Football in Australia has for decades had a history of shooting itself in the foot. The Crawford Report was supposed to change all of that, but unfortunately the more things change the more they stay the same.
Why is this? Is it because the sport appoints the wrong people to key positions? Is it the egos of many of those involved that will not allow them to do what is best for the greater good?
Whatever the reasons two issues have come to the fore in the past few weeks which have a huge impact not only on the game itself but also the community, and both are to do with grounds.
First up is the issue with HBF Park, the home venue for both the Perth Glory and the Western Force being unavailable due to necessary upgrades required for the venue to host FIFA Women’s World Cup matches in July 2023.
While Perth Glory have been forced out of the stadium at the start of their season due to the work going on, it was reported in May that Venues West who manage the stadium had booked English singer-songwriter Harry Styles to perform at the stadium on February 20 with another artist pencilled in for the first weekend in March.
To save on the cost of dismantling and rebuilding the stage it is to remain on the ground between shows. Now delays on the work mean the A-League club will be shut out for even longer. In addition there needs to be six weeks of turf restoration for the five internationals to be played at the venue during the World Cup.
While it is great that Perth will be hosting FIFA Women’s World Cup matches clearly the management of the venue, and the co-ordination between the management and their tenants has left a lot to be desired.
The Perth Glory and the Western Force are the venue’s main tenants and have been for a long period of time. To treat both so appallingly for a one off event – The World Cup – is short-sighted in the extreme. Sure, both will benefit in the long term from a far better venue, but the damage that it could have on their position in the community is immeasurable. As for their performances in their national competitions that is another story.
Understandably both are seeking some form of compensation for the inability to use their home ground.
Perth Glory are believed to be looking at National Premier Club grounds as venues for their home games during this period. Stirling Macedonia who hosted the Perth Kangaroos games, a team that led to the creation of Perth Glory are said to be the favourites to host these matches. Which would in some ways be fitting.
The trouble is there are key ground requirements to host A-League fixtures and there is probably going to have to be some leeway from the A League’s management to assist the Glory in making this a viable option.
While some clubs see the revenue potential of hosting the Perth Glory others are not so keen to open their doors to the A-League club.
Sadly across the country the link between the local clubs and their A-League counterparts has become fractured. Having the A-League club’s youth teams playing in the NPL competition has seen many clubs lose players that they have developed, and receive less or no training compensation monies when that player moves into the professional ranks. In addition the set transfer fee from NPL clubs to A-League clubs is a paltry amount in football terms, and often is not paid. The NPL clubs will never stand in the way of a player progressing to play professionally, but sometimes the A-League clubs will with their demands for compensation fees from overseas clubs. So the A-League clubs want the money, but are happy not to pay the NPL clubs so the healthy relationship that was there in the past is strained today.
Maybe this is an opportunity for Perth Glory to reconnect with the local clubs and football community, which would be a good thing for all concerned.
What this situation does highlight is how the hijacking of Optus Stadium for AFL and cricket is now proving detrimental to other teams that represent Western Australia in national competitions. Had the venue been constructed as originally put forward with retractable seating for rectangular sports then this may have been a good alternative venue at this time; even if the top tiers were closed off. The retractable seating option was deemed too expensive, and so drop-in seating was an alternative. (Podcast #30) As far as we are aware this has been used only once, at the Bledisloe Cup game hosted at the venue. The reason is that the hosting sport is required to pay for the cost of having the drop in seating put in place!
Sadly the design of the venue is not good for rectangular sports if you are seated on the lower level. (Rucked and Mauled)
All of this highlights a very major issue and a flaw in the franchise model that was adapted by the FFA, now Football Australia. If you do not own your own ground you are never going to be able to make money owning an A-League club. Nick Tana and Paul Afkos the original owners of Perth Glory were savvy enough to realise the importance of this issue and were given a 20 year lease on the ground. They controlled the vendors and the security, and they were in a position to hire the venue out for concerts and other functions, which all went towards financing the team. This showed sharp business acumen. Had the situation remained, Perth Glory and the Western Force would not find themselves in their current predicament.
The other stadium issue doing the media rounds at the present time is in relation to the promise of a $3million Federal Grant made in 2018 to Floreat Athena football club, who play in the NPL. They were the League Champions in 2022. ( They finished top of the League but did not win the Top Four Cup).
The club is understandably upset that they have as yet not received a cent of that grant. They also know that without it their future is in jeopardy.
The funding package was announced at the time not by the Federal Government, but by One Nation senator Peter Georgiou, who was described in the West Australian as “a one-time masters player who had lobbied on the club’s behalf.” It is also worth noting at this time that his Senior Strategy Media and Communications Advisor was a Mr Peter Kapsanis, who also had links with the club. In fact following Mr Georgiou losing his federal seat in the election, held on the 18th May 2019 Mr Kapsanis became Vice President of the Floreat Athena Football club in July 2019. A position according to his Linked in profile he held until this year.
At the time of the announcement there were a number of questions asked as to how this had come about, and also the manner in which it was announced.
One party that was blindsided by the announcement was the club’s landlord the City of Vincent. It was reported at the time that in November 2017 the City of Vincent Council had knocked back the club’s master plan for the site and put it on a short-term lease to give the council more time “to consider the work that needed to be done, only part of which was securing funding.”
Following the announcement by Mr Georgiou it was reported that a decision on approving the funding was made just two weeks after Finance Minister Mathias Cormann asked then regional development minister John McVeigh to consider it. It was approved by the then Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, on August 23, the day before he was deposed as leader. Many believing that this was in fact one of his last acts as Prime Minister.
It was also reported that the Department of Infrastructure, Regional Development and Cities had not at that time done a formal assessment, and neither had they offered any advice to the Prime Minister on whether it was a “proper use of Commonwealth funds.”
Political reporters honed in on the issue and speculated that this had been part of the coalition Government’s need for One Nation support on proposed legislation on tax cuts. Senator Cormann did not comment on these allegations. Mr. Georgiou did and denied that he had requested funding as part of negotiations.
Despite not having carried out a formal assessment in relation to the funding request the Department of Infrastructure, Regional Development and Cities when faced with heavy criticism was quoted as saying, “the grant was approved subject to the receipt of a satisfactory project proposal and the response to request for information being consistent with all relevant requirements under the guidelines of the Community Development Program.”
In November 2018 just two months after the announcement that they were going to receive $3million from the Government the club was asking the public to help them raise funds to avoid having to close their doors. A letter dated the 24th November explained that the club had to raise funds to reduce debts of $213,000 before the 4th of October otherwise the receivers would be called in. (A Warning To All)
Clearly from that time on the individuals at the club have worked tirelessly to put their house in order. A year later in November 2019 the club managed to secure a a five-year lease with a five-year option, at the City of Vincent’s discretion on the ground.
However, the lease agreement had changed. As current Club President Con Poulios has stated in the various interviews that he has carried out in recent days to try and bring this to a head, Floreat Athena are now in control of the club house adjacent tiered seating and have stadium access from April to September. While the City of Vincent are responsible for whole site on which the ground is situated, including maintaining the pitch. This was why the fence around the venue was taken down.
What is more the Federal Grant has been transferred to the City of Vincent. This took place late in 2021, and since then the club has been working hard with their landlord to secure the promised funding.
While football fans are getting hot under the collar, and understandably the club itself are growing frustrated it is understandable that due diligence is being done by the new Government as to the procedures which led to this grant being issued. Certainly there were some strange circumstances surrounding the announcement. However one does have to ask why when this was announced in 2018 are the club, and now the City, still waiting for the money or to be told that it is not going to be honoured? After all the Coalition Government remained in power until 21st May 2022. So why didn’t they deliver on that promise?
There can be no argument that four years is a very long time to wait, and as the club waits the facilities continue to deteriorate.
Which interestingly leads us back to an issue that appears now more than ever to have been a mistake, the Home of Football being erected at Queens Park.
As one government official commented recently, ‘why this was approved was for all the wrong reasons. Why does an administrator need its own pitches?’
James Curtis as the then CEO, and Liam Twigger as the former Chairman of Football West are to be applauded for fulfilling their mission in obtaining the funding for the home of Football or State Football Centre, but one wonders at what cost to the game as a whole.
An amount of $32.5 million is being spent on this one venue. As raised many times previously how much would the game have benefitted had this money been spent on upgrading the exisiting grounds, grounds like Floreat Athena’s Litis stadium? (Time To Leave Home and Upgrade Grounds or Home of Football?)
Had Football West worked with the local councils in a unified approach to achieve this goal there would have been more venues for Perth Glory to look at playing their home games at during the development of HBF Park, and they could have taken the A-League to various locations in the metropolitan region which in turn may well have helped them grow their fan base.
In its own Constitution under the very first section, “Objects of the Company” Football West states under section b that their role is to “to govern Football throughout the State and protect Football from abuse.” Are individuals abusing the game by pushing their own agendas rather than what is best for the game as a whole? Then more importantly under section i it states that their purpose is “to provide and maintain grounds, playing fields, materials, equipment and other facilities for Football in the State.”
So is the Governing Body in the State to blame for the situation that these two clubs find themselves in? Or is it those that the clubs and the various committees employ or elect who are to blame?
Football has a history of letting individuals and their egos hijack the game, and as a result the sport, its players, and clubs end up paying a heavy price. Rather than accepting responsibility the sport is quick to blame others. Until the various clubs and individuals unite, and work towards a common goal together there will be more situations like this to come in the future.
Worse than this is the fact that good people become burnt out and frustrated and walk away from the game. People the game badly needs.
