FV Head of Futsal outlines future plans: “We want to host a National Championships in Victoria”

Football Victoria (FV) Head of Futsal Anthony Grima believes Victoria is the perfect place to host an edition of Football Australia’s National Futsal Championships in the coming years.

Speaking with Soccerscene, Grima, who was recently appointed Head of Futsal at FV, explained the hosting of significant futsal events was desirable in the wake of the governing body’s plans to revamp the small-sided game in the state.

“Personally, I would love to see us showcase major futsal events in this great state of ours, such as the Football Australia National Futsal Championships,” he said.

FV Head of Futsal Anthony Grima

The 2021 Football Australia National Futsal Championships were cancelled due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, with state federations still waiting for confirmation of its return in 2022.

Hosting rights to future Futsalroos matches, when reinstated, are among the notable futsal events that are also being targeted by the governing body to assist the rejuvination of the local tourism industry.

FV recently outlined their ambitions to unite the futsal community, by providing the sport with an increase in investment into resources needed to appropriately govern futsal in Victoria.

The state federation’s direction of the sport will be underpinned by the following strategic priorities:

  1. Formally recognise the sport of futsal within Football Victoria’s existing Strategic Plan 2019-2022 ‘FootbALLways’ to facilitate its growth, including in schools and to foster the increase and development of players, coaches, referees, futsal clubs and Futsal centres in the broader futsal pathway.
  2. Provide futsal competition providers and futsal clubs with a genuine value proposition to partner with Football Victoria via a revamped affiliation and support program to grow and develop futsal together as a unified futsal community.
  3. Integrate futsal within the implementation of Football Victoria’s current Facilities Strategy and advocate for increased and improved futsal facilities with local, state and federal government for the benefit of all futsal competition providers and futsal clubs across Victoria.

According to Grima, the final priority listed, centred around the importance of facilities for futsal, highlighted the need for all factions of the small-sided game to be on the same page.

“Ultimately, if we don’t work together, it’s the participants who suffer,” he said.

“Our main priority is to ensure that there are facilities for the players that are involved at a community level, but we do have some works in the pipeline that we’d love to see, such as a home of futsal in Victoria.

“There’s 40,000 players who play all across Victoria and a lot of those venues are not affiliated to Football Victoria at the moment, but we intend to speak to every single operator, every futsal club and even the indoor centre operators. I think it’s important that we all come under the banner and we support them as much as possible in a mutually beneficial system.”

Grima has been in constant dialogue with many futsal operators such as CEO of Futsal Oz Peter Parthimos, who had to endure a long stretch of inactivity at his centres due to the Victorian COVID-19 lockdown.

“Peter Parthimos has been one I’ve been speaking to regularly. I’ve known Peter across futsal circles for many, many, years.

“We are not here to compete with the providers, we are here to unite them, govern and lead them. They need direction, they need help, they need support. A lot of them have not seen their players for at least nine months, because the centres weren’t open.

“It’s really important to note, we should’ve been there providing them guidelines and support. That happened with the outdoor clubs, they got those guidelines whenever the state government released information (during lockdown), so I really felt for the futsal operators.

“So, we are here to reinvigorate them and also inspire the other states to learn from us and see how we can do things properly. We want to bring them on our journey, so when the national agenda is set up by Football Australia, everybody has been consulted and engaged properly and they know it is coming and they can be part of it.”

A strong emphasis on pathways for players, coaches, referees has also been put forward by FV, through the delivery of upcoming elite competitions such as the F-League (Victoria) and the FV State Futsal Championships.

Alongside this, both futsal referee and coach education courses will officially accredit and upskill referees and coaches from this month.

Grima, an experienced futsal and football administrator, is well placed to lead the sport into the future.

“My own experience in futsal has shown me that it is a sport with enormous appeal and potential,” he stated.

“As you can see, it is a big job ahead of us, but it is one that we are fully committed to.”

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Football NSW Builds Female Leadership Pipeline

Football NSW’s Women in Football Leadership Program conducted a 2-day face-to-face workshop at the Pullman Sydney Olympic Park. Twenty-three curated female participants from football organisations across NSW attended the workshop. This is part of a larger 5-week leadership program that has developed over 100 female participants.

The program consisted of mixed training through In-person workshops, self-guided electronic learning and online webinars. Topics consisted of sports governance, conflict management, personality types and team dynamics.

Monarch Management and Monica Beazley facilitated the program; Beazley spoke on the importance and necessity for the workshop,

“When like-minded women come together, they create a network of support, rich in life experience and inspiration that can drive real change.”

The aims and aspirations of the program coincide with developing skills and growth, instilling confidence in women to pursue leadership roles and building networking opportunities for female support within the football industry. The program emphasises immediate skill growth and long-term leadership development.

The Football NSW’s Women in Football Leadership Program started in 2023 and the networking aspect of the program has remained key for the participants in sustaining successful partnerships and connections within the male-dominated industry.

“As the facilitator of the Football NSW Women in Football Leadership Conference, I witnessed first-hand how these connections ignite growth and encourage us all to push forward. The greatest takeaway for me was realising just how many talented women are already shaping this sport,” said Beazley.

Participants for the 2-day workshop were selected from governing bodies, football associations, NPL NSW clubs and referee branches.

Beazley noted the importance of female equality in leadership positions, “much work still lies ahead to ensure they feel equal, valued and truly at home in their clubs as leaders and change-makers.”

The entire 5-week program is funded by the NSW Football Legacy Fund and the NSW Government. Commitment to a 2025 renewal of the program shows institutional support to achieve women in leadership positions around football.

The program highlights an effort to increase women’s leadership and presence in football. The growing momentum of this program will continue and foster a positive culture for football.

Exclusive Interview with President of PLFC David Cvetkovski: How Preston Lions and the NST format are reviving Australian football’s heart and soul

The National Second Tier competition is taking on a different approach from the traditionally planned home-and-away format, with Football Australia announcing it will be a ‘Champions League’ style format starting in October 2025.

With the introduction of this format, Football Australia announced the following in regards to fixturing:

– NPL season will conclude in September before all clubs take three weeks off in preparation.

– In October, they will move in to the nationwide NST format involving the eight foundation clubs.

– There will be a group stage where the final positions will determine the fixtures for the Quarter Finals stage followed by the Semi-finals and Final which will wrap up by December.

– It will be a precursor to a full home-and-away NST.

For historic clubs like Preston Lions, one of the eight foundation clubs getting involved next season, it provides an opportunity to take that next step towards professionalism and bring back the passion that football has been missing in the top flight.

In a conversation with Soccerscene, Preston Lions President David Cvetkovski touched on several important topics surrounding the recent announcement.

He discussed the financial success of the Preston Lions, how the new format is enhancing the development of young talent, the importance of preserving the traditions of clubs founded by migrant communities, and the need to celebrate these historic ethnic clubs by bringing people together as a united football community.

PLFC’s Financial success

Preston Lions have emerged as one of Australia’s most successful football clubs, known for drawing massive crowds, strong merchandise sales, and a dedicated membership base. But what’s the secret behind their financial success, and how have they set the blueprint for other clubs moving into the NST?

Club president David Cvetkovski attributes this success to identifying and maximising key revenue streams that go beyond just match-day ticket sales.

“The key pillar of our strategy was to pinpoint the main revenue areas for football clubs—not just ours, but for all clubs,” he said.

“The success started by elevating the gameday experience for football fans, who on average might spend $20-25 dollars on a Canadian Club, chips and Kebapi roll so there’s a $25 to $55 per head potential there when the product is right.

“We then went to sponsors, we have 120+ sponsors but what’s the value proposition for them? What’s the merchandise like? Well the improvement in our merchandise sales in the last four years is incredible. What we’ve done is provide custom ranges that our merchandise team have designed the T-shirts that people enjoy. We love the fact that every Preston supporter has a Preston garment.”

Cvetkovski emphasised that match-day revenue is only part of the equation. “Every club has loyal supporters, but how can they buy that hoodie or Canadian Club or Kebapi at the right price? Because canteen and gates revenue make clubs but merchandise and sponsors elevate them” he continued.

“It’s no secret that we have the biggest attendance figures in Victorian football and with the South game, we had over 6,000 people, and we had an online portal to capture ticket sales so we’ve been innovative in driving the key revenue streams otherwise without it, you’re at risk as a club.”

David Cvetkovski at the 2024 Preston in Business launch event. (Image credit: Preston Lions Football Club Facebook)

NST format improving player development

The introduction of the new NST format is providing clubs with greater flexibility to secure player contracts and create optimal conditions for their development.

While Australia continues to produce top-tier talent, the path to recapturing the golden generation of 2006 lies in ensuring that the NST system allows players to focus on football full-time.

Cvetkovski highlighted how this change will transform clubs like Preston and others, offering younger players more opportunities to shine on the biggest stages.

“From a footballer’s perspective, I have to usually contract them for 26 weeks in VPL1, next year in NPL1  would’ve been 26 weeks + potentially three finals so 29 games, but with the NST I’ve been able to contract and take better care of both our young and mature footballers,” he said.

“They’re now being contracted for 40 plus weeks of games but they also need to do 8 weeks of preseason so it’s over 40 weeks. This makes football richer, not only financially, but us being able to play younger kids.

“40% of our team is under 23 years of age. The A-League this weekend had heaps of kids involved because of the budget reduction and this  is fantastic for the game. How do we create a platform for kids to play and let these kids find out at 22, 23 or 24 that they are still a baller.

“Look at Jordy Bos who played through the City academy, broke through at 18 almost 19 and played a few years before making a move to Belgium and now he’s playing for the Socceroos at 21. We need 17 Jordy Bos’ in the Australian team, that’s a generation! and Preston are following the same path,” he concluded.

Return of cultural heritage

During the transition from the NSL to the creation of the A-League, many of today’s NPL clubs boasted a proud history of players and staff representing their cultural heritage with passion.

These clubs served as symbols of identity, reflecting not just individual families but entire communities, offering a sense of belonging through football.

Cvetkovski is committed to preserving these traditions at Preston, ensuring that the club’s strong Macedonian roots remain a core part of its identity as they move forward whilst also encouraging the other NPL clubs to work together to achieve the same goal.

“It is the first time in a while, that we have signed 6 or 7 Macedonian boys to stay true to our heritage, the response from supporters, sponsors and members has been incredible and I’m encouraging other clubs like Avondale, Knights, Heidelberg, South [Melbourne] etc to do the same,” he said.

“You can’t get away from South’s Greek community or Marconi’s Italian community and this makes the fabric of the game richer.

“People ask why is Preston so successful? Because we stay true to our community in one sense, yes, we’re Australian but how good is the multicultural landscape of Australian football!

“I want to work together with our rivals, who are also our friends, so that when Preston plays away at these grounds, they make money.

“There’s no secret to enjoying a game. We go there, have a few drinks and something to eat on a Friday or Sunday night out and watch a good game, it’s entertaining. We’re in the entertainment business at the end of the day.”

Cvetkovski at Preston vs Pascoe Vale 2023 (Image credit: Preston Lions Football Club Facebook)

Uniting the many cultures in Australian football

These historic ethnic clubs, built by migrant communities with a deep love for football, are making a significant return to the mainstream.

They represent the foundation upon which the beautiful game in Australia was built, and the generational loyalty fans have for their local clubs and communities is finally being recognised again.

Cvetkovski passionately spoke about the importance of uniting all cultures in the top flight of football, regardless of background, to celebrate the shared love of the game and foster a sense of community across the sport.

“There’s opportunity to respect the cultural backgrounds of the clubs. I think we went too far towards cleansing the game but the migrant story of Australia is something that should be celebrated,” he said.

“My best friends are Greek, Italian, Croatian,  Bosnian, I don’t care, do I? I’ll sit in any coffee shop; I don’t care where I sit. Let’s bring that friendship to football.

“The new way of thinking is making it about the game, removing any political agendas and making football the star.

“The South [Melbourne] game there was no animosity, there was nothing but celebration of football between two communities who traditionally are rivals.

“They realise now they have a lot more to lose if they get it wrong versus working with each other to make it right,” he concluded.

David Cvetkovski with Football Australia (Image credit: Preston Lions Football Club Facebook)

Football Australia is beginning to recognise that the true beating heart of the game lies with these foundation clubs, which have not only survived but thrived since the dissolution of the NSL.

Their passion, rich history, and deep-rooted respect are unmatched in Australian football and this announcement signals an exciting new era for fans across the country.

If the South Melbourne vs Preston match earlier this year is any indication, the spirit of the game is well and truly alive, bringing back the sense of unity and pride that Australian football has been missing.

More on the details of the newly announced NST here.

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