‘Golden Generation’ fight for football’s future

Australian soccer should explore owning its broadcast rights and shift domestic seasons to align with Asia, according to members of the country’s ‘golden generation’.

Socceroos great Craig Moore is pushing for the game to freshen up

Australian soccer should explore owning its broadcast rights and shift domestic seasons to align with Asia, according to members of the country’s ‘golden generation’.

A group of esteemed Socceroos including former captains Mark Viduka, Lucas Neill and Craig Moore are urging soccer’s hierarchy to use the coronavirus shutdown to reset the sport in Australia.

Viduka, Neill, Moore, John Aloisi, Scott Chipperfield, Vince Grella, Zeljko Kalac, Josip Skoko and Luke Wilkshire are urging a rethink of the way soccer is managed.

“We are not looking to be agitators,” Moore tsaid.

“We’re looking to be able to support and push the right outcomes to a level where they’re at least getting discussed.

“A reset will happen. It’s when.”

The group, part of the 2006 Socceroos dubbed the ‘golden generation’ for taking Australia the World Cup — for the first time in 32 years — believed soccer “was a little bit stale and certainly needs to be freshened up”, Moore said.

“There’s a lot of discussion points within the game and we want to be a part of those discussions because we know changes need to occur for our game to move forward,” he said.

The group want administration costs reduced to ensure more funds for grassroots.

“We’re not saying that we don’t need state member federations but ... the layers of administration that we currently have certainly can be streamlined,” Moore said.

“That will then allow the reductions of costs to be able to be passed on to participants and clubs ... we need to try to find better solutions financially.” Owning future broadcasting rights via a streaming service covering everything from national teams to state and junior competitions should also be on the agenda.

“We understand there’s a broadcast deal in place but, in terms of securing the future of the game, it’s a really good discussion point about how can we have ownership of our game,” Moore said.

“Are we able to find a smarter solution moving forward that gives us a better opportunity to have more control of our content?” Aligning domestic seasons to coincide with Asian competitions should also be considered.

“Are we brave enough to say ... we’re going to align with Asia?” Moore said. “That, to me, is something that would be a huge success because I believe longer-term it’s going to be beneficial for the game.

“It then allows the discussion around promotion and relegation and all those kind of things become a lot closer because the whole football pyramid is in line.”

The final rounds of the A-League season appear increasingly likely to be played in a hub location in a tournament-style fixture format.

FFA boss James Johnson said last week that NSW and Victoria were being considered as locations for the remainder of the suspended campaign.

On Thursday, it was confirmed Queensland was also being assessed with a plan to play the remaining 27 regular-season games and the finals series at venues in Brisbane and the Gold Coast.

“Queensland is one of several states under consideration to serve as the location for the remainder of the A-League 2019-20 season,” an FFA spokesperson said.

The ambitious plan would mean players and staff from all 11 clubs would be based in the same location until the season was completed.

It would likely need four or five weeks to complete the remaining fixtures. A start date for the A-League remains unknown as player anxiety builds after the competition was put on hold due to COVID-19 travel restrictions in late March.

Earlier in the week, Adelaide United’s football director Bruce Djite said the lack of any firm dates about the league’s resumption, or even a return to training, was proving increasingly frustrating for players.

There is also a looming concern with approximately half of the competition’s players coming off-contract at the end of May.

While AAP understands players remain committed to playing out the season, FFA and Professional Footballers Australia, the players’ union, are continuing to discuss just how the league can resume safely and practically.

AAP