Opportunities and Expectations Await Football West’s New CEO

They say that everything comes to those who wait, and those words have come true for football in Western Australia as former Perth Glory player Jamie Harnwell has been revealed as the new CEO of Football West.

Ever since the new state body was created, when all the various segments of the game, were merged into one administrative body the footballing public of Western Australia have been waiting to have someone from the game take on the role. It has been a long wait.

Football West was created in 2004 and until now, a period of 18 years, no one who has held the CEO position has been what the public would deem ‘a football person.’

The Football Federation of Australia appointed Michelle Phillips as the first CEO of the new organisation. Here was a woman who had worked as a business and commercial executive for a number of major International organisations including Sport England, Coopers Lybrand and Arthur Anderson. Phillips moved on after two years, when the FFA took over the licence of the A-League club Perth Glory. Ms Phillips became the CEO of the Perth Glory. It was far too short a period to be able to judge whether her appointment was a success.

Following her departure the board appointed Garry Chandler who had previously worked in human resources for Footlocker in Europe. Chandler would remain in the role for four years one month up until his contract was not renewed by the board.

He was followed by another outsider Peter Hugg who arrived from Canberra. Hugg was hailed by the board as having done an outstanding job in his six years at the helm. He was praised for having “overseen a massive period of growth in the game in WA.” His achievements were truly remarkable as they defied global participation trends in world football which see numbers drop in every football playing country two years after a World Cup Finals. The board may have been happy with the outcomes but Mr Hugg was far from popular and when he headed back over East there were few in the game praising him or looking back with warmth on his tenure; and that included many of his staff.

Next came James Curtis a CEO who became known as the “invisible man.” Curtis rarely if ever spoke to the media, was rarely seen at games apart from finals, he was a man who stayed in the shadows. Yet he achieved what the Board wanted him to. He managed to convince the Government – the sector he came from – to invest $35million in a State Football Centre (Centre of Gravity & It Doesn’t Add Up) that has the potential to become a white elephant. It also has the potential, if the business plan that was created to justify the expenditure is adhered to, of taking much needed match day revenue away from local clubs. Curtis to his credit having come from Government scoured grant opportunities and brought in revenue that the game had never had access to before. Curtis was in the chair for five years and seven months.

Jamie Harnwell comes from local football. He came through the junior ranks of Sorrento and was then given his chance with Perth Glory in the National Soccer League and the A-League. As a player Harnwell was renowned for wearing his heart on his sleeve and giving his all for the team. He became a beacon of hope for many young Western Australians that you could progress through the local club scene and play in the top competition in the land. That was then, this is now. The landscape has changed dramatically.

Harnwell was signed by Perth Glory in 1998 and remained at the club for 13 years. No doubt he hoped that it would be longer, as at a famous press conference he was promised ‘a job for life.’ He however ended up at Football West when a deal was brokered to help Perth Glory extricate themselves from that promise. He took on a role as a development officer and coached the W -League side when Football West took over the reins after Perth Glory owner Tony Sage said he no longer wanted the team. He did well with the team, winning a Premiership in 2014/15.

Harnwell would then go and coach the Adelaide United Women’s team. Football West said that they would keep his job open for him. He returned to Football West as Head of Development and in March 2020 was made Acting Chief Operating Officer, a post he held until July of the same year when he was appointed Chief Football Officer in a restructure of the organisation. Remarkably he remained head of coach of his childhood club Sorrento during this time, despite many pointing to a conflict of interest.

Now he has reached the pinnacle, he is the Chief Executive Officer, more so than probably at any time in his life he has the chance to etch his name in stone in Western Australian football.

The footballing public are expecting him to serve them. To be their representative for what is best for the game moving forward. It is an opportunity not only for Harnwell, but also for the sport. A chance to right many of the wrongs that have been implemented in the past 15 years.

Harnwell was a fearless defender in his playing days, often described as ‘the Colussus at the back.’ Now he stands as a Colossus with one foot in deciding what is best for the game and the other in appeasing the wishes of his board. This will be no easy task. If he thought that there were issues in his playing days overcoming dressing room politics they will be nothing compared to what he will face in terms of politics in the months and years ahead.

First up will be the issue of where do his loyalties lie. The football public of Western Australia will feel that now they have their man from football at the helm his first loyalty will be to them and the game, after all it was the local game that set Jamie Harnwell on his way, that made him who he is. Yet he will be expected to follow the line put out by Football Australia, and in addition that of his board. Remember that it was the FA – of FFA as they were then – that told Peter Hugg to make sure the NPL happened and to do whatever it takes to put it in place, even though there were grave concerns from the clubs, concerns that have now proved to have been justified. (Failing To Meet Expectations – The Non Profit League & Has The NPL Derailed Football In WA?)

He has a number of pressing issues to address, such as finding a way to lower the escalating costs for children to play the World game. This is unfortunately having a huge impact on the game all the way up to the national team. No longer are we seeing the best players on the park, we are witnessing the best payers. This is clearly the case when it comes to junior state representative sides.

He is going to have to address the issue of a failing NPL. A league where the standard of football is declining and the fans are staying away. There needs to be a complete rethink as to how this league is managed, packaged and promoted. This is supposed to be the showcase competition. If he pursues the path of a third division being introduced on a Saturday, again there is likely to be a long lasting negative impact on the game. Will he make that hard call?

He is going to have to manage the expectations and hangers-on of those who are going to want invitations and tickets to the FIFA Women’s World Cup games and events being held in Perth next year. That will not be easy. However this is actually a unique opportunity to showcase the game as a whole, and especially the Women’s game. With the Matildas understandably not playing any games in Perth, Football West are going to have be coming up with a marketing plan and strategy in the next few months in order to leverage this opportunity to the maximum. If done properly they could be reaping the rewards for may years to come. .

Harnwell is also going to have to manage the State Football Centre and somehow make it work for all parties, and not just the administrators of the game. The word on the street is that his predecessor James Curtis may well be unveiled as the new head of the Centre, but this is at present just a rumour. If he is, that could work to Harnwell’s advantage or it could be hard for him to stand up to his former boss and do what is best for the clubs.

While there are plenty of challenges ahead for the new CEO, Jamie Harnwell is in the unique position of being the first person to come to the role having spent their entire working life in the game. He will need to have good people around him to cover the business issues that he may not have been exposed to in the past, but he has a huge opportunity to make lasting changes for the betterment of the game.

Football lovers in Western Australia have been waiting a long time for this day to come. Finally it is here. Unfortunately for Harnwell with so many years of waiting for such an appointment it now comes with the greater expectation that when that person was appointed they would almost immediately manage to get the sport back on track again.