New FFA boss James Johnson on why football is not in crisis and how he plans to run the game
New FFA boss James Johson has got a big task ahead but as he explains to Tom Smithies, he’s excited about the opportunities to develop the game in key areas.
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The man charged with leading Australian football out of its decline admits there will be “short-term pain” as he gets to grips with its issues, but insists there is a clear pathway out of the malaise.
New FFA CEO James Johnson, in his first major interview since starting in the role, acknowledged that the game has been damaged by years of infighting but the former senior FIFA executive laid out the steps he wants to take to reverse the decline. He spoke with Tom Smithies.
Tom Smithies: You’ve come into the game to a flurry of headlines about ratings and sponsors. What can you do to address that?
James Johnson: I don't think the game is in a bad state. There are aspects that have challenges at the moment and the A-League is one of those.
But I want to be clear that the league is being unbundled (from FFA), and for all intents and purposes, the clubs are running it.
For the FFA, it allows us to reposition ourselves to have a more focused role. It will take time for people to understand the organisations are becoming separate.
But I’d like to see the clubs speak more. There are metrics that give a broader picture on the league and that’s for the clubs to deliver publicly.
TS: Sponsors are leaving. How bad is the financial situation?
JJ: I'm not too concerned. When I’m speaking to commercial partners, there’s a lot of interest in the national teams.
We have a lot of national team football this year. We have the Socceroos playing important matches, the Olyroos at the Olympics and the Matildas on their way. We have the Copa America.
So this will be a great year for the national teams, and for me, you have to build a product before you go to market.
The other area is grassroots and this is also an exciting part of the game — we have the highest numbers for participation. We need a strategic plan around the development of girls’ and women’s football. Look at the 1.8 million (participants), only one-fifth are female.
TS: How quickly can you replace those sponsors?
JJ: I don’t want to just react emotionally. We have an opportunity to look at our whole commercial strategy. The fact some commercial partners have walked away gives us a chance to reset. There might be some short-term pain in terms of revenue, but we have to get the commercial strategy right.
TS: But is there enough money to service the FFA in the meantime?
JJ: This is an expensive year for FFA, and it was always going to be. The budget cycles in football involve years where you spend more and this is one, exciting though it is.
When we host tournaments like the Olympic qualifiers, there is an impact on the budget. And unbundling the league is an expensive exercise.
Is that going to be the case every year? I’d say no. But this year might be difficult.
TS: Why are sponsors leaving? Were they serviced properly before?
JJ: I think we can do a lot more in that space, and articulate why our properties can be differentiated from other sports. No one has the national team properties, or the base, and they can’t engage with the rest of the world like our sport can.
Have we done that in the past? I don’t think so, and it’s something we can focus much more on.
TS: So how can FFA get the game back on track?
JJ: If we talk about ‘whole of game’, I don’t think it’s at any crisis point. We need to go back to why FFA exists. First, we have to bring football back to the core of the organisation.
So if we have, say, a decision to make on where we play a football match, I don’t think just looking at what commercial revenue we can generate is the right approach. Football needs to be in the centre of our decision making.
Second, we have to connect people. At the moment we’ve been a bit disconnected from those we are supposed to govern.
The third point is this concept of being local and thinking global. In my view, we don’t always need to benchmark ourselves against other sports. Our biggest difference is the fact we’re part of this global football community. We have examples of what works in 211 countries worldwide.
TS: When you say disconnected, do you think FFA is seen as being stuck up in an ivory tower?
JJ: Certainly in the past, and that’s a perception we need to change. That's how we move forward, bringing people to the table. That doesn’t mean we all have to agree — this is a game of opinions and different interests. FFA has to listen and understand, then take decisions.
TS: Is the game suffering after the civil war of the past two or three years between the clubs and the old FFA board?
JJ: Something I’ve pushed from very early on is unity. The reality is that over the past couple of years there has been a lot of fighting within the game. From my view, everyone needs to put their weapons down and focus on some football discussions.
Originally published as New FFA boss James Johnson on why football is not in crisis and how he plans to run the game