Thursday, 4 July 2013 2:47 PM
In June 2012, South Melbourne FC endorsed the general principles and direction that football was taking under the FFA and FFV’s transition to the National Premier League structure. From the outset, however, the Club informed the FFV it would be proposing appropriate changes so that the model would appeal to most clubs.
Over the last twelve months, the Club has become increasingly concerned with the process and consultation undertaken by the FFV Board in order to galvanise and build momentum to successfully launch the new NPL structure in Victoria.
South Melbourne FC is disappointed that the FFV Board has not accepted many of FFV’s stakeholders’ recommendations for changes to the NPL-V model required to ensure the financial viability of the new league and to maximise the quality of the competition. None of the key recommendations proposed by the clubs have been accepted by the FFV Board.
One of the key concerns of the clubs which have either not submitted an EOI or have since indicated an intention to withdraw their EOI is the financial and operational structure of the clubs taking part in the proposed NPL-V and the proposed competition itself. The clubs have been vindicated in their concerns by the FFV Board announcement on Tuesday 2nd July to the participants which lodged an EOI that the Small Sided Football competition cannot be included in this state. This is in direct contrast to the NPL structures in New South Wales, Tasmania, and South Australia. We are concerned that this decision by the FFV Board will now bring a further exodus of clubs which are not prepared to risk their club’s financial integrity and security.
As a result, we believe that Victoria will lose clubs with sound infrastructure and facilities, which will further weaken the proposed competition by further compromising its marketability, popularity, and resulting in restricted broadcasting and commercial opportunities, and more importantly diminishing the potential for a strong and competitive football league.
South Melbourne FC has worked long and hard to enthuse and encourage participants in Victoria to apply and enter the NPL-V as we felt that the major intended reforms would benefit football in our state. However, our Club is very disappointed and concerned with the apparent lack of understanding of the key concerns held by our club and other key FFV stakeholders.
Consequently, South Melbourne FC is now reviewing its position on its application to enter the NPL-V.