FFA reveals findings of competition review
22 May 2012
Football Federation Australia (FFA) has released the outcomes of its National Competition Review (NCR), which reviewed the state of all sanctioned competitions at youth, state and A-League level.
The report comes following a difficult period for the FFA, during which it expelled the Gold Coast United franchise from the A-League and had a high-profile dispute with the owners of the Newcastle Jets. Indeed, the height of the Gold Coast saga saw franchise owner Clive Palmer launch ‘Football Australia’; a body he hoped would “replace” the FFA as the governing body of the game in Australia. However, FFA believes the proposals contained within the NCR will go far in helping to realise the vision of making Australia a “world-class football nation” by aligning an Elite Player Pathway from the grass roots to the A-League and up to the national team.
“The outcomes from the National Competition Review are the culmination of 18 months of work by FFA in collaboration with our member federations,” said FFA CEO Ben Buckley. “Throughout this process, we have consulted with the football community and listened to what our various stakeholders have had to say. These reforms will allow us to seize some great opportunities and to address a number of important issues in the football community.”
The FFA has detailed five core outcomes from the NCR which comprise of an evolution of the Elite Player Pathway, the definition of competition windows and participation requirements to extend the duration of the season in critical stages of player development, and the introduction of an elite club licencing programme. A player points system and revised training compensation regulations will also be introduced in time for the 2013 winter football season. Buckley said the reforms will further elevate state league clubs and competitions and ensure consistency in the development of youth footballers. He added: “These outcomes will also support the development of the Hyundai A-League as an even higher standard of young players emerge from the states to grow the entertainment appeal of the competition by improving the quality of play on the pitch.”
