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NZF Took Eye Off The Ball
By Andrew Dewhurst
October 19th 2008
The NZFC has taken centre stage this week for
reasons it would prefer not to dwell on. Frankly it has been
a sorry state of affairs with clubs waving red flags just as
the green light was about to light up on the start line.
News that some clubs were struggling
financially didn't surprise anyone, the fact they were close
to going to the wall might have. Now while franchises have
to shoulder most of the blame if the balance sheet doesn't
add up, i'm afraid the national body must take a decent
share of the criticism given their lack of planning and
foresight over the past few years.
When the NZFC was introduced it was meant to
ramp up over the course of the first three years. Franchises
would improve facilities, standards and investment while the
national body would look after marketing, advertising,
editorial and sponsorship. While some (not all) franchises
stood by their part of the bargain with improvements to
grounds, squads, coaches and administration, NZF failed to
live up to their end of the bargain.
The national body became infatuated with
international football, FIFA meetings and television
appearances at a time when the domestic game was left to
flounder. Consider this as a track record:
Chatham Cup loses commercial sponsorship,
live TV and huge credibility
NZFC loses sponsors, reduces media exposure, increases entry
fee
National Women's League deferred
National Youth League regionalised
Little surprise then that the clubs and
franchises are finding it tough.
Now, as i say, the franchises must cop some
of the blame. If they haven't established professional work
practices and generated improved income streams from
commercial partners they must ask themselves the tough
questions. But frankly no NZ football competition is going
to survive without a sound financial base and marketing plan
funded through commercial partners and the national body.
For the NZFC to survive in any form it must have:
A naming rights commercial partner
A group of three or four second tier partners - suppliers
possibly
A level of investment in advertising and marketing
Strong media partners in radio and TV
Establish this as a foundation and then have
the clubs go to work in their own back yard. And if clubs
don't have the ambition or the where with all to sustain a
team and an acceptable standard of football, drop them and
bring in someone who will. If this means 3 teams in
Auckland, 2 in Wellington, 1 in Nelson etc then so be it.
A big ask I know but the point is none of
this has been cared for in recent years, this is not an
overnight collapse of the league - anyone watching closely
enough will have seen it happening slowly but surely over
the past 3 years.
Furthermore if clubs don't or can't aspire to
attain the levels of the Auckland City's and Waitakere
United's of this world, let them go. And to the clubs who
complain that the league is dominated by these two and it is
'unfair' - stop your bitching and do something about it.
These clubs have invested in facilities, coaches, academies,
youth players, quality imports and so on. The result?
Success on the park. That success is an option open to each
and every franchise in the league if they are prepared to
work hard, get the right mix of people involved and commit
to a professional level of administration, recruitment and
overall standards.
And it is not all about money. The two
Auckland clubs operated in the same market at the others,
albeit in Auckland. If anything trying to find funds in
Auckland is tougher than smaller cities and provincial
areas. There is so much more going on, more teams, more
sports and more demands on fans, sponsors and general
consumers. Certainly other clubs have it far better when it
comes to media coverage when operating out of a smaller city
or province.
The comment from Otago's Dave Lamont about
the two Auckland teams having to 'suck a cold sausage'
amazes me. This is classic lowest common denominator stuff
at work. If we can't get to their level, let's bring the
bastards back down to us!! 'They rely on raiding the rest of
the country, bringing in imports and don't promote young NZ
talent' says Lamont. Wrong, they have proven success at
academy level, get it right when it comes to imports (don't
blame others because Otago's imports have been ineffective)
and have played a standard of football that other franchises
should be envious of and aspire to emulate. Instead let's
bring them crashing down to 'our' level eh?
The code's domestic showpiece needs sorting
out and quickly. And it needs to start from the top but it
certainly needs to have an impact all the way down to the
bottom as well.
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