We say so long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, adieu - but with a final word on a few things
As we make clear in our editorial today, it is with sadness that FootballToday in its current form is closing its metaphorical doors. We join a long list of media outlets – both mainstream and football – that do so.
However, it would be remiss to end the FootballToday journey without some comments about some micro and macro aspects of the game.
Micro
First, I’d like to address Football Queensland (FQ).
Keen readers of FootballToday will recall that, in January, I presented some facts related to FQ's administration of the game. These were about price increases in the cost of playing; their ambitious growth targets from their own strategic plan; and some matters around the recruitment of its new CEO, Robert Cavallucci.
What readers do not know is later that same day I received legal letters on behalf of the FQ Chairman, Ben Richardson, and Cavallucci demanding the article be taken down and attempting to intimidate me by claiming they would sue for defamation. As you can see, the editor, Matthew Galea, and I did not unpublish the article for two simple reasons:
It was factual.
It was based on evidence in my possession.
My lawyer wrote back to Richardson’s and Cavallucci’s lawyers on 28 January 2020 (after the long weekend) to that effect, seeking particulars of their claims.
We have not heard from them again.
However, I was surprised to learn that, at last Friday’s Sydney FC big business bash in the city that Chairmen of A-League clubs and other state federation officials were openly discussing that I was being sued by Football Queensland – not that I was actually at the luncheon to respond to their concerns in person.
For the record, I have not been sued by Football Queensland or anyone else arising out of, or in connection with, my article of 24 January 2020 (or, in fact, any other article or publication).
I was also surprised to learn that FQ President Richardson wrote to clubs more than two weeks after our legal letter purporting to respond to our article and the one in The Courier Mail.
Richardson's claims are summarised in italics below, and we respond for the benefit of all the hard working volunteers, players, and supporters involved with football in Queensland – and the concerned A-League chairmen from last Friday's luncheon.
That the article (and the one also written in The Courier Mail) was a “targeted media campaign by a detractor of Football Queensland”.
A search of these pages will demonstrate that there is no evidence of a ‘targeted media campaign’ against FQ in the more than 2,000 articles published by FootballToday. What we have tried to do – almost uniquely in Australia – is shine a light on poor governance, flawed processes, and misjudgements by those who are custodians of our game.
The two media articles are “littered with inaccuracies and misrepresentations” specifically around the “temporary role” Richardson “accepted to support” FQ recruit for a new CEO.
Our legal response asked Richardson’s and Cavallucci’s lawyers to specify what, precisely, was inaccurate in our earlier article. We never heard from them again.
The detractors are “causing reputation damage to our sport”.
Actually, no. Those in positions of power are usually those who may cause reputational damage to the sport.
I, on the other hand, am a whistleblower who fearlessly and unflinchingly called-out inappropriate and, in some instances, potentially corrupt behaviours on the part of FIFA, a former FFA administration, and many of those involved in the 2018/2022 World Cup bidding process. I have assisted authorities in five countries. I wrote a book about this – the only insider account – of which my proceeds have gone to the Pararoos fundraising campaign. I have been invited to speak on my experiences on every continent. To this day, I am asked to talk to media about these issues; in nine cases out of ten, I choose not do so – such as this week when I was asked to take part in a 30-minute interview for a Middle East think tank.
I have been invited to be part of an invitation-only EU High Level Policy Dialogue on Transnational Sports Governance – not anyone else in Australian football. That is a direct result of my advocacy for football governance reform worldwide which has included twice speaking at the European Parliament in Brussels.
I am currently a volunteer with not one, but four football entities and one FFA Board led committee. I have been a football volunteer for more than 30 years.
I started a publishing business that focuses on publishing books about the personalities, history, culture and stories of Australian football.
And I started the Football Writers’ Festival which is an opportunity for those who love the game, and who are capable of engaging in civil debate, to discuss our game of opinions united by our love for the game. Oh, by the way, one of our guests at this year’s Festival on 30-31 May is a British Conservative MP. He and a British Labor member of the House of Lords, who is the former Chairman of the English FA, launched my book.
So, no, I have definitely not brought the game into disrepute.
“Ensuring strong governance is a key priority … we have acted correctly, appropriately and with the utmost integrity in relation to these matters.”
And that was the issue we raised at the very end of the article published in January. We wrote: “No doubt Richardson, the rest of his Board and Cavallucci will have no difficulty, therefore, in justifying Cavallucci’s transition from Board member to CEO, the almost-doubling of the CEO salary, and Richardson’s consulting fee of $44,000, to their members.”
“We are taking action in relation to these inaccurate articles and have contacted the media outlets concerned to provide them with the real facts regarding these matters.
We have had no contact from anyone in FQ attempting to provide us “with the real facts regarding these matters”. We have also not heard from Richardson’s and Cavallucci’s lawyers since our response on 28 January 2020.
Macro
Finally, we would like to address briefly the state of the game today.
We reiterate what we said last December: the Board’s decision to appoint James Johnson as CEO was a good one. In his short time in the job so far, we are impressed – but not surprised – at what he has said and done. Having a person in the job who is familiar with the depth and breadth of football development in Australia and internationally is precisely what the game needed.
However, as much as Johnson brings great experience as well as new purpose, new values and new vision to the role, the game cannot and should not pivot on the job performance of one person.
Despite the doom and gloom of many – particularly those who still have a job in the mainstream non-football media – I also do not believe the sport is doomed to fail.
Having said that, it is at a delicate point.
Those who are custodians of the game, such as the mostly anachronistic state federations, as well as the A-League club owners and those who dance around the edges trying to be influencers, need to take account of the changing environment and get some big decisions absolutely right. IF they can do that, then the game has everything going in its favour to progress despite the current feeling of inertia and claims of “crisis” and interest in the game “dwindling”. If they can't do that, then it's an indictment on their stewardship of the game and they will forever be judged as failing our sport: not just the FFA Board and CEO, but the entire FFA Congress – and believe me, that history will be written.
However, here is what we have in our favour and which they should be able to take advantage of.
1.8 million Australians play some form of the game.
The men’s Olympic (Under-23) team are on their way to Tokyo 2020 – if it happens. This is the second most important football tournament in the world.
The Matildas are poised to join them.
Every single week, hundreds of thousands of dedicated volunteers in clubs around the country help this game tick-over and work. All of us owe them a debt of gratitude – and it's one of the reasons that Women in Football are so delighted to be able to give a Volunteer Award as part of the Women in Football Awards in October.
Despite its detractors, the A-League delivers quality football, with some fantastic imports, some exciting young talent, and played in five states. Can it be better? Of course it can – and that’s one of the things we strive for.
Three of those teams are taking part in the Asian Champions League again, the biggest club competition in the football world’s biggest regional confederation (again, subject to global health concerns).
Through the AAFC, the NPL clubs have made it clear that they are ready and willing for a national second division. If the parameters of this are right, it will do wonders for connecting our game, realigning our values, giving more players more opportunities to play, and expanding our footprint so it’s truly national – not just in five states.
A host of books have been written in recent years about the history, personalities, culture and politics of our game, published not just by my company but others also. (For example, who knew that the earliest game of football could well have been played in Tasmania in 1859?!)
Australian referees have been part of FIFA and AFC panels at international competitions for many years.
Australian coaches have been working in the Pacific and parts of Asia for many years, and are now expanding further afield. There is no better example currently than Ange Postecoglou’s success last year at Yokohama Marinos.
Australians have made a contribution to, and are working, in global football organisations such as FIFA and FIFPro.
Although not appreciated or understood by most in Australia, my own role speaking out about governance and corruption in football globally has been significant internationally.
There is an army of fans who are out there, supporting their team, supporting their club, and sharing and making their views known on social media and other forums. That’s a good thing (as long as it’s done with respect and tolerance), not a bad thing. The fact is, people reading this already know that this game is the most popular sport in the world because it is played everywhere, connected through a universal language. Not one country, or a handful. Everywhere.
This is a game that mobilises the Australian population like no other. The fact that football fans are culturally and linguistically diverse, loud, proud, passionate and opinionated is our great strength. We should use it. We should make the most of it.
This is not a game in crisis. This is not a game where interest is dwindling.
This is a game that needs the right leadership.
It needs people who are more concerned about what they can give to football, rather than what they can get out of it.
It needs the wealth stacked away in state federations and regional associations unlocked for the benefit of the whole of the game.
It needs more women in positions of genuine power and influence and not tacked-on, for example, to Congress to satisfy an outdated understanding of ‘gender equity’.
It needs those who love the game to take more interest in how it is run, who is running it, and what they are doing on our behalf and that of future generations. These are not inconsequential things as the lack of transparency and accountability go to the heart of what many volunteers complain about.
And, finally, it needs at least some of us to be unafraid in speaking truth to power and calling the game to account – without those who are ‘sprung’ resorting to legal letters that waste yet more of football’s money, and denigration and demeaning of individuals.
FootballToday may be going in its present form.
But the fight for the type of football we want – on and off-the-field – continues.