I'm all for an expanded congress and saying goodbye to Lowy and his mates but I'm very curious to see what happens now. Will the new people in charge make decisions for the betterment of football in Australia or will they look after their own self interests? In terms of our professional game, we need to: get rid of the cap and introduce transfer fees, create a second division and then link the A-league to state leagues via promotion/relegation. This will create a better pathway for footballers, coaches, clubs, clubs to lobby for funds for infrastructure upgrades and administrators. In terms of everything else, we need to: increase revenue for the game, decrease the cost of playing and coaching courses.
It makes me wonder how we got to the stage that FIFA and AFC are both giving us guidance in Governance, Inclusion and Democracy.
Nearly 12 months on from a restructure and I'm not sure if we are reaping any benefits. The A League clubs now run their league and while they may still launch a publicity campaign things are very quiet leading in to the start of the league. A draw was very late in coming out this year. On the national team front we have sacked a coach of one our teams, had new board members leaking to the press about it and then have to pay out a settlement and give an apology. None of this would have helped the teams preparation for a major tournament. On the junior side our kids team couldn't make the semi finals of a regional competition and the next age group isn't setting the world on fire either amid accusations (I have no idea if they are founded or not) that a parents willingness to help finance the team has considerable influence on team selection. Team names based on ethnicity are also making a comeback. It seems to me we are stepping backwards rather than forwards.
These forums are kind of slow. Not sure how many of you Down Under have been aware of this situation: https://www.canberraunited.com.au/n...ional-leagues-be-unbundled-football-australia Football Australia and the newly formed Australian Professional Leagues (APL) today announced that terms have been agreed to ‘unbundle’ the A-League, Westfield W-League and Y-League (‘Professional Leagues’) from Football Australia. As part of the unbundling, the APL will also obtain the exclusive right to use the intellectual property rights associated with the E-League brand. Good? Bad? Lateral move?
I'm really unsure if its good bad or will make little difference. Depends on if the majority of club owners want to grow the league(s) or just try to make sure that their own little fiefdom remains intact. I think we really need to develop a stronger second tier and expand what is the A league to a point where we have two viable professional divisions. The youth league isn't really a place where youngsters get turned into professional players. The standard isn't high enough nor do they play enough games. A 20 to 24 team team A league (preferably in two divisions) would be a much better place for them to get experience. We also need more games.
That sounds a bit like some people over here ponder: MLS1 and MLS2. In our case, with pro/rel between them, but closed off from the USL Championship and leagues below it. On a tangent, I just noticed the change to "Football Australia".