The joys of procrastination in football offseason… It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of a considered calendar, and coming off the back of the FA’s domestic solution I thought it was time to turn my attention to Australia’s international engagement. Although if you haven’t already, check out my idea to increase the number of senior games for Aussies Some Aussie fans have lamented … Continue reading Make the ACL shorter… to make it more meaningful!

By most measures Australian players simply don’t play enough matches, but now that the FA has finalised the new domestic match calendar we finally have a reliable framework to build on to solve this problem. My simple solution to add senior games to the calendar is by elevating the Y-League to a senior level competition that is contested not by separate Y-League teams, but by … Continue reading Make the Y-League a senior competition

On Sunday the 19th of April Optus broadcast a discussion between six high profile former Socceroos about the state of Australian Football. Many items were discussed including aligning the A-League season with the rest of Asian and Grassroots football, the necessity of promotion-relegation, and deficiencies of an overly prescriptive coaching curriculum. Media outlets mined the discussion for content, however the topics they subsequently chose to … Continue reading Media attacks on State Federations are misplaced

The Victorian Football community is driving a national conversation about state football standards. However as the State works to bridge the gap between grassroots and the A-League, it must ensured that regional areas aren’t left behind. As the FFA Cup provided a platform for many metropolitan clubs to improve themselves, Football Victoria must form a Regional Knockout Cup to create a similar platform for regional … Continue reading Regional Football clubs should Knockout Melbourne

Australian football is on the verge of significant change. Constitutional reform has made the FFA more representative, A-League independence has shifted management responsibilities to clubs and a rapidly changing media environment has put fundamental value sources at risk. As power dynamics shift so do the incentives of stakeholders. As the game’s protector in Australia, the FFA has a responsibility to ensure incentives of all stakeholders … Continue reading Competition vision a must for the FFA

A-League clubs and the FFA have come to an agreement on A-League independence. This means that rather than the FFA continuing to manage A-League marketing and operations, a new independent company will do so. The Independent A-League Company will be jointly owned by the FFA (owns 20% of the Company) and the 12 A-League clubs (each own 6.67% of the company). As emotionally exhausted fans … Continue reading The A-League is not independent of the Stakeholders

Not enough grassroots are connecting with the A-League Australian Football participation levels are at all-time highs, however A-League crowds and TV ratings have been falling. Despite marketing innovations including Star Wars Round, The Chase, VAR and Knockout Finals, the FFA have failed to engage grassroots fans with the A-League. Pressure is building from broadcasters and private investors to fix the League’s deteriorating metrics and the … Continue reading The A-League’s most important metric

The Federal Election has been a cash bonanza for professional sports and just this month football got a slice of the election promise pie. At South Melbourne’s Lakeside Stadium, current Treasurer Josh Frydenberg announced a $15 million commitment to build a home for the Matildas alongside Peter Filopoulos a fresh football executive who has championed infrastructure since joining… Football Victoria? It seems a bit odd for … Continue reading How the FFA gave the Matildas Away

In an A-League season high on debate and low on interest it has been impossible to ignore the focused and brilliant Keisuke Honda. Honda stands out as the league’s only foreign Asian player and the league’s biggest name, managing to attract interest for his dazzling performances on-field and for his insatiably competitive attitude off-field. A marquee in every sense of the word, Honda is proving … Continue reading Honda’s New Australian Football Rules

Australian Football is the only professional sport in the world without some kind of representative competition for its best players. Even sports with similar concentrated dominance in their native markets, like Gaelic Football and American Football have county tournaments and all-star matches that offer an alternative to club competition. Representative sport creates heroes and stories in a way club sport doesn’t. Club sport is fluid … Continue reading You have no choice in Rep Footy