Move to tackle ‘shocking’ cost of junior soccer, but only for some

The high costs of junior soccer will be eased under a plan for elite players, but at wider junior level 95 per cent of footballers are slugged registration fees double that of rugby league, rugby union, and AFL.

There are fears talented youngsters are being lost to the game because of the high cost of developing them.

Soccer authorities are finally tackling the “shocking” cost of elite junior football in Australia, including by compelling top-flight clubs to offer scholarships for children from poor families.

But the sport’s top brass claims there is no problem with local competition registration fees imposed on parents of the other 95 per cent of young soccer players, which are often double those of AFL, rugby or league.

Today The Daily Telegraph can reveal the first details of Football Australia’s plan to deal with the exorbitant price of elite junior soccer.

The plan includes mandating that National Premier League clubs have up to two fee-free spots in youth squads for kids from underprivileged households.

A licence condition forcing NPL clubs to offer these scholarships could be in place as soon as the 2024 winter season, Football Australia boss James Johnson told The Telegraph.

Hornsby Heights players Noah Dominish, 9, Matilda Brookes, 8, Cooper Steptoe, 8, and Zac Dominish, 7, train in Asquith. Picture: Justin Lloyd

“I think there is a very good possibility of that,” Mr Johnson said.

“What we don’t want and what we are trying to solve for is where we create barriers to enter elite football pathways.

“It’s not fair and it’s not good for the sport and it’s not good for our national teams because we could be losing out on talent,” he said.

FA is also pushing the federal government to fund new state and national academies that would not have registration costs.

At the moment, private academies are charging parents thousands of dollars in fees.

The pitch to Canberra is that financial support is needed to ensure success at the 2032 Olympics in Queensland.

Mr Johnson said funding the academies was “absolutely the difference” between medals and no medals.

He would not say how much was required but added that new federal Sports Minister Annika Wells had “fallen in love” with football and had so far been “very supportive”.

Former Socceroo Mark Schwarzer fears good players are being missed because of ‘shocking’ fees. Picture: Supplied

The moves to make top-flight soccer more affordable follow fierce criticism by greats of the game.

Socceroos legend Mark Schwarzer recently said fees for elite play were shocking and bewildering.

We are losing talent and the opportunity to get the best possible kids involved,” the star goalkeeper told 3AW radio. He could not be contacted for further comment.

Fellow ex-Socceroo Robbie Slater told The Telegraph: “There is no doubt kids have fallen out of the system because of finances. I would say thousands have gone to other codes. My parents would never have been able to afford an Academy.”

Local club administrators share the same worries.

“We are missing out on so many players because they can’t afford to go to the NPL.”

Blacktown & Districts Soccer Football Association chairman Bill Owen told The Telegraph.

However, FA’s Mr Johnson said he believed that at the grassroots cost was a problem.

Checks by The Telegraph found that local junior soccer registration fees in Sydney are as much as $300 – twice what some other codes charge.

Hornsby Heights FC president Cathy Ruggero, whose children play for the club, said parents often comment to her that fees for other forms of football are lower.

She said that soccer clubs have to fund themselves, unlike Aussie rules or rugby league.

Factors driving up registration costs included the addition of more elite teams within local clubs.

Still, Football Australia’s Mr Johnson said: “At the grassroots, I don’t think we are losing players.

“My concern is with the elite pathway because some parents are not able to pay the thousands of dollars that five per cent of the sport requires.”

Registrations are up about 15 per cent this year, he said, following a marketing campaign linked to the Socceroos during the team’s standout performance at the 2022 World Cup.

THE parents of Archie Collins pay $1200 for the 11-year-old to play in a National Premier League team, plus $1300 to be part of Sydney’s Juventus Academy.

The family, from Bathurst, is also preparing to fundraise some of the $40,000 price tag of a trip to Italy to take part in the Juventus Academy’s World Cup in July.

“It’s the exposure as a footballer that you want growing up,” Archie’s father Adam said.

“It does get costly. But we are not complaining.”

Archie Collins, 11, with Juventus Academy Sydney coach Andrea Merenda (left). Picture: Facebook

Juventus Academy Sydney head coach Andrea Merenda said its training and playing opportunities were transformative for young players.

“We are serious in what we are trying to do — grow the talent,” said Mr Merenda, who played professionally in Italy and Australia.

He said the commitment shown by Archie and his family was inspiring.

On some weekends this winter, they will travel to Sydney on Saturday morning for academy training then back to the Central West for an NPL game, then once more to and from the big smoke on Sunday for a Juventus match.

“It’s a very positive story,” Mr Merenda said.

The Italian tour would “open the eyes” of Archie and other young players from Australia, he added.

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