have input at that level.

It’s obvious to me that fans within a club have very different expectations and value things differently.

Then, when we look across clubs – fans of Melbourne Victory will have different expectations to fans of CCM who will have different expectations to fans of NIX, etc. etc.

Further, fans of NPL or grassroots have different expectations to fans of ALeague.
Fans who attend every away matches different expectation to fans who only attend home matches & different expectations to fans who only watch on TV.

@mattq

We obviously won’t agree on this.

But, suffice to say…

Apart from the exception I’ve mentioned below, EVERY single football club in Australia – at all levels since football was 1st played in this country – would have been built & administered by Club Members.

The only exceptions to this are the 9 A-League clubs.

@mattq

I was also referring to top tier football in Australia.

Before the ALeague, the top tier football in Australia was NSL. I wasn’t involved but I guarantee the NSL clubs were filled with members who literally built & managed every aspect of the clubs – from mopping floors to pouring the concrete to build grandstands.

Aren’t you part of the AFL fanboys who constantly tell us how AFL club members actually own their club?

Yet, you ask this question about why should Members be treated differently?

Wow. Whatever is said on a Football discussion, your immediate reaction is to poke your nose in to be argumentative.

@Waz

This discussion is purely about a New Model for the FFA Congress – who will get a vote for FFA Board & at AGMs.

Does any Football Association have “Fans” as a voting constituency?

I’m all for fans having a vote at club level. So far, no one has said anything to convince me fans need a vote at FFA level.

This Hot Topic keeps getting hotter.

One thing for sure – everyone is watching & FFA won’t be able to sweep stuff under the carpet like they have in the past.

https://goo.gl/photos/njZUsaFSRfYweBju7

. A membership is a relatively new phenomenon in Aus football

I don’t think this is accurate at all. Grassroots clubs all over Australia have been built – quite literally – by Members.

In fact, I’d say ALeague clubs have the lowest Member engagement of any football clubs in Australia.

You’ve hit the nail on the head!

The State Feds currently control 90% of the votes for the FFA Board. Everyone complaining about Frank Lowy passing the baton to his son should be asking their State Federation to explain why:

– they didn’t nominate any alternatives for the FFA Board

Even the ALeague clubs who are whining didn’t even nominate anyone for the FFA Board. The one excuse for the ALeague is that their nominee would not be elected unless they could have got support from 5 of the State Federations.

If I recall correctly, the ALeague clubs couldn’t even agree on 1 nominee. A few of the clubs put forward one name, but the big clubs like MV & WSW didn’t want him.

The FFA Chairman would only have power to settle stalemates at FFA Board Meetings.

What I’m proposing is the Congress – i.e. the group of people who represent the Whole of Football in Australia.

The way I’ve structure this model we have an odd number of votes so there can never be a stalemate. If any Member doesn’t attend their Proxy Vote will fall to whomever is given responsibility for Proxy Voting.

Ok. I’ve just browsed their website.

Seems anyone can join – there is no joining fee & no identity check. So, just like The Roar, anyone can join as many times as they want provided they give a new surname and new email address?

Does this Group actually have any voting power on the English FA?

Or is their power Sweet FA – just a forum for aggrieved fans to show their outrage?

jb

Very wise insight about having too many ‘members’.

However, these Members will not be involved with day-to-day operations. Rather, they will vote on big issue items that are raised at Annual General Meetings, or EGMs.

So items on the Agenda at AGMs would typically include:

* FFA Annual Finance reports
* Election of FFA Board
* New items such as:
– Junior Development/National Curriculum
– hosting major tournaments in the future (youth WC, Women’s WC, men’s WC)
– on-field issues:
> Goal Line Technology/VAR
> use of artificial pitches
> heat policies for playing football
> etc.

Bingo!

Imagine the crazy football illiterates & football haters who would join a Supporters Group just to cause disruptions.

We have enough crazies from outside our Community who make it their daily routine to disrupt football discussions. These pathetic lonely people will jump at the chance to have their ignorant voices represented.

mattq

The list I’ve given is for new FFA Members (or Congress). These are the people who will nominate & vote for the FFA Board. Right now the FFA Board is appointed by 10 votes (1 vote from each State/Territory Fedration + 1 vote from ALeague)

The FFA Board is appointed by and represents the FFA Members.
The FFA Members represent the football community.

It will be up to the FFA Members/Congress to decide what type of Board they want in the future.

Totally agree SN.

I desperately want more Indigenous Aussies engaging with football, however, I don’t believe any ethnic group of Australians should be singled out for getting a vote at FIFA Congress.

Regardless, any ethnic demarcation in football is completely contrary to the FFA’s NCIP.

Indigenous football issues can be represented by establishing a Standing Committee.

One issue is ensuring W-League representatives are independent of A-League representatives

If WLeague clubs are owned by the ALeague clubs I cannot see how they can expect to be truly independent of the ALeague.

One option would be for the WLeague representatives to be appointed by votes only from WLeague players & coaches.

And, already we have dispute about who gets a vote for the “Fan” representatives. 🙂

I’m an ALeague fan and I don’t need a voice on the FFA right now.

Right now the ONLY thing I want to improve is the governance structure of football in Australia for those involved with the actual playing of the sport.

Maybe in 10 years we can include people who watch the sport with representatives for:
– Active fans
– Prawn Sandwich fans
– Fans aged u10, u20, u30, ,u40, 50+
– Fans who are members
– Fans who are members but never go to games
– Fans who are not members but go to games
– Fans who watch on TV
– Fans who watch via illegal streaming

Who knows, we may even need a grouping for people whose only exposure to football is FIFA PlayStation & Fantasy Leagues?

@Griffo

Women’s football
I’ve specifically mentioned 50% of each group – other than ALeague & WLeague – needs 50% female votes. Can we ensure the WLeague representatives are independent of the ALeague? Yes, we can for Canberra United. But no we cannot for all the WLeague clubs owned by ALeague clubs. If WLeague clubs want to have voting independent of the ALeague clubs, they need to create their own independent structure with their own funding.

NPL
I thought about this. If the NPL does get organized I’d be willing to give them a voice. How many votes? I don’t know. Less than ALeague. Maybe equal to WLeague?

Special Needs
Yes, it refers to football issues relating to people with special needs

Additional Groups

My model already has 16 constituent groups with 57 votes. That’s a big increase on 10 votes we currently have.

The more groups we include, the logistics & cost (assuming FFA covers the cost of travel & accommodation for General Meetings of Congress) will be significant.

And, remember the more voting groups you want to include will dilute the voting power.

“Surely though if players are now negotiating much larger contracts, they will still require agents, who will still need to be paid.”

I need to define what I mean by Agents.

Agents I’m referring to are people who act as a broker to put a player in touch with a potential club. No different to a headhunter in the corporate world, or a stock broker, etc.

Agents match buyers & sellers.

I’ve no issue with them getting paid for their work. It’s up to the player how much they want to pay for the service.

A player will also have a Business Manager who looks after his affairs (accountant, or lawyer, etc.). The club could just approach the Business Manager, rather than negotiate via an Agent.

Regardless, of how the player structures his off-field affairs, he will be in control of how much he wants to pay the Agent, or Business Manager.

@aladin sane

Mandating that a % of the Transfer Fee goes to Junior Clubs is another model that could work.

However, this will significantly reduce the quantum of funds and the spread of the funds.

I’d need to check but, from my observations of the football market since the Bosman Ruling, I’d say the majority of players move clubs WITHOUT a transfer fee being paid.

Either the move is by mutual consent with the contract being mutually torn up; or the player moves when he is off contract.

It’s really on the small percentage of players in high demand, who are under contract, who will generate significant Transfer Fees.

By attaching the Levy to wages, every pro footballer will contribute to his junior clubs. Everyone says “I want to give back to the game”…. well, this is perfect.

Note: I’ve said 5% Levy. Perhaps this is too high? I’d be ok with 2.5%. Even a 1% Levy on wages would inject huge funds back into grassroots – and the cash will have the biggest impact in the poorest football nations who are producing top quality players but not seeing the rewards.

“many of the problems I have outlined above are observed in the A-League”

The Buy Out Clause System I’ve outlined will have minimal impact on the ALeague. Just like Transfer Fees currently have minimal impact on the ALeague.

Of the players who move overseas from an ALeague club, I’d be surprised if even 5% of them attract a Transfer Fee. Most players move as Free Agents when their contract expires.

The major impact my System will have in Australia is rewarding Development Clubs. You clearly don’t want Development Clubs to get reward. Fair enough. I do & I know the NPL & State League clubs want some reward for developing pro-footballers.

Thanks for your input, Brian.

When you say “Terrible idea. You want to allow Barca, Real, Bayern and Man City to just take any player worldwide as they see fit with an automatic buy out clause” it demonstrates to me you haven’t understood the article.

Nor, it seems, do you have any idea what happens in football. Barca, Real, Bayern, Man City … yeah they don’t already do as they please?

“Clubs worldwide would only sign short-term contracts because if Player A flourishes he goes for double his wage.”
Goodness me. How far off the mark can you be? If it’s a short-term contract Player A will go for $0. Clubs are more likely to sign long-term contracts because the only way they’ll get money on a player is if the player is under contract. And clubs will have to ensure they’re not underpaying players because, if they are, a rival will Buy Out the underpaying contract.

Have a nice day.