CEO Capital Football Heather Reid Has A lot To Say On Football Overseas and Here In The ACT Region

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.

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CEO Vikings Futsal Talks Futsal in 2011 - Part 1

This program was broadcast on 2xxfm (98.3mhz), across teh Australian Community Radio Network on Tuesday, 22 February 2011 at 7:00PM.

This program is Part 1 of an interview with CEO Vikings Fustal, Alasdair Miller. This candid discussion is around many aspects of Futsal in 2011 and going forward, from the Vikings Futsal perspective.

We need to get one thing straight before the interview -Vikings Futsal is all about Futsal. No distractions. Futsal as a sport in its own right.

Vikings Futsal is not part of the FFA's Futsal arrangements, nor do they pretend to speak for all in Futsal. But there can be no doubt of one thing, Vikings Futsal is a very substantial presence in Australia, New Zealand and has grown some remakable links to our region and elswhere in the world of Futsal. The Vikings Futsal business model is well worth  a close look. They know how to make Futsal work.

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Boomerangs FS Victorious!

Boomerangs FS - king of the mountain. Great stuff!

The Boomerangs FS contested several Grand Finals of the NSW Supa League Futsal Championships. Season 2010 / 2011 has been a fantastic journey for all the Boomerangs teams and parents.

The Grand Finals were contested yesterday and the Boomerangs FS were victorious in the following grades:

1. Under 14 Boys
2. Under 14 Girls
3. Under 16 Boys
4. Youth Mens

I cannot emphasise just how significant the scope of the Boomerangs FS competitive efforts have been this season. All nine teams into the finals, won the Club Championship, had more of their teams in fianls than any other single club, were victorious in four Grand Finals and now are most likely to be eleveated to the top futsal competitive level in NSW (and there is none better in Australia). Wow!

Please, tell me one football or futsal achievement in recent years that comes close to the scope of this competitive effort by any ACT Club or representative program.

The Boomerangs FS was and is all about giving our young Futsal players a chance to be challenged at a higher level of Futsal. The Boomerangs FS underpinning philosophy was spot on, right from the start, the players responded and the rest speaks for itself.

The Boomerangs FS have demonstrated beyond any doubt that our young players, boys and girls, young men and women can compete effectively in the highly comeptitive competition run in metropolitan NSW.

The most remarkable thing about the success of the Boomernags FS is that it is the energy and determination of two local people (Senatore and Collins), together with parents and players who rose to the challenge, to whom all praise must go. This was not a Captial Football inspired or underwritten venture and the CF Futsal Standing COmmittee is nowhere to sighted. So it can be done!

The atmosphere and collaboration between families and players as they campaigned the season is like nothing I have seen in Futsal in the ACT, except perhaps sometimes in the Nationals. A terrific atmosphere. Its that good.

Next season, it is most likely that Boomerangs FS will be elevated to the NSW Premier League. The competitive bar will be lifted again.

Boomerangs FS is the place to be for the best Futsal on offer in the ACT. Get in contact with them for the next season. Its never too early.

Images provided by Boomerangs FS parents - many thanks.

North Canberra Futsal To Run A Futsal Development Program

The following advice from North Canberra Futsal (NCF) to their players / parents was forwarded to the NPL. Very interesting!

It seems that NCF have got organised and intends to run a Futsal development clinic . I assume that registration may be limited to NCF players, but if you play in the South Canberra Futsal (SCF) competition and want to particpate, best you contact the President of North Canberra Futsal ( http://www.northcanberrafutsal.com.au/public/default.asp ). No direct contact is listed on the documentation below, which is a bit inconvenient.

This is how the NCF Academy describes itself:

"NEW ‘INTERNATIONAL STYLE’ FUTSAL ACADEMY



The North Canberra Futsal in conjunction with Total Futsal Concepts is very proud and excited to announce the introduction of its new ‘International style’ futsal academy. This is the first total concept futsal academy in the ACT and it is modelled on the very successful and effective Spanish, Italian and Brazilian academies of coaching futsal which primarily encourages and promotes:


 futsal creativity;
 speed and agility in movement around the court;
 tactical positioning on the court and applying proven game plans;
 finishing goal scoring opportunities;
 strategically ‘thinking’ to the sport of futsal;
 close ball control and building confidence to try something new with the ball;
 dribbling skills and improving the ‘touch on the ball’; and
 total fun and enjoyment when playing the sport.


The central focus of the training programs is to have the ball at the feet as much as possible and for players to participate in small-sided games. The program is very much skills based, with the emphasis on lots of ball touches and developing player confidence when playing the ball. ...."

This is a very interesting and welcome initiative.  It could be a good thing for Futsal in the ACT.

Check it out, ask questions. Well done NCF!

So very few of our young players get any futsal specific technical training, in fact, most don't train at all (unless they get selected in an ACT Rep team for the Nationals or get serious match experience with the Boomerangs FS in the NSW Supa League). 

The advertising sent to NCF players and parents is listed below. 

Reflections on the ACT Performance at the 2011 FFA Futsal Nationals by Capital Football Futsal Technical Manager, Roger Cua

This program is broadcast on 2xxfm (98.3 mhz) through the Australian Community Radio Network, Tuesday, 18 January 2011 at 7:00PM.

The 2011 FFA Futsal Nationals have concluded. The overall performance of the ACT teams is an improvement on 2010.

However, NSW increased their dominance with 15 finals wins from a total of 17 finals contested at the Nationals.

Whatever we are doing to improve Futsal, we need to remember that NSW is not standing still and admiring past performance.

Roger Cua joined Capital Football in the latter half of 2010 as the Futsal Technical Manager. The changes he made tidied up some loose ends and that made a difference to the overall results. Roger speaks candidly to the NPL about the Nationals, the ACT performance, what makes NSW strong at the Nationals, talented identification, selection, the need give all squad players sufficient game time in the Nationals at the junior / youth levels to ensure development, the need to regenerate the Open Mens' team, an ACT Futsal State team competition, increasing the scope of the ACT Premier League, futsal coaching clinics during the Football season, Coach education and a good deal more about Futsal as it affects the ACT.

Roger has a three year plan and he has made a good start.

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Futsal, Futsal, Futsal - Capital Football Futsal League Manager Tells Us How It Will All Work For The 2010 / 2011 Season

In this program we speak to David Lee, the Capital Football League Manager, about the full range of competition Futsal to be held in the ACT in the forthcoming 2010 / 2011 season (including the Nationals).

If you want to know how Futsal is organised this season, all the way from Under 5's to ACT Rep Teams for the Nationals, this interview is an absolute must!

I think you will be surprised to learnjust how quickly Futsal has grown in the last five years in the ACT. I asked David how many players participated last season and how many he anticipated would play this season. The Answer:  6,000 (+) players of all ages, no problem! Capital Football manages these competitions directly or through the orgainsing bodies, North and South Canberra Futsal Clubs. A massive task.

This is just enormous! Makes you think. Surely we have some real political clout if you take Football and Futsal as a whole. We dwarf every other sport. Surely there is real good reason for the ACT Government to get moving on new and additional faciltites for both games. Why are we so tame? What is the Capital Football Board doing to advance the cause, or are we going to spend another five years standing around admiring Hawker Enclosed or wishing we had something like the Mpower Dome? Get cracking you lot!

And let's not forget the one Futsal club from the ACT that gained entry to and competed in the NSW Supa League and did outstandingly well - Boomerangs FS. The experience for many of the Boomerangs players that gained selection in ACT Rep teams for the Nationals (and there were a lot of them!) helped their performances at Nationals enormously. There is no doubt that this is the club to join if you want to experience Futsal to a higher competition standard than is available week to week in the ACT.

Futsal is a big game that's getting big quickly!

Registration documentation can be obtained by reference to the following websites:

Capital Football run competitions and Nationals - http://www.capitalfootball.com.au/site/comp_futsal.php
Junior Futsal competition in the North of Canberra - http://northcanberrafutsal.com.au/public/default.asp
Junior Futsal competition in the South of Canberra - http://www.scf.asn.au/aboutus.html

Boomerangs FS for higher level competition in the NSW Supa League and local Premier League competition - http://www.boomerangsfs.com.au/index.html


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