Football NSW President responds to Craig Foster’s article
Below is the response released by Football NSW to the initial article from Craig Foster “Greed poisons the game“. We are including this here in Futsal4all as it is of overall interest to the Futsal community in NSW. Football NSW control the game of Futsal in the state when it comes to official FIFA competitions, and at this stage is still the dominant player overall for the state. The play field is gradually changing, with Vikings on the scene and a few big associations already having moved away from Football NSW in the past months.
Note the response below came out 29th of September 2008. We did not publish it at that stage as it seemed mostly Football relevant, but as the discussion around it grows bigger and is attracting more press, to complete the overall picture we are publishing it here now.
Subsequent to the response below coming out, further information has been released by SBS. We mention it in this post here also published today.
The Football NSW original response now follows :
FNSW President Jim Forrest responds to recent criticism of the organisation by a journalist in the Sun Herald
FROM THE PRESIDENT
FOSTER SPRAY
29 September 2008
Most of us believed that with the advent of Frank Lowy and Football Federation Australia we’d be rid of Old Football and its politics of envy, malice and negativity.
Sadly, proponents of the Old Football remain among us. This is apparent in recent, unsubstantiated diatribes by Mr Craig Foster on the official SBS website and Sunday last in the Sun-Herald. Coaching and player development, and what we provide to our membership, attracted Foster’s ire, yet he made no attempt to contact either myself, or our CEO, Michael Quarmby, or our High Performance Manager, Paul Bentvelzen to discuss his stories. We need to put the record straight.
FUNDING
The only government funding received by Football NSW is $30,000 from the Department of Sport & Recreation, which goes to help support elite player development program through the NSW Institute of Sport.
Capitation fees to associations range from $3.23 to $12.85 for seniors. Yet the careful financial management of our organisation over recent years means that these fees only amount to 15 per cent of our total income. Instead, the bulk of our funding comes from sponsorship related sources, investments and competitions. Our self-funded player injury and public liability insurance has not been increased for three years, including for 2009.
COACHING
Football NSW’s coaching department’s areas of responsibility are coach education, player pathway programs, schools development, state team representation, school holiday camps, specialised coaching clinics, Indigenous and disability programs.
Our grassroots development, for players aged 7-10, is self-funded. The cost per session is $20 for a 90-minute session. This compares with $25-30 per session from independent academy providers. Beyond the 10s, FNSW focuses on elite player development, which is subsidised by FNSW, and on the coaching of coaches at Association level. A Junior development program provides intensive training for boys aged 11-12 and girls aged 11-14 to prepare them for representative selection, then we have the Johnny Warren program which feeds into into the NSW State Teams.
At Association level, in 2007 FNSW introduced an annual formal instructors’ course aimed at updating and educating all current coaches on the latest ideas. All updates are free of charge, conducted by FNSW qualified instructors with invited guests like Heather Garriock and Frank Farina. Junior, Intermediate etc coaching qualification initial courses are governed by FFA charges and not by FNSW.
In 2008 FNSW partnered with Global Ambition Group to provide an interactive webpage to allow coaches, parents, teachers and players to view detailed player development curriculum content. The website focuses on ages 5 to 19, free to visitors. It allows us to communicate directly with head coaches in every club and provides the basis for regular updating. Some 800 clubs in NSW have been given free access to the website for 12 months. Anybody else who wishes to avail to help them the costs is $39 per year. This is great value, given the costs of hosting and downloading the video files and suchlike. As well as their initial investments in developing this site.
From 1997 to 2007 FNSW was the COERVER sub-licensee for Oceania. The first three years ran at a loss. Thereafter there was an operating surplus of about 10 per cent, which was distributed to other, loss making coaching and player development areas. In the end, however, it was not economically viable to maintain this program, and the offering from FNSW was restructured.
In conclusion our coaching schemes have a net budgeted loss of $780,000.
SERVICE TO MEMBERS
Each year, Football NSW looks at major initiatives towards what we can give back to members and the game. In 2008, every grassroots coach was provided, through their Associations, with a Tip Top sponsored DVD for coaching ages 6-12 years. This year we distributed amongst Associations and Senior Clubs $250,000 in vouchers to assist in the offsetting of costs for the purchase of football equipment through the Soccer Wearhouse.
A national weekly TV show, Football Stars of Tomorrow, has been maintained. This highlights and promotes grassroots, coaching, refereeing, Futsal, Premier League and special interest stories. FNSW spends approximately $350,000 per annum on this program, which we believe is fully justified in promoting the code. In 2008, some 1,000,000 viewers watched this program.
As a special sponsorship, McDonalds this year spent, in conjunction with FNSW, some $400,000 to advertise and promote participation in football in NSW. As well as providing 32 scholarships x $500 each to assist the needy.
What we do for our members does not stop there. We are currently planning for up to 14 new grounds in north west Sydney, and are in discussions with developers for a further 20 fields in the south west growth sector.
This year FNSW has invested time and money in meetings with Association coaches to educate people in the new Small Sided Games concept. As with mini-soccer (later called Rooball) some two decades ago, in such a large organisation as ours these roll outs have to be carefully planned. They work best when developed consultatively with our members. That is why FNSW has called a meeting of Associations for 2nd October, to get your advice so the Board can make informed decisions.
REFEREEING
Finally, the Sun-Herald report mentions a referee matter. In the past year, FNSW has been working with a program to give up and coming Association referees an opportunity to officiate at the top level of our senior State League. Nevertheless, the responsibility remains with FNSW’s senior management to ensure an appropriate level of match official experience on every senior game.
On one occasion, a country referee was appointed to a Premier League championship fixture which our Senior Management did not feel was appropriate for such a high level game. He was replaced by an experienced official from a list of recommended appointees prepared by the Technical and Appointments Committee of the State League Football Referees Association. In the end, FNSW is responsible for appointing the best referees to each level of game, and we make absolutely no apology for ensuring that we get this right on the rare occasion where a mismatch occurs.
A lot more remains to be said about the positive achievements of Football NSW, which you’ll get over the next month or so. We’ve highlighted here responses to the major issues raised in the recent diatribes by Old Football’s Mr Craig Foster, simply to counter the entirely negative and uninformed comments recently in the Sun-Herald and on the SBS official website. It’s also an opportunity for us to tell you something of what we’re about, which is a positive benefit.
Yours sincerely,
Jim Forrest,
President Football NSW
29 September 2008
Source : Football NSW
Published : 29/9/2008
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Recent Forum Updates
If the maximum capitation fee for affiliated associations is $12.85 for senior players why do futsal players pay $67.50 ?
Yeah I agree with george…
Why am I paying around that price when your telling me its 12.85…Futsal NSW has been disgraceful for years! they cant organise anything!
What do the Associations charge their players if capitation is only $12.85?
Frank, I think the question is more…. why is the Futsal capitation $67.50. Is this figure correct?
As many who frequent this site and other Futsal forums would know, there is always a lot of speculation and potential mis-information being bandied about in regards to Futsal NSW.
Frank Rossi has kindly offered to be a contact point for those with genuine questions regarding Futsal in NSW. If you have questions you would like answered, Frank is happy to offer that service. He will answer what he can and let you know honestly if he can’t.
Rather than give his private email address out here on the website, we invite you to send your request to admin@futsal4all.com and we will pass his contact details on to you.
No need to put your specific queston to the Admin address, just a request for his email address.
Whats wrong with answering on here Frank or is that to transparent. I’d like to think that perhaps you don’t know the answer
The registration fee is $67.50 not the capitation fee. On last year’s registratiion forms it actually breaks down the fee structure. However it doesn’t actually specify what goes where. However I am sure Frank, Rokelle or Tim would be able to inform what goes where. Just pick up the phone & dial the office. I am sure that your child or you as a player pays more “registration” fees for your football club at the beginning of an outdoor season. Only a small component of that is the capitation fee.
still too much to pay twice a year when both sanctioned by same organisation
So, if 100 of us have a similar question, Frank would prefer to answer 100 times privately rather than once on this forum ? Can Frank tell us on here why he prefers it to be that way ?
Most people realise that it costs money to run a futsal club, they often dont know where their money goes but would like to believe it all goes back into their own sport and doesnt prop up anything else. This as we know isnt always the case eh ?
Thanks Scott
Hey I have heard a rumor your off to New Zealand and will be the Futsal guy for OFC, is this true?
Craig Foster spoke his mind and as predicted the same old worn out spin doctor response from Football NSW.
In the Illawarra, which produces more champion of champion winning junior team then most at this elite level.The region then produces nothing of any consequence in senior football.
Speak to Scott Chipperfield and Luke Wiltshire and see how much of this FREE
support and high level performance they received from the Illawarra Junior Football Association.
Read their Constitution of the IJFA it fucking reads that they can give themself our kids money yet the Constitution denies any meaningful payments grants and support that can go to these kids.
In addition they can provide handouts and kickbacks to their mates and companies of their choosing and they are protected by the Constitution.
I would like to know what they do, last season I reported a club where I was manager, to the IJFA and the Football NSW regarding the consumption of Alcohol on children designated fields not once ongoing and in breach of the Licquer registration act council regulation and a so call IJFA and Football NSW constitution. Children we endangered by youth ranging from 13 to 17 years of age digging the road siding out of the roadway adjioning our soccer fields. Then these youth started stunt jumps and nearly landed on a little girl a sibling of a child playing in my team. I approached the clubs President and Vice President for some form of action. What happened NOTHING, and I attribute this to the alcohol they were sculling at a game where small children were gathered.
Pickled “piss pots” swilling whilst our children are exposed to these and numerous other culpable behaviours.
The behaviours of these people reached a stage where children were being emotionally and physically damaged, simply I stepped down and that is when the anti went through the roof.
My wife was intimidated by one of these so called EXECUTIVE MEMBERS and because I notified the club that an allergation at another club had been made to me about our club providing underage girls alcohol was alleged.
In response I contacted the Club Secretary and notified him of the allergations, which were confirmed by the Presesident of that club as being “FACT” the President of the offending club had a mate on the Illawarra Junior
Football Association and he smoothed it aver and said we will keep this under wraps and you can fix it internally.
The next move was they called a meeting inappropiately and unannounced whilst our children were present and attempted to humilitate my wife and I in front of the parents of our kids and onlookers and participants about to play.
On the way out one observer said “mate if that dog spoke to me in that manner I would bury his head into the concrete”
If a stranger was incensed how do you feel the parents and we felt.
Next that set a lawyer on us who coached a team and had the cheek and audacity to threated me for reporting
dangerous and deviant behaviour.
This well known lawyer turned out to be a coach of an older age group.This lawyer was removed from the groung only weeks before for abusing a registerd referee who was only a kid himself.
No action taken against any one of these behaviours. In response I allowed my child to continue to play in the Champion of Champions which they came runners up.
It appears that less then half of those kids will return due to the treatment
dished out on them. Even the prospect of winning this years Champion of Champions did not remotely entice some of Illawarras most talented footballer ever, to return to this disgraceful environment.
Now that I have set the mood of bleakness there is a spectular move by a decent child friendly non exploiter of children who has introduced small sided outdoor games to the Illawarra in accordance with the FFA curriculum and development outcomes.
In the beginning of this iunitiative another established “accademy” blessed by the IJFA was approached and the idea that this initiative was beyond the clubs the IJFA and private accademies.
How wrong can you be? not only has the P22 curriculum been modified small sided games introduced and subsidised the accademy has made fantastic money sent $2000.00 worth of football gear to Liberia, developed the boot exchange for kids in the illawarra to access free boots if they can not afford new ones.
We have negotiated corporate funding, restructured the first of Illawarras
most financially disadvantaged clubs
building an excellent web site spent $1500.00 on advertising attracted high level performers to this club.
In addition we have approached a high profile patron to the club, subsidised
professional coaching for free by TSA and IFA football entities provide a head coach that played in chille professionally for 15 years.
what is the only impediment. Well simply the IJFA is trying to scuttle these initiatives as their self vested interests are threatened. Simply we are walking the Talk that the FFA has produced in the form of development programs.
Simply we have implemented the Netherlands model before the so called experts. Our coaches has to travel outside the Illawarra to listen to the
structured formations and the approaches of contemporary play and preparation for playing.
We have used the foot ball tennis used throughout the Netherlands to develop skill, flair, and “enforce” the concept of being creative and make mistakes to become a superior skilled player.
Our Coaching Development Program is providing Phisological knowledge in terms of sequenced competence based training outcome with specific assessment criterias. Each player will advance in accordance with several components relating to Skill Attitude and Belonging.
We do not poach players and have a loyality policy to retain our developing players, in addition we monitor these ares of of our performance players, sleep, rest, diet, Hydration, adaptation to stress, recovery, proactive injury prevention and Management. Provide an environment where winning is not everything the players in TSA and IFA love the game and are developing their skills in a managed monitored measurable outcome based programs.
Highly professional Coaches administrators and Medical and Psychological intervention is provided in a stable performance focused environment.
Simply we have adopted a system that is sustainable and have funded these programs to ALL children in the Illawarra no matter what there economic status thanks to the decent business entities that understand the sick tribalism of clubs and unskilled uneducated representatives that have no intention or understanding to implement with Professional finess, the resources and higher level skills needed to move our young potentials into the elite class of of football nations due to low motivation and ability.
The FFA encourages the Private Academies in their Cariculum and as a policy document express the essential input that these entities have.
No child in the Illawarra can go into a representative side unless one person with a competing academy :recognised by the IJFA gives the go ahead. Simply the independent academies are training the majority of kids for Project 22 Illawarra Representative teams provided they pay the $1000.00 to $1500.00 coaching fee.
A few good kids that are not in the academy are selected to deflect this perception. The statistics are staggering how pay for placement is alleged to work and to prove a point I can produce kids not selected to play at least two Illawarra representative side where these left outs would give these rep kids a Football lesson, how is this so????
Anyhow enough of the alergations that fall onm deaf ears and non performers, we move on.
Regards Ian Fulford for the advancement and opportunity for all children, that play the “Beautiful Game”
and
Wow…..I didn’t realsie that the Illawarra area was such a conspiratorial hotbed!
I at least give Ian full marks for putting his own name to the post. He obviously has the courage of his convictions….unlike some other forum contributors.
Other than that, does anyone know if all this stuff is factual?
I’m also wondering what it all has to do with Futsal !!
Abolutely nothing by the sounds of it. More suited to that old Youth League Forum methinks.