One of the main orchestrators of the RWC has resigned from his position as Acting CEO of the ARU. He's believed to be weighing up several lucerative offers in the sports management field. He's an old friend of John O'Neill, and rumour has it that one of these may be from the ASA. He's got some fantastic credentials, and his experience as pretty much running the WRC could be instrumental in preparing a bid for the Confederations Cup in the short term, and maybe the World Cup in the long run. But do we need him, and would he be worth the substantial salary it would take to net a contract? We already have an administration laden with ex-ARU figures. Opinions please.
Caesar, AUS needs to get its house in order (eg APL & Socceroos) & some footballing credibility (eg qualifying for the WC Finals 2006) before we bother bidding for any FIFA tournament. Let's not deflect our focus nor take away from our meagre store of power/energy/goodwill by taking on Matt as some pre-cursor to any bid.
Normally I'd agree, and I think this is certainly true for the WC, but the Confed Cup is a different issue, being on a much smaller scale. We have a decent recent record at the Confed Cup (Runners Up in '97 and 3rd in '01), and I think a bid for that could really be an option in the short to medium term. To a certain extent, I think this sort of event could be external to sorting out things like the APL. Obviously we need to fix the National team and the domestic competition, but I think moving forward we need to be moving in two ways - developing the domestic game, and developing international credibility. I think a Confed Cup could help with this, and I think we'll be ready to post a bid around the end of the decade. This isn't immediate, and it isn't taking away from more immediate concerns, but it's a consideration. At the moment, the ASA is building a team for the future. My question is, would Matt Carroll be a worthwhile part of that team?
Caesar, The last 3 or 4 Confeds Cups, were held at the location of the WC Finals a year before the finals in order to shake down the venues, etc. The next one is to be held 2005 in Germany for the same reason. I think FIFA have got this matter right (in order not to spawn an Athens JIT scenario). Let's forget it until we can look all the World's FA's in the eye and say "we're ready" !!! Andy T.
Andy, There are 2 Confed Cups for every WC Finals. I agree that the process of 'testing' WC hosts is a good one, but that doesn't preclude other nations hosting it. The hosts for the 5 Confed Cups allocated so far have been: 1997: Saudi Arabia 1999: Mexico 2001: Korea/Japan (2002 WC Hosts) 2003: France 2005: Germany (2006 WC Hosts) There are a lot of benefits to hosting the Confed Cup, and I think in the next 5-10 years we should be seriously looking at it. The ASA and APL will have settled in (albeit it will still be in the initial stages) and we will certainly be capable of hosting an event of it's size. It's a fantastic chance to get the best Aussie players in Australia playing several matches against quality competition, and it might give the APL the shot in the arm it needs after 5 or so seasons. I think the ASA should be looking down the track, and hosting an event such as the Confederations Cup should be a goal with a defined timeframe. Rather than saying "let's worry about it if and when we're ready" is similar to the attitude of Soccer Australia. We should be saying "let's do it in 20XX. Now let's plan to get there". But all this is kind of peripheral. My original question is: does Matt Carroll have the skills and abilities that would make him a worthwhile addition to the ASA, given the substantial cost it's going to be in order to snare him?
Caesar, In short NO, unless Frank Lowy personally hires him and pays his salary from a non-ASA budget (then I don't care unless it interferes with the ASA's two major foci). Andy T.
I think if we have a board that have the credentials to run big competitions and a league (super 12) then i say we should bid for the Confed cup and the WCC but not the World Cup yet. Women's World cup yes but not the Mens. I hope the APL will take off like the J League and the MLS.
Matt Carroll has been appointed Head of Operations for the ASA. Major components of his portfolio include the new national competition, and responsibility for community football nationwide. This signing brings to 7 the number of ex-ARU figures in the ASA's senior management.