Adelaide United claims it is not able to field underage teams in Football Federation SA competitions - a claim FFSA denies

ADELAIDE United is the only professional club on the planet which is banned from junior teams playing in its local FIFA-sanctioned soccer competition, says chairman Greg Griffin.

Adelaide United’s Apostolos Stamatelopoulos, 18, a product of the Reds youth development controls the ball in an A-League clash against Melbourne City at AAMI Park in January. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)

ADELAIDE United chairman Greg Griffin says his club has effectively been banned from fielding junior teams in the local FIFA-sanctioned competition - a claim that has been denied by the local governing body.

Griffin said he had considered taking a restriction of trade case to the Equal Opportunity Act as he claims his club had been barred by Football Federation SA from fielding underage teams – girls and boys – in the local competitions.

However, FFSA chief executive Michael Carter said United had not been excluded as it had not received any such application.

“In regards to Adelaide United fielding teams in junior competitions, there are no restrictions on Adelaide United fielding teams, however we have not been approached by the club to do so,’’ Carter said.

“We have been approached by Adelaide United to field an under-18 team to compliment their senior and reserves teams in the NPL and this request has been granted for season 2019 onwards.”

Adelaide currently has the highest number of local products playing for its A-League side in the entire competition in history including eight starters which all learned their craft in SA in a 1-0 win over Wellington Phoenix away last month.

Griffin says Adelaide is only able to currently field two teams in the men’s FFSA leagues – an under-20 NPL side and reserves team also under-20s.

In the FFSA’s women’s leagues, Adelaide United has no representation at all.

“The fact is the only current prospect of there being young South Australians playing in the A-League then the Socceroos and into Europe of Asia, is if Adelaide United take them at a young age develop them and play them,’’ Griffin said.

“We’ve got six FIFA A-licence coaches at our club and those with pro diplomas.

“We’re the only club in the FIFA eco system in the world which does not have a single junior football team.

“The FFSA banned us from competing in any junior football competition.

“They say we can have an academy but we haven’t got anyone to play against locally.

“We’ve told FIFA about this, they were shocked when I told them.

Goalkeepers Isaac Richards, Daniel Margush and Paul Izzo during an Adelaide United training session at their home ground in Elizabeth.

“We’ve got to take our young kids overseas to Barcelona, Indonesia, China, that’s the only place they can get games, our closest game locally is against Melbourne City’s juniors.

“We’re not allowed to build junior teams in the FFSA competitions.”

FFSA — the state’s governing body — fields junior sides in its own sanctioned competitions.

It’s understood FFSA’s 500 junior players from Skilleroos to under 18 NTC sides that play in the FFSA competition all get charged to play with some squads having reportedly up to 40 members.

Players also must fund their own interstate or overseas trips with reports that a recent trip abroad cost about $1950 on top of the annual fees which are reportedly about $1000.

SA’s representative side players’ pathways to Football Federation Australia’s Centre of Excellence have also stopped when FFA axed the programs last year.

“I just do not understand why we are the enemy of FFSA,’’ Griffin said.

“We put kids on scholarships for refugees when we send teams overseas, their postcodes should not determine a kid’s future.”

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