Coronavirus clears FNQ Football’s path to examine clubs’ roles

The coronavirus pandemic has thrown a sizeable spanner into that plan – all football activities are suspended until June 30 – but it has given Alex Srhoj time to fully assess the state of the game.

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It is a peculiar notion, but could the COVID-19 pandemic be the thing that sets up football for growth in Far North Queensland?

The coronavirus has produced one of the great health and economic crises of our time.

In the sporting bubble, it’s forced an uncharacteristically long pause at a time everything is usually all systems go.

But it’s one unexpectedly welcomed by FNQ Football administrator Alex Srhoj.

Srhoj stepped into the role in a caretaking capacity halfway through last year, inheriting a mess which has taken months to sort out.

Elevated to a permanent position earlier this year, along with the announced merger with North Queensland Football, Srhoj targeted 2020 as the year FNQ Football and its clubs got their act together, hit the reset button and consolidated.

The coronavirus pandemic has thrown a sizeable spanner into that plan – all football activities are suspended until June 30 – but it has given Srhoj time to fully assess the state of the game.

For too long, decisions have been made by emotion rather than what is best for football.

It’s resulted in more than 20 clubs popping up within FNQ Football’s boundaries, which Football Queensland North general manager Declan Carnes said will be the subject of an extensive review.

The way they operate, the roles they play in development and how they can feed into a powerhouse senior setup will be among the discussion topics throughout the review, with the aim for FNQ to return to the glory days of producing numerous A-League, W-League and international players.

“Going forward, our decisions will be based on facts and figures rather than emotion,” Srhoj said. “A lot of really dedicated people have put a lot of work and time and effort into clubs over the years, but as a sport it’s a good time to put in a plan.

“I know this has given me a lot of time to look at our internal processes and health (as a business).”

One idea which has been privately floated is the concept of some of the region’s smallest or junior clubs feeding into established Premier League entities.

It would create clear boundaries in which clubs would operate, a clear pathway for junior players to follow through to senior football, and allow those established clubs to specialise in their given developmental phases.

It would also allow officials to establish a more stable competition and developmental structure.

Carnes told the Cairns Post that any discussion, which could take months, would involve all clubs and an agreement would be required.

Srhoj, Carnes and the Premier League clubs have been discussing what the 2020 season could look like, with several options drawn up depending on when they can return to the field.

Juniors and other senior age groups are also being assessed.

Srhoj has also been part of working group discussions, which have included as many as 20 representatives from other FNQ sporting bodies.

They’ve discussed how they can best work together to ensure they have a fair chance of delivering a season, ground and resource needs, and closer relationships between sporting groups in future.

Originally published as Coronavirus clears FNQ Football’s path to examine clubs’ roles