The essence of sport is simple. You compete, you win, and you receive the prize and the accolades. You lose you get nothing.
That is of course being extremely simplistic. Often by simply being a part of a competition we learn so much about ourselves, our team mates, our opponents and life. Most of all if you talk to most people who have chosen to play sport they will talk fondly of those times, reminiscing on the enjoyment, and the friendships made.
The emotions are completely different of course for those who hated sport but were forced to participate!
The modern sporting world is very different and abounds in cliches. We witness prizes given to young players simply for turning up. Many of the top awards are now popularity contests rather than the acknowledgement of skill and performance. The biggest accolades now are the awards where athletes are judged by their peers.
Here in Australia we sadly witness a paranoia when it comes to awards and Hall of Fame inductions. No matter what the performances are of some athletes Australian Rules Football has to have an inductee or a finalist. This we are told is so that the media will cover the event. Seriously? (Is The WA Hall of Champions Being Representative of All Sports?)
In one of the biggest cliches we are told that ‘Sport is business.’
In sport each athlete and team sets itself a goal. Usually that goal is to win the competition that they have entered. Most will have a long term plan. It may be that the goal of winning is to be achieved within three years, with the nucleus of the squad in year one being the backbone of the side. That being there case there will be a period of consolidation, where young talent is bedded into a team, and then they will be ready for a realistic challenge.
Many of the top athletes and coaches will trot out the following cliches during that time. “We are taking it one game at a time,” “We are not thinking about the end of the season, we are just focussed on the next game,” and “Nothing comes easy in this competition.”
It would appear that maybe it is time the administrators started adopting some of the vernacular used by the players and coaches; as well as the same planning.
During these unprecedented times we have witnessed major failings by many of our sport’s leaders in many countries across the globe. It has come to light that they have not been ‘taking it one game at a time’ but have been living beyond their means. Spending money that they did not have. Some clearly have not had a long term goal, as it would appear that very few of the foundations were in place to achieve those goals, or as happened an unexpected event occurred.
It would appear that some have been living in a fantasy world not knowing the difference between a forecast and actual revenue. They have being living off forecast revenue rather than the actual revenue generated. In other words spending in advance money that they expect to pull in, but haven’t as yet!
How many sports have had to lay off staff? While some will say that it was inevitable if there were no games, arguing that there is no income, so therefore jobs were going to have to be shed. That may be so, but the number of jobs lost should be limited to a minimum.
We have witnessed three CEO’s of three major Australian sports leave their posts, Todd Greenberg left the NRL in April, the writing many said was on the wall prior to the Coronavirus pandemic. Raelene Castle left Rugby Australia. As unpopular as she may have been it would appear that she was the scapegoat for some bad decisions at Board level and a Board who hid behind her, and failed to back her when it mattered. (The Game They Play in Heaven Relegated to Hell). Then most recently Kevin Roberts the CEO at Cricket Australia resigned after under 18 months in the role.
Roberts had estimated that despite hosting a very successful Women’s T20 World Cup the game was likely to suffer a $20million loss. So where are the losses coming from? Are they overpaying the players or their own administrators? Despite these forecast losses probably Roberts’ biggest mistake was as reported that he cut the pay of 200 Cricket Australia staff by 80% in April and yet only cut his own by only 20%!
How many sports have we seen this to be the case? Another sport at state level in which a large number of staff were made redundant, the CEO commands a salary of close to quarter of a million dollars a year. Had they dropped their salary by $100k they could well have saved the jobs of two staff members. Which would have given them more manpower on the ground as they look to get the sport back on track. That would have been the sign of true leadership.
How is it that a sport such as Hockey at state level in Western Australia has managed to save staff jobs, albeit on reduced hours when others have had to shed staff in large numbers? Is this a reflection of good management, affordable levels of staffing, or a Board that has ensured that there are cash reserves for that rainy day? IT may in fact bee a little of all of these things.
As a player you don’t perform you get dropped. If you are not up to the task you are moved on. The same applies to coaches. It is essentially the same in a non-sporting working environment. Regular performance appraisals are given to staff and if you fail to meet the goals set you either find yourself out of work, your pay remains at the same level and promotional opportunities blocked.
Why do many of these same principles not apply in the sporting world? How is it that reference checks are frequently not carried out? How do people who have been fired from one sport gain similar key roles in another sport?
One case in point was explained by a board member from the appointing sport, ‘there were no other applicants with CEO experience.” The board of that sport failed to check why this individual was moved on from their previous role, and paid a heavy price when they failed to perform again.
Why is it in sport few keep a record of the promises made by CEO’s and Chairpersons? Surely like politicians these are the issues on which you are ultimately judged? If you fail to deliver on those promises you have failed. It is time to go.
In September 2014 the then new CEO of the Football Federation of Australia addressed the sport with his “Whole of Football” 20 year plan. David Gallop has now left the sport after a very disappointing period at the helm. He appears to have left behind a number of large challenges for his successor James Johnson.
What will be interesting to see is how much of the twenty year plan remains on the table. It is questionable whether some are even underway six years on. A summary of the key points are published below.
- A 15 million strong Football community by 2035, including 1 million club members
- A distinctive Australian style of playing that puts our National Teams in contention for all FIFA and AFC championships
- Hosting the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup as the driver of women’s Football participation and professionalism. (This we will find out this week).
- National competitions that attract 75% of participants to support a Top Tier club
- A combined pool of 3,000 elite male and female players from 12 to 19 vying for future national selection and professional contracts
- Academies that provide world-class coaching so that no Australian youth needs to go overseas to find elite development
- A redistribution of resources to community Football
- Lower cost and higher quality coach education from the grassroots to professional tier
- Making schools and social Football the focus of an “Anytime, Anyhow, Anywhere” approach to playing the game
- Sourcing Football facilities that accommodate the increasing urban density of Australian society
- Redefining the role of referees as game facilitators, not just as arbitrators of the Laws of the Game
As mentioned Gallop produced this 20 year plan knowing that he would not be there to see it through. Was it therefore just rhetoric? Was it simply him coming up with what the football public and his board wanted to hear, and tick a box on what the board expected from him?
Just as on the field of play or wherever sport is played, those who love the game want to witness passion, commitment, dedication and leadership, so too do those same fans, players, referees, coaches want to see it from those administering sport. They want to know who is in charge.
Is it the CEO or is it the Board? This was under the microscope three years ago in Time to Empower Again, but most failed to change their ways even though the warning signs were there.
Does there need to be more accountability moving forward? Do the relevant boards, whose role it is to oversee the general governance of the organisation, and especially the finances need to be held more accountable?
They are elected to keep a close eye on the day-to-day running of sport while remaining at the appropriate arms length, yet how many are actually doing that? Does sport need less talk and more action from those administering it? Do the members and stakeholders need to take a far more active interest in order to protect their sport?
Now is clearly the time to focus on making sure that at club level, where the majority play, and grassroots, where the next generation will come from is on the surest footing of all. This is where the money needs to be spent at this point in time, to shore up the future.
Sport needs men and women of action more than ever to lead it out of this current phase. People who back up their talk with actions. People who like those they administer are prepared to be judged solely on their performance. They are not there for their resume, for the perks, or their ego. They are there wholly and solely for the good of the game, and the benefits sport has on society as a whole. Probably most important of all they have to be the best people that the sport can afford.
Will your sport find such people? Maybe it already has them in place, but some are going to need these selfless people more than ever at this point in time.
