10 point 100 day plan, wording’s good but the new FFA regime will be judged on action

By Gavin Devine
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Updated: December 21, 2018

The new FFA leadership have hit the ground running with a 10 point plan that they want to kick start in the first 100 days of their tenure, I have been critical of the FFA for some time but let’s give the new board the benefit of the doubt.

The plan itself looks fantastic, it is now just a matter of coming to some common sense findings and then implementing structures that work for the good of the game in the coming years.

Increased and improved communication with the football family, including through Community Football Summits and a Fans’ Forum

This can be seen as an olive branch to Active, in essence, the major issue between the FFA and the fans has been in the terraces where it once thrived. The decision of Melburnians to disband is as untimely as it is regrettable, City and indeed Football in Australia needs all the voices it can get. Hopefully, this will lead to a healing of the divide.

Establishment of and advancement of work undertaken by the New Leagues Working Group

The idea to expand the A-League is fantastic, the idea to establish a working group that will look to do this reeks of franchise thinking and it will be watched very carefully, the last thing we need is the bids everyone wants shunted like Tasmania, Wollongong and Canberra, the established teams like South Melbourne ignored and clubs with no names preferred.

Establishment of the National Second Division Working Group

On the earlier point, the establishment of a National Second Division negates the need for more franchises, it will provide a pool of teams from which there can be selection based on merit, either via crowds and coin or via the simplest alternative, namely whoever wins the comp.

Appointment of a new National Technical Director

Hopefully whoever comes in gets rid of the national curriculum and runs a line through pay for play, there is a lead ceiling on young players rising and a style of play which was devised well before 4, 2, 3, 1 was seen on a Football field, the game has moved on, so must the technical elements of the games education.

Finalisation of the review of the National Club Identity Policy

The idea that a club cannot take part in the sport itself due to having the semantics of another country is ridiculous, could you imagine Scotland kicking out Celtic and Hibernian for playing in Green and having tricolours at matches?

Melbourne Heart was a fully functioning team which has been made into a colony of the City group, it plays with a St. George Cross for its emblem, the English are an ethnicity too.

None of the ‘Ethnic teams’ are owned by foreigners, they are owned by Aussies, time to let them play, they built the golden generation after all, kicking them out killed the goose that literally laid the golden egg.

Formal commencement of the bid for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup

This is again a great initiative, it doesn’t take a massive Football fan to know that our ladies are somewhat better internationally than our men, that we are getting this bid launched before the World Cup in June is auspicious, hopefully the new regime can pull this off, it would be a real feather in their cap.

Enhancing our relationships across the Asian Football Confederation and beyond

Is this a veiled swipe at the existence of the Phoenix or is this a sign that Australia will finally do as it is told in Asia? The latter basically has plenty to do with the former, I would not be surprised if we see the Kiwi experiment wound up and Australia expand the league along the lines the Asian powerbrokers decide, neither will be bad for the game.

Hosting of the inaugural Women’s Cup of Nations across Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne

This looks another initiative that must be applauded, a feast of football across boutique stadia will showcase our abilities to host the World Cup itself, hopefully, the FFA market this well, it has been one of the major criticisms of the old board that we have the product, just no one knows anything about it.

Commencement of a review into the National Premier Leagues encompassing licensing criteria, youth development, training compensation and the cost of playing

I touched on pay for play earlier, the amount of money clubs and players are spending on getting a flawed education is a scandal, that clubs are not allowed to rise beyond their station again effects them adversely as it prevents them from reaching their potential. This review along with the review on Ethnic clubs will be vital to determining the makeup of not just the NPL but the earlier mooted Second Division and the A-League in due course.

Nationally co-ordinated government relations activity throughout 2019.

I read with dismay how much money AFL gets from the government particularly in Victoria and how little Football gets, we have been cut out of the governmental slush for long enough, if the mega-rich sports can sup from this endless amount of taxpayer dollars then a place must be set for Football with an equal share commensurate with our junior base, we all vote after all.

All in all the new board have set some very high goals with World Cups, healing multiple divides and the training of our future players among them. For the good of the game, let us all hop that Mr. Nikou and his board can produce a straight 10 out of 10.

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