This is a Nearpost Local special edition – an extended discussion with the CEO Capital Football, Heather Reid. Heather is still the only female CEO of a member Federation within the FFA. Heather Reid is also the CEO of Canberra United.
Heather has only recently returned from Europe, where she attended the Womens World Cup, represented the CEO of the FFA at the FIFA women’s football symposium and recruited a new Head Coach for Canberra United.
Photo above is of the new Canberra United coach.
Heather talks about the standard of Football across the nations in the World Cup and the issues discussed at the FIFA symposium. A very interesting football discussion and some candid observations about the Matilda’s performance.
And this is just the start of this discussion with the CEO Capital Football.
We cover a lot of ground and it’s all about things that impact on Football in the ACT region.
The matters we discuss evidence some decent forward planning at Capital Football and I must say, in the nick of time. Nothing is ever completely resolved in the biggest particpation sport in the ACT region, but we are beginning to see some important progress, good ideas, some fortuitious opportunites emerging, and a healthy dose of pragmatism.
Now the challenge is to bring the Clubs along and before things too far ahead at Football House. This appears to be happening for some for the issues, but its essential that conversations and analysis at Football House (Board, Standing Advisory committees and staff) translate into substantive engagement and support across all Clubs at the earliest possible time. There is always the temptation to serve up a one solution option as effective consultation. Supporting documents which underpin discussion need to get published on the Capital Football and Club websites as soon as possible. Good communication and time for consultation is essential. This takes time at Club level.
Here’s a starting list of some of things that get honorable mentions in this discussion:
• New Canberra United Coach – why a female coach?
• The Canberra United roster – fascinating and not yet finished!
• The financial management of Canberra United – sponsorship and grants see this "club" just about cost neutral to Capital Football which is good news. This is a big step forward. Something to celebrate! (Its an important first step to detaching Canberra United from Capital Football and perhaps separating the management of both - but that's clearly a little further into the future)
• The importance of ACTAS women’s program and the Capital Football age representative teams that compete at the National Junior Championships
• The review of the Mens Premier League structure – changes to be implemented in 2012. This is likely to involve significant change to the present arrangements.
• The impact of the FFA’s National competition review on football in the ACT – considerable! Can’t wait till it arrives, best to get started.
• Steps being taken to cover the talented Mens 17 to 20 years development pathway. Changes in circumstances at the AIS have given the ACT Football community an extra-ordinary opportunity, which Capital Football looks to have siezed upon (frankly, this is more than we could ever have hoped for and if delivered in full provides exactly the pathway we have all sort for these young players - at a fraction of the cost of a youth league team):
o AIS to provide a team in the Mens Premier League and to include 4-6 young Canberra players (on non residential scholarships)
o AIS and ACTAS Mens to form a “Club” for the purpose of participating in the Mens Premier League. Allows for movement of players when required to ensure all games are played when scheduled (except where agreed otherwise)
o AIS to include the Canberra based non residential scholarship holders in the National Youth League squad (so they play in this competition as well! Amazing opportunity.)
• Some good progress on the future development of artificial playing surfaces (note I use the plural!) in the Mawson / Phillip area (and not the former golf course range - though that too must not be lost to medium density housing developers - hope this has not been traded off by anyone in football!). This one might just happen.
• Futsal registrations going gangbusters – North and South Canberra, the astonishing Boomerangs FS who are now a part of the NSW Premier League and the start of a local junior Premier League based on Football Club involvement (at last we have tapped the right organisational structure to support Futsal).
Look there is plenty more, so best you get a restorative drink, headphones on or speakers turned up, door closed, feet up and listen in.
This program is broadcast on 2xxfm (98.3mhz) across the Australian Community Radio Network on Tuesday at 7:00PM.
Tonights program is about the women’s football pathway in Australia.
We speak to Tom Sermani, Coach of the Matilda's. Who better to know about this subject?
The Matilda's are blazing a bright trail for Australian Football, they have just completed a terrific World Cup campaign and are the current Asian Cup Champions. Women's Football is growing at the rapid rate across Australia, and in no small measure due to the success the W League and the Matilda's.
The growth rate of women's football in the ACT is substantial.
The Coach of the Matilda's is a very significant person in the development of Women's Football. The development pathways must work if we are to have the best of our female players making it through to the highest levels. Tom Sermani talks about the women's development pathway and in particular, where it must grow to if all our best young players have an opportunity to be as good as they can.
This is a very timely interview and from exactly the right person. Tom Sermani likes the way the women's game is being developed in the ACT. That's a good start.
The requirement for community based clubs to be involved in the development pathway is something he makes mention of, and in particular, he makes special mention of Woden Valley FC and Belconnen United FC. Of course there are a couple of other clubs hot on their heels – new PL arrival Gunghalin United FC , the solid Western Creek and Belwest clubs come to mind.
The interview is timely from another angle. We have just completed the FFA National Junior Championships for the Girls Under 14 and Under 15. The Under 13 Girls were conducted earlier in 2011. The importance of the NJC at these ages groups is made very clear by Sermani – its all about the development pathway. So be in no doubt - we in the ACT should be taking it very seriously. Listen to what he has to say.
The question that follows for us here in the ACT region is this – are we doing all that is required to identify and develop our players at age, in preparation for these girls age championships?
If we are not, and there is reason to think we are not at this point in time, we place our young players at a significant point of disadvantage. Why? Well, Tom Sermani makes a simple but obvious point, not often mentioned in discussions – the national selectors are looking at these age groups to identify potential Under 17 World Cup players. The identification and planning and development starts well below 17 years of age.
So, if we are doing less than we should or could for the 13 / 14 / 15 girls age groups, leading to the NJC each year, then we are under-preparing our young players and making them less identifiable as talented players going forward. Which is a bit troubling, since parents pay for the cost of development training and attendance at the NJC. Parents want to be assured that what they are spending their scarce disposable income on, is value for money - they want their children to be as well prepared as possible. Football development is a discretionary expenditure in families - is the program good enough, are the coaches good enough, will the program enable their child to improve, will the players get enough of the right sort of training and games to be competitive, will they be provided with a detailed periodised program before the commencement of the development program, are the facilties up to standard and so on.
To do better, requires more time with players and coaches and greater resources than are expended at this time. But you can't transfer all costs to parents.
Given the rapid expansion of the women's game in the ACT, the issue is now a critical one. The first critical section of the pathway is for Capital Football to ensure the Under13/14/15 age group talent is identified and developed for the NJC, playing for a Club at the appropriate level during the normal season, and continuing their training in the off season (perhaps including Futsal for the Boomernags FS?).
Every young player in these age groups (13/14/15) who has been to an NJC and selected to a National squad level (where / when they pick a national age team) or an All Star selection at age at the NJC, surely must warrant an ACTAS training agreement. My understanding is that this is not true at this time. It must happen. What is the point of being selected by the technical assessment team at the NJC, only to find that judgement is ignored at the NTC level? The process must work at Capital Football and then going forward , in our case, to ACTAS. Capital Football has considerable influence over both of these elements in the development process - and so it should! This is a Capital Football leadership issue.
Each member federation tackles all this develop in their fashion and in the context of the FFA national curriculum and development plans. Tom Sermani is experiecned enough to know that the community level development processes, which constitute those early techncial interventions in a player's development, together with strong State Premier League competitions, will accelerate development and help retain and sustain players. As they say - everything counts!
Sermani also makes good sense on the role and composition of the NTC (ie ACTAS here in the ACT). Parking senior Canberra United and National level players is a thing of the past. The NTC is for the development of young players.
Importantly, their will be an Women's NTC Challenge, just as there is for Men. Age limits will apply, so there is even greater incentive to tidy up the roster at the NTCs.
This raises an interesting point here in the ACT. The Coach of Canberra United is also the Coach of the ACTAS womens program. It is an arrangement that has its attractions. While ACTAS continues to be a football parking area for National players and more recently W league players for Canberra United, it seemed to make good sense. However, if, as Sermani indicates, the NTC really is for the development of young players (because there are now better options for W League and National players), then the NTC (ie ACTAS) and Canberra United must be seen as completely separate football activites - which they are! That is only to the good of Womens football in the ACT region.
Tom Sermani is pleasure to talk to and he sees the development of the women's game more clearly than anyone I have heard speak on it. Better than most – he illustrates the essential difference between a “coach” and a “trainer” of football players. Informed and pragmatic – a powerful combination in a coach. He gets results at the National / International level and is very conscious of the subtle differences in the use of that word "develop" as the players moves forward to the elite level.
I think you will enjoy what Tom Sermani has to say.
This program is broadcast on 2xxfm (98.3mhz), across the Australian Community Radio Network, on Tuesday at 7:00PM.
The Mens and Womens Premier League competitions are underway.
In the Womens PL its Belconnen United, Woden Valley FC and Western Creek that have jumped out to an early lead. Woden Valley has made a particularly impressive start with wins across all grades in the last two rounds, including undefeated records after five rounds for the PL Reserves and PL18s. They are very closely followed by Belconnen United. The two powerhouses in Womens PL football at this time.
The Mens Premier League has completed two rounds and already there are alarm bells ringing. CFC are dominant, although Canberra City came as close as anyone has in 2011 with a 4-2 scoreline against them. Woden Valley FC has been triumphant in all four grades in the first two rounds, a remarkable achievement so early in the season. Cooma has had a very disappointing start by their high standards. Olympic's very impressive young roster is playing fine football and are a serious problme for every club.
But the alarm bells that are ringing loud and long, signal trouble for two PL clubs. Goulburn Strikers are doing it tough and we covered that story last week. Nevertheless, they are contesting every grade, just as they said they would and got their first win in PL18 over Monaro.
Monaro Panthers are in real trouble and it's difficult to know how they got themselves into this position – their PL18 side is simply not to PL standard – by a considerable margin. What preparation did the club do in the off season to construct their team? I understand that they had to start the game against the Strikers with less than a full team. Advertisements now appear on the Capital Football website for players. This is in sharp contrast to the Monaro PL16 team which is very competitive.
It seems to me that the Panthers are more strife than the Strikers. Will Monaro be able to continue to field a PL18 team for the season, because if it unable to do so, will this bring the Clubs involvement in the PL to a premature end? I sincerely hope not – but it is a requirement of the licence to field teams in all grades.
The Strikers and the Panthers have serious deficiencies in their playing strengths. It is most unlikely that either club will be able to resolve these deficiencies for the remainder of 2011 season. The worst case scenario is that one or both find it impossible to continue to field a team in one of the required PL grades. The next worst case is that the losses become more pronounced, which in turn brings other in-season problems for a struggling club.
Each club poses different problems for Capital Football. If Capital Football intends to do something – best its done now and not later. The question is – how flexible will CF be in these matters – because we certainly don’t want to loose either club to the PL, but the weekly destruction of a team is of no value to the PL at any level.
Just how well informed is the Mens League Advisory Committee, what did they glean from any club debriefs they held at the end of the 2010 season, how much homework did they do in the off season and is this committee sufficiently able to manage the Premier League on a continuing basis?
The CF committee appointed to review and recommend PL licences, concluded its work in 2009, so there is not much point in looking back to their work for answers. Things have moved on, and things have changed as they do, which brings us back to the usefulness of the Mens League Advisory committee. And to whom is this advisory committee really accountable? All the other PL clubs? These early but serious stumbles by two of the new Clubs to the PL, together with other important football related club matters, that demonstrate just how important it now is to have the Mens and Womens Premier Leagues managed as a separate entity.
For now, the Strikers and Monaro seem to require some flexible and practical assistance. Looking for new players of the appropriate standard in the ACT is the least likely solution.
All this fits nicely into the continuing discussion the NPL had with the CEO CF.
We continue with Part 2 of this discussion. Remember it’s a discussion, not question and answer. We continue with what seems to be the Womens PL, ACTAS players availability and so on. But its more than that. This discussion goes in its way to the heart of football problems between clubs and CF – consultation or lack of it, competition rules that may or may not be helpful going forward, the rights of players to determine which PL club they wish to play for, how much should CF involve itself in the regulation of players participation in club football, the differing philosophies of the PL clubs, does the CF structure for communication (Club Pres / Regional reps / Standing Committees and so) really work and what is a reasonable level of consultation, how effective and acocuntable are the advisory committees and to whom, how often do these committees meet and with whom do they confer and report, why are Junior clubs limited to one Div 1 team ar age if they have more than one team at the appropriate standard at a time when we are trying to build capacity among talented players not restrict it, what is CF prepared to do to prevent the wholesale poaching of young teams by clubs, if clubs have responsibilities to ACTAS what responsibility does ACTAS have to Clubs (and in particular PL coaches), what happens to players post ACTAS, the impact of the national curriculum and development plan and the increasing roles that junior and PL clubs must play in this process and so on and so on.
You make up your own mind on these matters.
For myself, I think CF has a lot of hard work to do around the issues of communication and consultation with clubs. They seem to be too reactive and not proactive - the Strikers and Panthers Pl predicaments are cases in point. Then their are the Womens Pl issues and Junior clubs issues. I very much doubt the league standing committees have been as consultative and inclusive, as might have been best for the development of the game, and that’s heavy lead to carry in the saddlebags. It seems to me that the CF organisational structure is now not best placed to handle the increasing needs of a PL competition.
Its against all this that the CEO and the NPL speak. As ever, the NPL is pleased the CEO Heather Reid is prepared to talk of these and other matters.
This program was broadcast on 2xxfm (98.3mhz), across the Australian Community Radio Network, Tuesday, 26 April 2011 at 7:00PM.
This is not so much an interview as a Football discussion - with the CEO Capital Football. Always a pleasure to talk to Heather Reid.
This program does not follow a "question / answer" approach,. Its a discussion and discussions generally don't go that way, they tend to be on an "issue' and simply follow their own path. That's communication. It doesn't necessarily mean "agreement" either, but it does enable the issue to be pulled apart from all angles. That's pretty much what happens in "Part 1" of this "discussion" and the "Parts" that will follow.
The NPL has been critical of a number of Capital Football policy and implementation matters in recent times. One of the most persistent complaints by Football Club officials, players and supporters is the proposition that "Capital Football" just doesn't consult effectively with Clubs or the wider football constituency - but particularly with Clubs.
This complaint has substance on several fronts and was clearly acknowledged as a major area of concern /endeavour by the new CF President, Racheal Harrigan, during her address at the recent Annual General Meeting which saw her re-elected to the CF Board. The two new CF Board members also focussed their remarks on the same issue. So too the new Technical Director, who was asked to speak by the CEO at the AGM and who has undertaken to work closely with the Clubs in the ACT region. Indeed, the current CEO, with whom we speak in this program, acknowledges the need to make the "communication" issue a priority.
So there it is - its official - there is a serious communication deficit / problem between Capital Football and Clubs. It would appear, as they say, that there is definately an "elephant in the room"!
So how did it get to the point that it is such a problem? I guess there is a lot going on these days.
Nevertheless, it is a matter which imperils the development and operation of the game in the ACT region.
Too often it seems that Capital Football acts as though it is the "client", rather than the Clubs. The current structure both within the Capital Football headquarters and the wider organisational structure, which Clubs are obliged to operate within, does not seem to be well positioned to meet the challenges that surround us today, and certainly not going forward. As one Club President pointed out at the AGM, he was rasing issues at that meeting which he had raised at the last AGM (a year before) and which had from his Club's perspective, got no response from Capital Football.
The Mens and Womens Premier Leagues seem to be very good examples at the present time. Clubs not part of the Premier League which service junior / state league players, or provide teams to Premier League Clubs, and of course the Junior Clubs which focus on players (18 years and under), also have issues with Capital Football. Its easy to see that not all Clubs are configured in the same fashion, that it too say, they service their player / parent constituencies as the need arises and are not always in every player age group or category. Some Premier League Clubs put next to nothing into Junior development, preferring to feed off the work of other clubs. Another tension in the Club mix!
My point is that Clubs are a varied group of Football organisations and its only a fool for an administrator that thinks you can speak to them all with one voice, or no voice at all, and at a distance.
Then there is the issue of the funds that all these clubs need to raise each season to make things work, through their all too small army of volunteers. Capital Football is dependent on the money these Clubs initiate through registrations and development programs. On that basis alone, you would think it wise to engage and manage Clubs with care at close range, rather than risk doing it at a distance in a top down, do as you are told fashion. More talk is better than less with community volunteer orgainsations. Talking, communicating and assisting this diverse grouping that is our Football community, requires skill, patience, flexibility and persistance.
Its a long way from a Club issue to the Zone rep to the Standing committees to whom? Capital Football staff? The CEO? The Board? It just doesn't seem to be always working for everyone outside Capital Football headquarters. That must change - and quickly.
The issues of concern are beginning to stack up. They are the source of aggravation and resentment to Clubs.
Here's how silly it can get.
Its been suggested to me by one CF person that the lack of complaint to Capital Football staff by Clubs is a clear indication that all are happy in Club land. Just amazing, delusionary and wondrously self serving was my thought at the time. What type of organisation could possibly allow itself to entertain that notion I asked myself. Hmmm! Hard to communicate anything in this sort of environment - harder for Clubs.
It was also pointed out to me that criticism of Capital Football was criticism of the "staff". In some cases, on some issues, that may well be true. In an environment where there is a lack of effective communication with the football constituency, its not surprising to that Clubs conclude that the decisions are made by "Capital Football"! And in these circumstances, CF staff take the brunt of cricitism - sometimes it seems earned, sometimes not. Importantly, Capital Football exists to serve the Clubs and the Football constituency, not the other way around. If staff feel unsettled by this notion - move on. The CEO, not the Clubs have the responsibility of keeping the staff focussed and productive and all lines of communication open in all weather states. On the other side of things, Clubs must be prepared to be active communicators and make the process work for them - not remain silent - even when their best efforts seem to bring little to assist them going forward on issues that matter to them. Anything else just gets in the way.
Clubs float on volunteer efforts, they are people who give their time and money to build, maintain and sustain Clubs and they usually have precious little time to dwell on the unsatisfactory nature of CF decisions - they have a Clubs to run so that people can play the game. In the vast majority of cases these people do not get paid for their work. If Clubs say nothing it’s usually because they feel their views are seldom sort and less frequently acknowledged. When the peak body makes decisions at short notice or gives important advice at short notice, when consultation in advnace was a reasonable expactation at Club level - the outcome does not favour effective communcation. If it’s a choice between making complaint and pursuing the issue with vigour, or, simply doing the ordinary Club business so that players can play – its no contest – do the Club work. That makes Clubs a bit vulnerable, but it does not pave the way for understanding and collaboration.
Clubs that do pursue issues with vigour, risk being perceived as troublemakers at Capital Football and that makes then go a bit quite, but the issues are not forgotten. Capital Football must work very , very hard to achieve effective and continuous communication with Clubs - not just talk to itself about it, nor allow itself to become insulated by a succession of seemingly bureaucratic layers of organisational structure (zone reps, standing committees). Its would be a massive mistake by Capital Football to conclude that silence from Clubs indicates satisfaction or agreement. Where that does occur, they deny access to a wealth of talented people in the Football community. Clubs already know they do not proposer under these arrangements.
The new President of Capital Football is correct to identify the need to communicate with the Football constituency as a top priority. Every other part of the organisational structure (including Clubs) should follow her example.
Just look at some of the range of issues that sit on the table in ACT Football at the moment. You can't fix this lot without Club particpation, mobilising a lot more of the football community's talented / capable / thoughtful / experienced people that reside in all these Clubs, than is available on a daily basis at Capital Football. You have to work to get their engagement and then you have to keep it:
The game has been progressing very quickly in recent years, particularly so since the FFA's release of the National Football Curriculum and National Development Plan. To that, add a root and branch reworking of Coach Education and Training, so vital to the successful implementation of the curriculum and development plans and a process that reaches down to the youngest playing level in our game. The Premier League Clubs in the ACT region are leaping ahead in their thinking about what it means to be in a "premier league" as they struggle to find the scarce dollars and volunteers to make it a reality. Their thinking seems to be well ahead of Capital Football. The whole "player development" sphere of operations, centred as it is on the Junior Club base, is galloping ahead and probably without much meaningful input from Capital Football to Junior Clubs. The talented player stream has been reviewed to death here in the ACT and by some very smart Football people and what is left now is "action". So what is the plan - in detail? The deficit (that tragic vacant space") in player development post ACTAS haunts the Mens game, while the Womens game enjoys the W League. Problem identified but no solution for the talented young men - yet. Junior Clubs are the real player / parent powerhouse in Football and a few too many seem unhappy with a range of decisions and lack of consultation by Capital Football, and probably just as unhappy with the Junior Standing committee as an effective means of representing their concerns. For Clubs with juniors, mens and womens teams, teh same can also be said of the Means and Womens standing committees. We campaign our junior representative teams at the National Junior Championships and its all hard work and, despite our coach's best efforts, find our most talented players relegated further down the State / territory team result lists - its seems tobe getting hrader to be competitive - why and can it be fixed? The recent review of the HPP that produced the players for these teams, pointed out that they were not high performance programs. Other States move moved closer to that reality, but not the ACT. By contrast, ACTAS mens have delivered the results, but then, they do have a truly high performance program. The ACTAS womens program is very different in character to the Mens program, the players are often in it for several years, where they have time to mature and develop as players (fantastic outcome). But it has given rise to difficulties with clubs that has as much to do with poor communication, lack of consultation and unnecessary regulation; as it does with the desire of some Womens Premier League Clubs to be competitive and taken new and additional responsibilities for the development of players going forward. Capital Football's involvement in this last matter is not as productive or helpful to Clubs as it might be. And so it goes.........
In Part 1 of this discussion with CEO Capital Football, Heather Reid, we begin with a talk about the prospect of an A League team in Canberra and that $26m of ACT Government funds that went to the AFL. Then we start talking about the Womens Premier League and the ACTAS womens players. Its a good discussion and their should be more of it. Don't say I agree with all I hear, but I appreciate the opportunity to discuss that subject. You form your own views and if you feel inclined, let the NPL know how you feel about what you hear. Better still, talk in your club. If I don’t hear from you, I promise I won't assume you agree!
So sit back, cup of tea to hand and listen. Hope you enjoy.
If you can get your daughter to this game, please do so. It could be your daughter in the future and a chance to have a look at some of the younger players being prepared by Coach Junna at ACTAS. There should be more of this!
Capital Football advise the following:
Korea challenge chance for United’s young guns
Monday, 13 December 2010 by Russ Gibbs, CanberraUnited.com.au The visit of South Korea ‘B’ to Deakin Stadium on Tuesday 14th December will give Canberra United Head Coach Ray Junna the chance to assess the next generation of talent waiting in the wings as well giving squad members a chance to fight for a starting jersey.
“We could see the likes of Georgia Yeoman-Dale, Catherine Brown, Ashleigh Palombi, Ellie Raymond, Sophie Kochinos and Meg McLaughlin, players of that calibre taking to the field,” Junna revealed.
“They are the up and coming group that will be pushing for Westfield W-league spots in the next couple of years, so this is a chance for them to see where they are at. It’s also a good opportunity for our recently injured players to get a full game under their belt and put their hand up for selection. I think there will be a few players chomping at the bit to put in a good performance as we are getting to that stage now where it’s the business end of the season and I’m sure they all want to be involved at that time of year.”
The match comes in the middle of a trio of testing challenges for United, who come into the fixture of the back of a long road trip to play Newcastle Jets, before setting their sights on the Westfield W-League summit meeting with the ever-dangerous Brisbane Roar.
“We have to be mindful that on Saturday we have to go to Brisbane so we will be giving some of our younger players, and some of the ACTAS players, a chance to show their ability on the field,” Junna said.
“At this stage I don’t think that the squad could back up for three games in a week so we’ll bring in some of the ACTAS players to see how they fare against what will be very decent opposition and they can see where they are at in terms of their progress and development.”
Canberra United plays South Korea B in an International Challenge match on Tuesday 14th December at Deakin Stadium, Grose Street, Deakin with kick off at 5.30pm. Gates will open at 5pm and admission is FREE.
CEO Capital Football and CEO Canberra United are one in the same person - Heather Reid.
Women's Football is improving rapidly in the ACT region and that is just the way it should be. The pathway for talented female players goes all the way from the local junior club to the Matildas if you are good enough. Just one important difference - its only possible because the ACT players and W league clubs pay the players nothing! Can you see a male player at comparable level accepting that situation? No way!
So for all those "chaps" loitering on the sidelines and having a little whinge about the fact that the "girls game" is getting "all the priority" (as one unenlightened selfish father with a son playing good football said to me last week), just remind yourself - whatever is being done for women's football is long overdue and it isn't enough.
So much more can be done for boys /men, no doubt of it, but don't pull the roof down over women's football. Don't make women's football in the ACT region the target of your unhappiness. Women's football development is fragile. Our Women's Premier League is in its infancy. Its worth noting that the W League teams are just about all underwritten by the member federations and as expensive as that is, its nothing like the costs associated with running the men's equivalent.
We are not going to get an A League team people, so get over it. The FFA doesn't want Canberra and frankly, the likelihood that we can sustain the yearly operating costs for an A League and A League Youth team from public contributions, gate receipts or a benefactor with long arms and short pockets (and does that really work??) is not strong enough yet to make the business case viable.
So we (that is - the ACT Clubs and Capital Football) must find another way to develop and assist the boys/ men break into higher levels of football - John Mitchells' plan (see earlier podcast on this blog) is a very good idea. Best I have heard in ages. Campaign talented boys/mens teams in the NSW competitions. The Boomerangs FS club proved it can be done with their very successful participation in the NSW Futsal Supa League and very modest support, but lots of drive from a few smart football people.
Instead of some otherwise well intentioned football people seeing women's football as a threat - perhaps these critics may care to entertain the possibility that the women's solution is "the way ahead"!
The W League season is close to starting and our Canberra United has been in preparation under Coach Junna, since the end of the last game of the past season. Coach Junna is also the Head Coach ACTAS Womens Football and, together with club coaches, has maximised every playing opportunity for the talented female players and Canberra United / Matildas etc aspirants. Its made a huge difference to the women's game in the ACT and the development opportunities for young female players. Nothing happens without forward thinking, flexibility, hard work, modest amounts of resources at the right time, good communication, parents picking up all the pieces in the background every day and tip top football expertise. Canberra United has had two terrific seasons and another very good season is anticipated.
In this interview, Heather Reid talks about the Canberra United playing roster, who's in and who has departed and why. We branch off into a short discussion about the Capital Football Women's Premier League and the grand finals just past, the ACTAS programs, the Futsal factor, what happened to the Central Coast Mariners Women's W League team, the funding arrangements for W League teams and the terrific possibilities for our young female players in the USA. Terrific interview as always with Heather.
Canberra United appear to have a stronger playing roster this season. They have five games at home, four will be televised and you would be nuts not to go and watch the games. I promise you, it will be top class football. The W League season can't start soon enough!
The final section of this interview is an extract from a lengthy interview the NPL did with Ed Hollis - Head Coach of Woden Valley Womens FC. WVWFC have lifted the bar considerably in Womens Premier League football in the ACT. You will enjoy the full interview and this extract nails the Woden Valley colours to the mast right from the off! It can be done and we have lots of smart people in football in the ACT that can get it done.
We have the extended interview (less other program material that will go to air on 16 March 2010), with CEO Capital Football, Heather Reid concerning the new CF Women's Competition Rules which enable ACTAS Women's Squad players to return to play for Clubs in the CF Women's Premier League.
This is an important interview for Women's Football in the ACT. The collaboration between the ACTAS Women's Coach (and Canberra United) Ray Juna, and the CEO and Techncial Staff of Capital Football is an exemplar for what can be done for the development of our players. Complicated and perhaps delicate football adminstrative matters handled at the appropriate level by those qalified to do it. Outstanding!
Here are some statistics in respect of the growth of the game in the last year provided in the interview by the CEO (and that's before we get to the World Cup):
The following program is broadcast on 16 March 2010
In a stroke of pure genius and a substantial measure of good judgement, Capital Football and ACTS Women's Coach (and Canbera United), Ray Juna have collaborated to see the managed return of ACTAS squad players back to the Women's Premier League.
See earlier post concerning the new Women's competition rules covering this initiative.
This is how it should work - the best of our players, those with aspirations to go as far as they can in football, being developed both within elite football training programs and through Clubs as appropriate. The Coach maximising every opportunity to give these young players additional playing opportunities at the appropriate level(s) of resistance. Clubs appreciating, recognising and accepting that they too have a responsibility in the development of players at all levels. The value of the return of these young women players is already evident in the Federation Cup games. Just terrific.
The inclusion of new competition rules for Women's Football has enabled the inclusion of ACTAS players and kept a balance across Clubs. A good Football intiative supported by good Football administration and quality Coach management. Its simply a first class example of a "player centred approach" that has the bonus of working for the game in community football.
The ACTAS players will not always be available to Club Coaches, as they fulfill other obligations, and this will mean the Clubs will need to be careful how they prepare other players to "step up", but what a bonus!
