Jamie Harnwell driving the game forward in Western Australia

Jamie Harnwell is Perth Glory’s record appearance holder, with 256 games across three decades. Now Chief Football Officer for Football West, he spoke to Soccerscene about the changes from the NSL to the A-League, the challenges of running a football federation, and his favourite footballing moments throughout his career.

So firstly, what’s the biggest challenges facing Football West at the moment?

Harnwell: I think it’s interesting. Football West is in a really good position, being very fortunate with COVID over here and able to get out and play. The challenges are more for our clubs I suppose, and then Football West supporting them. Facilities are always a challenge for every sport, but certainly for football. We need to make sure there are enough grounds and space for people to play, but also aspects like lighting, adequate change rooms, and those sorts of things are suitable for clubs. We have a number of them almost putting up the closed sign because they have too many players and not enough space for them to play.

The other challenge for Football West and the clubs is the increase in governance requirements. We are basically a volunteer sport in many ways. And the increasing legalities and issues across that for volunteers to deal with can be difficult. So it’s time that we at Football West need to be able to support our clubs, make sure they’re adhering to good practice, and doing the right things so that they can continue to grow.

How has professional football in Australia improved since you first debuted with Perth Glory in the late 90s?

Harnwell: I think it’s actually professional football now. You know when I first started playing, I think there was ourselves and maybe Carlton who were actual full-time professional clubs. The rest were part-time as people were still working during the day, going to training at night, and trying to juggle the two. So certainly the transition into the A-League and full-time professionalism for all clubs has been huge, and just the continued increased coverage and media around the game has made us much more accessible. It’s easier to see and has a much better chance of building that supporter base across the game here in Australia.

What areas do you think the game can continue to improve on going forward into the future?

Harnwell: There’s always talent development and making sure that we stay on pace with best practices and what’s happening in other parts of the world. We are a smaller nation in the grand scheme of things in football, so we need to be smart about how we approach those sorts of things and make sure we get bang for our buck for everything that we do. The other thing is we need to try and increase the commercialism of the game and make sure that we continue to get funds into the game that can assist in the youth development that can help in costs for clubs and all those types of things. So that’s the way I know Football Australia is working hard on it. They’re starting to bring more and more partners into the game. But if you look at the mega machines like AFL, then we probably still have some way to go in that.

How can football win across young athletes into joining the sport over others?

Harnwell:
I think we’re really lucky as a game. I can’t speak for other states, I suppose – but the numbers here at Football West in Western Australia just continue to grow year in year out. We are a very attractive game for parents to pick for young boys and girls. It’s a very easy game to choose and very easy to play and train. So we’re certainly well-positioned in that respect – making sure that our clubs provide positive environments that they enjoy what they do. There isn’t the overarching focus on just winning games, but more a longer-term development based approach that will make sure talented young players will stay in football rather than going across to other codes.

On a personal level, what is your most memorable footballing memory?

Harnwell: There’s probably a few, I suppose for myself as a player – it would have been the first NSL Championship that we won. We’d had a couple of cracks at it before and sort of fell away in the Grand Final. So that first win in 2003 was huge, and really got the monkey off our back, and managing to score in that game with the massive crowd was fantastic. But I’m also a Manchester United fan, so the treble was pretty good as well. So I don’t know which one ranks better for me!

National Second Tier foundation clubs revealed for 2025 start

National Second Tier - Foundation Clubs

Football Australia has officially named the eight foundation clubs to take part in the inaugural National Second Tier (NST) competition from March/April 2025.

The eight clubs match Football Australia’s criteria from a comprehensive process that determined if the clubs were ready to compete in the NST competition, with proposals from each team outlining the role they’ll play for this important step in Australian football.

The inaugural clubs are all based in eastern states, with New South Wales and Victoria boasting five and three teams respectively.

  • APIA Leichhardt FC – Leichhardt, New South Wales
  • Avondale FC – Parkville, Victoria
  • Marconi Stallions FC – Bossley Park, New South Wales
  • Preston Lions FC – Reservoir, Victoria
  • South Melbourne FC – Albert Park, Victoria
  • Sydney Olympic FC – Belmore, New South Wales
  • Sydney United 58 FC – Edensor Park, New South Wales
  • Wollongong Wolves FC – Wollongong, New South Wales

In a statement to media present in Sydney, Football Australia CEO James Johnson shared his delight for today’s confirmation.

“The establishment of the National Second Tier is a transformative step for Australian football, aligning perfectly with our 15-year strategic vision outlined in the XI Principles. It symbolises our commitment to reconnecting the football pyramid and enhancing the competitiveness of our national game,” he said.

“These clubs were chosen following a comprehensive and multi-phased NST Application Process that began in early 2023.

“Each club demonstrated not only their readiness in terms of operational and commercial elements but also their alignment with the strategic objectives of Australian football.

“This is more than just a competition; it’s a cornerstone in our mission to fortify the foundations of our sport. The National Second Tier will be instrumental in nurturing talent, engaging communities, and elevating the overall quality of football across the country.”

The inaugural season of NST will involve home and away matches culminating in a competitive Finals Series.

In early 2024, an additional 2-4 clubs will be considered through a refined application process, opening the floor to clubs outside of Victoria or New South Wales to make it truly national.

At this stage, two competition formats are being considered, but this is based on the successful selection of additional clubs next year:

  • A 10-team competition with two rounds plus a Finals Series, totalling 18 regular season matches.
  • A 12-team competition with two rounds plus a Finals Series, totalling 22 regular season matches.

The NST will be a key component of media rights from 2025 onwards, with a shifting focus to see how promotion and relegation will play a role as the competition evolves.

The upcoming 2024 season will see the eight foundation clubs and prospective new entrants continue to competing in their own Member Federation National Premier Leagues’ competitions, before moving towards a smooth transition to the NST.

A-Leagues and PFA strengthen commitment to stamping out social media abuse

A-Leagues. PFA and GoBubble

The A-Leagues and Professional Footballers Australia (PFA) are continuing their collaboration with GoBubble Community to stop social media abuse towards Australia and New Zealand’s professional men’s and women’s footballers, through to at least 2027.

First established in April 2022, the use of GoBubble’s artificial intelligence is key to identifying and blocking abusive, derogatory, harmful or offensive content.

GoBubble has implemented an automated solution that picks up sentiment and is tailored to the needs of all organisations in real-time, for example if an ongoing issue presents itself.

The GoBubble partnership is one of the first in its kind when monitoring an entire sporting league. Since the A-League’s adoption, the English Premier League and German Bundesliga and other sports rights holders globally now use technology successfully.

Since April 2022, GoBubble’s technology has protected A-Leagues players and clubs’ social media accounts, with more than 13,000 abusive comments blocked.

The A-Leagues, PFA and GoBubble (through the new GoBubble Foundation launching in 2024) will be running community outreach projects to provide access to the cutting-edge technology for those who play the role in protecting young people in their digital lives.

A-Leagues Commissioner Nick Garcia reiterated that abuse in any form is not accepted:

”Our footballers and clubs provide great entertainment to their many fans across Australia and New Zealand, both on the field as well as through social media content.

“Just like we work to ensure our stadiums are safe for our players and fans, we are also, through GoBubble Community, focused on making social media a safe space for them.

“Online abuse is absolutely not acceptable in football or any walk of life, so we are thrilled to extend our vital partnership with GoBubble Community.”

PFA Co-Chief Executive Beau Busch praised the efforts of GoBubble so far:

“Our collective ambition is to make the A-Leagues the safest competition in world football for players and fans, and that extends to ensuring everyone’s experience online is the best it can possibly be.

“GoBubble has proven to be the most effective way for our players to add a layer of protection online, so that they can continue to engage with fans and grow our football community.”

GoBubble Founder Henry Platten commended the A-Leagues and PFA approach to abuse:

“The A-Leagues’ innovative approach in providing our sentiment artificial intelligence (AI) for all member clubs has positively impacted the digital lives of millions.

“Football is the beautiful game, and by working in partnership with the A-Leagues and PFA, our patent-pending technology is helping everyone enjoy it without the risk of suffering hate or abuse online.

“We care about respectful communication at scale and are proud, together with the A-Leagues and PFA, to deliver another world first in 2024 by providing access to our AI through the GoBubble Foundation to education and charitable organisations working with schools in Australia.”

eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant shared the importance of sustaining this technology:

“It’s great to see this successful partnership being extended to ensure players and fans alike can continue to enjoy the sport they love without being subjected to harmful content.

“Online abuse is an insidious problem that affects all sporting codes from elite to community level, so it’s important that initiatives like this continue to receive support.

“While we might be disappointed with a particular call or play, that doesn’t mean it’s acceptable to unleash a torrent of online abuse. Smart use of safety technologies is an important tool in every football club’s arsenal.

“eSafety has developed specialist resources with sporting organisations and integrity units to help deal with the issue. You can find these resources and report abuse at eSafety.gov.au/sport.

The research so far:

The issue of abusive behaviour on social media was examined closely by the Australian eSafety Commissioner in their Online Hate Speech report which indicated “around 1 In 7 (14%) adults aged 18–65 are estimated to have been the target of online hate speech.”

The Report also reflected on the negative impact of hateful social media content, finding that “58% (of people experiencing hate speech) report a negative impact from their experience, typically mental or emotional stress, relationship problems or reputational damage.”

Separately, the recent FIFA World Cup 2022 held in Qatar was also examined through the FIFA/FIFPRO Social Media Protection Service Report: Qatar 2022 Analysis. It reported that “targeted individual racism was high volume with more than 300 players being targeted.”

The report indicated 286,895 abusive, discriminatory and threatening comments were detected targeting World Cup participant accounts with sexism, homophobia and racism among the most detected abusive messages.

As proud signatories of eSafety’s Commitment to Online Safety in Sport, A-Leagues and PFA see this extended partnership as a further step in helping to keep all Australians safe online, and a key prevention strategy for athletes and staff who are targets of online abuse.

Find out more about GoBubble Community on their website – gobubblehq.com.

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