Terry McFlynn: “I’d like to see clubs have stand-alone facilities”

Terry McFlynn played over 200 games for Sydney FC, second only to Alex Brosque. After retiring from the game, he joined the staff at Sydney FC before heading west to be Perth Glory’s football operations manager, and he is also a Executive Committee member of Football Coaches Australia. Terry spoke to Soccerscene about his career, how the A-League has improved and where it can continue to grow.

Q. How did you become involved in football?

McFlynn: “Well, obviously it was back when I was living in Northern Ireland. I was an avid watcher of the game, and my uncle Mark who was a big influence on my career all the way through, I’d go visit him and just play on the street. At the age of 12 or 13, he took me to my first team in the next village to where I lived in Swatragh. So I got involved in the game at an early age.”

Q. How did the opportunity to play for Sydney FC arise?

McFlynn: “I left Northern Ireland when I was 15 to go to QPR, and I was there for 5 years. I dropped out of the Football League into Non-League and conference with a few various clubs and ended up with Morecambe, who had just got promoted up to League 1 now. During that period living in London, I met my wife Emma who is an Australian from Perth. She wanted to come back to Australia after being in England for a few years, at that time the A-League was just starting, so I sent an email to all the clubs asking for a trial and Sydney FC was the only team that replied to me and offered me one, so that’s how it all came about.”

Q. What were your impressions of Australian Football after joining?

McFlynn: “I’d come from the conference so I didn’t know what to expect, to be honest. We had a lot of very good players at Sydney FC in season 1, like Steve Corica, David Zdrilic, Ufuk Talay, Mark Milligan, David Carney, Robert Middleby, and then after some time, we signed Dwight Yorke. We had a lot of very established Australian internationals and the standard was high. The coach at the time was Pierre Littbarski with Ian Crook as his assistant, so the intensity of training was very high. We had a fitness coach named Darren Welsh who previously worked in the AFL so the fitness levels were high too throughout the whole group. It was a really pleasant experience when I first joined the club, because of the professionalism, intensity of training, and quality of players I was training with every day.”

Q. Was the challenge of transitioning into a backroom role a challenge?

McFlynn: “It did have its challenges. I was fortunate because four years before I decided to retire I started studying a master’s of coaching education at Sydney University. I was preparing myself for retirement, and life after football. When I finally did retire I had a few different conversations with Scott Moore, the chairman of Sydney FC, and then had a meeting with Graham Arnold. Frank Farina had left the club and he was coming in as the new coach. We discussed life, football, the A-League, we hit it off and Graham offered me a position in his staff. It was difficult initially to make that transition from getting up for over 20 years to the training ground with a focus on a game on the weekend, to just a normal 9-5 job. Even though in football no job in 9-5. I was very fortunate to have people around me to help with that transition. People at the club helped me a lot.

Q. Do you think the A-League has improved in terms of professionalism since season 1?

McFlynn: “Yeah definitely. If you look back at season 1 of the A-League there were a lot of marquee players and younger players, unknowns. Off the field clubs have made a lot of improvement in terms of facilities, they’ve done a great job with the CBA (Central Bargaining Agreement) negotiations in terms of minimum medical standards, travel, and all the other things that add layers to professionalism in what we are trying to achieve. I think the level of coaching has improved, as the A-league has progressed, and the quality of recruitment has improved. We aren’t seeing older European or South American players coming here for a payday, we are seeing the likes of players like Marcos Flores signing for Adelaide, who was unknown, and they come and lift the league upwards. Melbourne Victory with Fred, Milos Ninkovic, Diego Castro at Perth Glory. In terms of professionalism and recruitment, it has improved since season 1. 

Q. Where could it continue to improve?

McFlynn: “I think something that if you ask anyone in around and the Football department of all clubs, its facilities. If we can get to the point where we all have our own stand-alone facilities because I think a lot of the clubs, not just in the A-league but sport in general across Australia, share facilities. I know that is a bugbear for many people in football departments because they don’t have access to gyms, recovery centres, and pitches when you need them. That is something I’d like to see across the board, similar to the MLS, where clubs have access to stand-alone training facilities and stadiums, which contributes to the revenue-raising part of the football business as well.”

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Global Experts Strengthen 2025 Queensland Football Convention Line-up

With less than two weeks to go until the 2025 Queensland Football Convention, Football Queensland has announced the addition of several world-class experts to this year’s program.

Among the latest speakers are leading sports researcher and Athlete Assessments CEO Liz Masen, Olympic gold medal-winning coach Dean Boxall, and representatives from globally renowned football advisory group Double Pass — Stig Meyleman (Partner) and Sander Van Praet (Global Projects Lead).

Together, they bring a wealth of experience in leadership, elite coaching, and player development, adding significant depth to the Convention’s agenda.

Their sessions will focus on high-performance coaching, leadership frameworks, and internationally benchmarked development pathways that can be implemented within clubs and organisations across Queensland.

Attendees will gain valuable insights into the habits, systems, and cultures that drive success in high-performing teams.

About the Speakers

Liz Masen has over 30 years’ experience across professional sport, high-performance organisations, and investment banking. As CEO of Athlete Assessments and a PhD researcher in behavioural science and coaching, Liz has delivered workshops internationally, including for WeCOACH NCAA Women Coaches Academies and the Japanese Women Leaders and Coaches Academy. Her research into the coach–playmaker relationship across six team sports offers unique, practical insights into leadership, team dynamics, and building high-performing teams.

Dean Boxall is an Olympic gold-winning swimming coach renowned for his ability to develop elite athletes, including Olympic gold medallist Ariarne Titmus. Known for combining technical expertise with a focus on mindset and performance under pressure, Dean provides practical lessons in leadership, preparation, and high-performance coaching that translate beyond the pool.

Double Pass is a globally recognised football advisory company with over 20 years’ experience in league quality assurance and club development. With a team of more than 75 experts, Double Pass has partnered with FIFA, the English Premier League, the Bundesliga, and the Italian Football Federation. In 2024, Double Pass conducted an audit of the FQ Academy, working closely with Football Queensland to benchmark and enhance the system. The group continues to work with FQ, supporting in the delivery of our development pathways and frameworks, ensuring they are designed to strengthen clubs, develop players, and ensure sustainable growth across Queensland football.

FQ CEO Robert Cavallucci spoke with excitement about the additional speakers to the Convention.

“Bringing Liz, Dean, and Double Pass into the program strengthens this year’s Convention in a very practical way. Their experience spans elite international sport and high-performance leadership, and they are uniquely positioned to share insights that clubs and coaches can apply immediately. This is about giving our community the tools and frameworks to drive performance, growth, and long-term success,” Cavallucci said in a press release.

“The addition of these speakers highlights our commitment to ensuring our football community benefits from the best international practices and proven strategies, as the sessions provide our attendees with clarity and direction on how to elevate their teams, their clubs, and their overall sporting programs.”

The inclusion of these leading figures further strengthens the 2025 Queensland Football Convention as one of the nation’s premier gatherings for football professionals, coaches, and administrators.

Soccerscene is the official media partner of the Convention and we look forward to showcasing an event that will continue to shape the future of Australian football.

To purchase tickets to the event on the 25th-26th October, click HERE 

Back Where It Belongs: SBS Revives Football’s Free-to-Air Spirit

As the Australian Championship kicks off tonight, the Australian public will be able to watch the games on SBS and its streaming services. Returning these storied clubs and exciting new tournament to a familiar broadcaster.

Just last month the Australian Championship announced that SBS and their streaming service SBS on demand and SBS VICELAND would be the broadcasters for the inaugural season of the new second division.

It’s poetic that a league whose teams are born in the footballing roots of the NSL clubs should be shown on the free to air channel that for so many years brought football of all types to the living rooms of all Australians.

The big questions will be asked of course. What about the revenue? As we know viewership rights are what makes the serious profits in football.

One only needs to look as far as the English Premier League’s rise in status, coinciding with its TV rights deals to know that revenue boosting is primarily through these means.

Even nation states who use sport to boost their own soft power use this to great advantage.

But the new National Second Division must be observed in a different and more unique lens.

Yes, the major question floating around this competition is how this league will bridge the gap to the A-League.

A recent interview through the championship media page, showcasing players interviews of the league brought a sense of reality to this, players voiced their excitement at telling family members that they can watch them on TV.

To the drive, knowing they are being aired on such a prestigious channel, one is reminded that they are in truth semi-professional footballers, not used to the limelight of prime-time TV or viewership. That is what this is, placing this league up a level, giving these clubs, players and whole footballing ecosystem more publicity.

If giving publicity will reap viewership rewards and increase consumers, the ability for money and investment to come from this is huge.

Looking at the recent Australian Cup final, some of the biggest numbers in viewership ever with 873,000 viewers, a year on year increase of 40% was confirmed.

This final had an NPL and soon Championship team Heidelberg United no less, take centre stage.

The attraction from the public is there, it’s evident, to take down barriers to offer it to them is critical. That is why putting it on SBS is such a potent option and one that can exacerbate future rewards.

This new experience is fashioned from the great roots of Australia’s unique footballing past. These clubs built in the era of the NSL and migrant community clubs, is central to this tournament.

As many would probably say in a marketing sense, it actually makes perfect sense.

To have two nostalgic but present footballing institutions merged, it will give fans the full experience, a love for the old with the embracement of the new ideas.

This economic strategy is a long game, more in line with the realities of the modern Australian footballing landscape.

Playing it smart early on and not trying to get the most money out of it straight away is in many ways a great idea.

SBS was there when it gave us moments that shaped football forever and filtered it into this country, world cups, continental competitions, foreign leagues showcasing football’s best.

It was importantly there to deliver Australia’s own great sporting moments, 2006 World Cup qualification, our Asia Cup victory in 2015.

SBS is known to yield great moments in Australian Football, that power it holds can infuse the Australian Championship as well.

Football isn’t all about the money. The championship is only in its beginnings, the format has been adapted, it is a new experience for Australian football enthusiasts.

SBS is the place where we saw the birth of modern Australian football. It should be the place where this next chapter is played onto our screens, in our homes, in fan zones and for little to no cost.

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