Adelaide Youth Football Club call for accessible soccer for low-income families

A club that wanted to make playing soccer more affordable for all children – not just “rich kids” – has been refused entry to the local competition. Is it fair? Have your say.

Tim Quinn (left) and Peter Mazalla want to set up a new, more affordable soccer club in Adelaide. They are pictured with their children Fred and Zion. Picture: Kelly Barnes

A newly-formed junior soccer club promising fees up to half that of many established clubs has had the whistle blown on it before its kids have even stepped onto the pitch.

Co-founder and president of Adelaide Youth Football Club Tim Quinn says he’s “devastated” his dream to offer a more affordable alternative to families in the western suburbs, including African refugees living in the area, has been dashed.

“The high cost (of playing club soccer) is a big impediment for many families, you’ve got nine-year-olds paying between $900 and $1200,” he said.

“We wanted to open it up to make football more affordable … not only to make it accessible to them but to offer good coaches, good facilities. To offer kids a proper football education.”

Mr Quinn says he is frustrated that despite going through the processes as advised, a bid to be included in the local competition was knocked back.

“We went through all the process with Football SA to get our club registered in the MiniRoos competition (but) right at the last minute, after we had ticked all the boxes, they told us the area is saturated with clubs and we are not allowed to play,” he said.

“We’d even found a home ground at Robert Haigh Reserve (in Woodville North) which is near impossible to do.

“Football brings people from all walks of life, different socio-economic circumstances, different cultures together – it’s amazing, everyone gets together and we all unite over football.”

A father of two young boys, Mr Quinn, 38, has previously coached in Sydney in the national youth league.

He said the plan for the new Adelaide club was to initially charge a flat fee of $500 for all age groups, except for Under 6 which would cost $400, reducing the fee once established.

“We’d found some sponsors and had planned to seek more as well as some government grants to help keep the cost of fees down.”

Tim Quinn and Peter Mazalla – pictured with their kids Fred and Zion – want to give kids a chance to play soccer. Picture: Kelly Barnes

But in a statement, Football SA said the western suburbs competition was “saturated” and it had determined there was no need for an additional club.

“The proposed location … was in an area of multiple well established football clubs with the closest being less than 1km away,” it read, adding “ most clubs in the area are very similar in their registration fees”.

However, Marion City Councillor and former South Australian Multicultural and Ethnic Affairs Commissioner Dr Joseph Masika has blasted the decision, saying low income families have been locked out for too long by “rich-kid” programs.

“Let’s stop this madness … demanding struggling families to shell out thousands,” he said.

“We first raised the issue in 2015 but no one wants to listen.”

Dr Masika said the community demographic had changed since the junior competition had been established.

“We now have about 14,000 (African refugees) and 50 per cent of those are children, aged under 15,” he said.

“(Soccer) is the only sport they know … it is the game they played at home (but) many come from sole parent families with four or five children who can’t afford fees of $1000.

“We should be thinking about the children …to make sure participation for every kid, not just those who are well off.”

He has launched a campaign, #LetThemPlay, urging people support calls by Adelaide Youth to set up.