Kids football should be free.

Craig Foster from SBS has written an explosive piece on football registration fees, coaching costs, coaching development etc.

Here's just one issue he picks out.

The best known example is the Coerver system, a private training franchise, which Football NSW formerly ran in what was a fundamental conflict of interest and led to a neglect of the junior clubs and Associations who were, in essence, in competition with their own State body for the training of young players.

What incentive was there for NSW to work diligently to improve the standard of coaching and the systems of youth development in the junior clubs, when they were selling training sessions to fill the gap for parents who could, or at least felt it necessary to, afford the extra training?

Coerver delivered millions of dollars of revenue for NSW and the excessive charging for the ‘training’ of young players still persists. The name may have changed and the license fee avoided, but the culture of greed still exists, and Lord help any parent whose child is persuaded to attend numerous camps, programs and costly overseas tours all in the name of ‘development’, with some parents forking out anywhere from $10,000 to $20,000 per year.

Read Fozzie's full script below and he invites email responses.twg@sbs.com.au

There is no doubt he will have huge support from across the country on this one. Anyone who listens to parents at their local clubs will realise he's on a winner.

So let the debate begin.
Full Fozzie post below.


Five years after the Crawford report, football has made wonderful strides forward, yet the next area of the game that require attention are (some of) the State administrative bodies.

Particularly, in my experience, Football NSW and Northern NSW.

Much of my time is spent in a volunteer capacity with Clubs and Associations around the country, a wonderful opportunity to put something back into the game at entry level and spend time with hundreds of passionate and committed volunteers, the very lifeblood of football, but also a valuable chance to gauge the mood at grass roots and hear the frustrations they face.

And throughout NSW the message is always the same, that cultural change is yet to occur at State level.

Countless times I hear about the endemic lack of support to Associations and the hundreds of thousands of dollars paid in levies with little in return, and it is clear that in many instances, the old political problems still exist.

This is partly because the ‘old guard’ of administrators, who led the game into its darkest period, continue to infest the management and boards of these bodies.

Certainly in the case of Northern NSW, outside of the Newcastle area they are a constant source of angst and a detriment to the game in the country and Northern areas, regions the FFA’s National Development Review specifically targeted to provide a rich vein of playing talent in future.

An inquiry into the management of NNSW would be a very valuable exercise, with every Association and Zone uniting to determine whether the service they receive from the State body is anywhere near adequate for the considerable levies they pay.

This is the next positive progression for football, now that the veneer has been reshaped with the National teams and the professional domestic competition, time to turn an intense spotlight on the real heart of the game, the grass roots, where hundreds of thousands of players and spectators, volunteers and administrators have their daily and weekly football experience, time for the game itself to demand better management at State level.

The same applies to Football NSW where the culture is, in my view, poisoned and in need of complete overhaul, because this organization has a history of putting profit before the development of the game.

The best known example is the Coerver system, a private training franchise, which Football NSW formerly ran in what was a fundamental conflict of interest and led to a neglect of the junior clubs and Associations who were, in essence, in competition with their own State body for the training of young players.

What incentive was there for NSW to work diligently to improve the standard of coaching and the systems of youth development in the junior clubs, when they were selling training sessions to fill the gap for parents who could, or at least felt it necessary to, afford the extra training?

Coerver delivered millions of dollars of revenue for NSW and the excessive charging for the ‘training’ of young players still persists. The name may have changed and the license fee avoided, but the culture of greed still exists, and Lord help any parent whose child is persuaded to attend numerous camps, programs and costly overseas tours all in the name of ‘development’, with some parents forking out anywhere from $10,000 to $20,000 per year.

I hesitate to say the ‘education’ of youngsters, because sadly Football NSW fail to understand that a football development coach is far more than a drills and skills practitioner, and have promoted former Coerver coaches throughout the elite development system.

Coerver has its place, and can be one element of a broader football education just like the many other skills based systems available, but for Football NSW to profit from a service they should have been giving to clubs and Associations to build the game was, in my view, abominable.

The proper role of Football NSW is to ensure the level of information, management and coaching is of such quality in our junior clubs that parents don’t have to pay for extra coaching, in a game that is already costly in relation to other codes, rather than competing directly with their paying clubs and profiting from the vacuum they created.

This culture of greed is anti-football because the focus is on youngsters whose parents can afford to pay, not on the best players as a matter of principle.

Now Football NSW have launched a site which fits perfectly within their culture of profit before the game, selling simple coaching sessions to parents around the State who are in the dark about how to conduct and plan the season’s training of a young team, and now are made to pay for the information.

So, in a fight with three other football codes who spend tens of millions of dollars on free education, equipment and resources to attract young talent and support their game, Football NSW continues to hoard their millions and charge the maximum for the most basic support resources for the football community.

The sole shareholder and managing director of the company behind the site is a Football NSW employee, in partnership with the State body, and thus is remunerated by the parent’s levies to support the growth and improvement of the game, then charging them for basic information.

Now, why are these parents and coaches in need of assistance?

Because Football NSW have done nothing to help them, yet now they seek to profit from their own incompetence.

So once again, instead of seeing a problem to be solved for the good of the game, Football NSW sense an opportunity from which to profit.

In my view, this is abhorrent, and naturally anyone who wants to personally profit from the game is entitled do so, but not while being in a position where one of their basic tasks is to improve the quality of players and coaches, in tandem with the coaching and development section of the organization, and every parent and Association in the State should right now ask why they do not receive this basic coaching information for free, when they have already paid for it in their levies?

State bodies have a responsibility to deliver every possible program and education resource at the lowest possible cost in order to support the game and their paying customers the Associations, clubs and parents, and their stance should be that the cheaper and more accessible coaching information is at club level, the better our youngsters will be coached, the greater our future prospects, the stronger the game.

Football NSW evidently takes the view that the less people know, the better the opportunity to profit, and it’s fine to do so from the very customers who partly fund the organization through registration levies.

The FFA would do well to initiate a very close inspection of the conduct of two bodies who are poisoning our game at many levels, and grass roots Associations should immediately organise themselves to collectively question whether they are receiving the service the game requires, and deserves.

It is time to question ant conflicts of interest and all commercial agreements and whether they are appropriate, and for the grass roots, the heart and soul of football, to rise up and demand game-centred management, not greed before the game.

Many grass roots administrators tell me they feel powerless and that any attempts to question NNSW or Football NSW leads to victimisation, but this culture of fear must end, and it is through the solidarity of genuine lovers of the beautiful game that the grass roots can effect positive change.

And be very certain of this, any ethical State body will welcome their Association constituents getting together, sharing knowledge and resources, asking probing questions, and demanding outstanding service in the interests of the sport.

Those who don’t support this are the final blight to be removed from the game.

If you don't have enough character space here when replying, please feel free to send me a note at twg@sbs.com.au about your experiences with these organizations.

http://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/blogs/craigfoster/greed-poisons-the-game-138801/