United Football present three options to Football Victoria to salvage promotion

Football Victoria’s decision to cancel Season 2021 without promotion and relegation is facing a considerable challenge from over 40 Victorian clubs.

Football Victoria’s decision to cancel Season 2021 without promotion and relegation is facing a considerable challenge from over 40 Victorian clubs.

Under the banner of United Football, more than 40 clubs have joined forces to challenge the decision to suspend promotion and relegation in men’s and women’s competitions in Victoria, following the cancellation of the season.

Football Victoria announced the cancellation of the remainder of the season in Metropolitan Melbourne on September 3 2021, in which it also revealed that promotion and relegation would not proceed.

The decision has stirred controversy in the Victorian football community, with a number of clubs who were in the mix for promotion now believing that their efforts have ultimately been wasted.

The United Football Group of Clubs (United Football) represents more than 40 clubs from the top-tier of National Premier Leagues Victoria, right down to State League Five and is advocating that clubs who worked hard to put themselves into promotion contention across men’s and women’s divisions deserve to be rewarded for their efforts.

United Football Chairperson Zak Gruevski, former President of Preston Lions, believes that the clubs are disappointed that promotion has been taken off the table.

At BT Connor Reserve, home of Preston Lions, it has not been an uncommon sight to see over 2,000 people in the stands supporting their team.
Zak Gruevski at Preston Lions. Photo Courtesy of Matt Johnson

“As clubs, we simply can’t tolerate this anymore,” Gruevski told Soccerscene.

“We invest money into our clubs, we work hard to create an environment that leads to success and in the context of a completely lost 2020, to not reward the clubs that have been ambitious in 2021 is not acceptable.

“Our own governing bodies want us to improve as clubs. Football Australia and Football Victoria have set out plans for the growth of their top-flight competitions, so clubs that have invested and improved themselves should be rewarded for that effort, especially with almost two-thirds of the season played.”

“The Football Australia Performance Gap recommends expanded NPL competitions that allow for 30 games per season, so this isn’t just us making things up as we go along to suit a few vocal clubs. Promotion is an important part of the game achieving its competitive and developmental aims.”

United Football has now held several meetings with concerned clubs, and last week delivered a written submission to the Football Victoria board that argues clubs have been misled and that Football Victoria did not adequately prepare for a range of COVID-19 related scenarios, particularly given the cancellation of the 2020 season.

Whilst the clubs acknowledge the cancellation of the season is in light of prolonged, ongoing lockdowns in Victoria, they strongly believe that promotion and relegation was consistently communicated as going ahead, even as late as August 9, 2021 and that promotion – at the very least – should still be honoured.

“You could see from a mile away that the season was going to be affected by COVID,” Gruevski said.

“Like most clubs, for the first few games of the season, all activities were. Checking in, managing numbers in and out of the ground, and as the season progressed that burden became heavier.

“Everyone experienced the effects of COVID in 2020. We lost a whole season and we came into this one with written commitments that promotion and relegation would exist for 2021.

“Even as late as August 2021, when clubs were provided the roadmap out of lockdown, promotion and relegation was still a live issue.

“The scene was set by Football Victoria as early as May 2020 with the release of their ‘Guiding Principles’, where the commitment was that as long as each team played each other once, that would constitute a season for promotion, relegation and prizemoney.

“That didn’t happen, but it didn’t happen because Football Victoria did not incorporate it into the rules of competition and then decided in between lockdowns to play the fixtures based on the calendar instead of the unfulfilled rounds, meaning some teams played each other twice and some didn’t play at all.

“Why, as clubs, should we have to pay for these mistakes? Why should we now have to recomplete an entire season?

“Football Victoria has confirmed that it wants to revise the rules of competition to avoid this happening in 2022, which we’re happy to work with them on, but it doesn’t solve the issue we face right now.”

Gruevski added United Football was also questioning the validity of Football Victoria’s decision, with clear precedent around the country to maintain promotion and relegation, or at the very least, complete a league restructure.

Capital Football decided to honour promotion and relegation despite the early cancellation of the season, whilst Football New South Wales decided to opt for a restructuring of its leagues in light of the cancellation of its competitions.

United Football has received commitments from more than 90% of its 40+ affiliated clubs to contribute to the costs associated with challenging this submission, and work has already progressed with the appointment of a legal team.

In addition to reviewing written material issued by Football Victoria, United Football’s legal team worked on a written submission, which was delivered to Football Victoria on behalf of the clubs on Monday September 20.

The submission, sighted by Soccerscene, notes the group’s commitment to try and amicably resolve the issue with Football Victoria and presents three options for the state governing body to consider:

  1. Promotion and Recognition of Champions based on current standings or points per matches played method, with or without relegation.
  2. Restructure of the leagues to achieve the desired effect of promotion/relegation, completed in line with the 2021 Football Australia Performance Gap Report.
  3. Align with Football Victoria principles and fixture the outstanding games between teams who have not played against each other to complete the season and award promotion and relegation. Given the current COVID situation, it is recognised that this may be the least likely scenario.

Gruevski has had confirmation that the submission had been received and was discussed at Football Victoria’s most recent board meeting and is being reconsidered at an extraordinary meeting being held this week.

“I am satisfied that Football Victoria has heard our concerns and are taking steps to give this further consideration,” he said.

“But the clubs have been very firm with me and in turn our legal team. If we don’t hear back this week, the Group is determined to then proceed with other options.  The Group has reserved its rights to pursue all avenues to reach a satisfactory resolution to the matter.

“One thing is clear; this issue is not going to go away.”

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Football Victoria roll out PlayFootball 2.0 for 2025

Football Victoria and Cleaning Melbourne

Football Victoria has launched PlayFootball v2.0, delivering a comprehensive upgrade to its national registration platform for clubs, players and referees nationwide in 2025.

The modernised system introduces significant improvements, headlined by a complete interface overhaul prioritising accessibility and efficiency for all stakeholders.

The platform’s user-centric design promises to streamline administrative processes across all levels of the sport.

Key enhancements to PlayFootball 2.0 will allow for a modern player and official identification system that will include a sophisticated reporting module.

A notable addition is the integrated Working with Children Check workflow, reinforcing Football Australia’s commitment to child safety protocols.

Football Victoria is spearheading the transition by offering comprehensive training programmes, with both face-to-face and virtual sessions available to club administrators and association officials.

These sessions have been specifically designed to ensure optimal utilisation of the platform’s enhanced capabilities.

Football Victoria Chief Executive Officer Chris Pehlivanis has spoken on this new update and how they see it as crucial for enhancing the footballing experience for participants and clubs.

“We are looking forward to participants having a streamlined registration process while simplifying administration for our Clubs from 2025. FV will work closely with Clubs to ensure they are well supported through the transition and familiar with the benefits of the new system,” he said via press release.

A crucial update to the registration process will require participants to settle both Football Australia and Football Victoria Governing Body Regulation Fees at the point of registration through PlayFootball v2.0.

To help participants adjust to the change, however, PlayFootball is offering 4 different payment models:

  • All Fees Upfront: Club and Regulation fees paid online at the point of registration
  • Regulation Fees Upfront: FA and FV fees paid online at the point of registration
  • Scheduled Payment: FA, FV, Association and the first portion (¼) of the club fee is paid online at the point of registration
  • Subsidised Payment: Club subsidises payment and pays for Governing Body fees on the participant’s behalf at the point of registration

Player eligibility is rewarded upon the successful payment of these governing body fees.

This new program was tested by inviting four Associations, including 34 Clubs and 4,839 players to attend feedback sessions with FV and FA and beta test the new platform.

The invitation for Clubs to explore the What’s Changing Playbook has opened and for further information on all the changes coming to PlayFootball v2.0.

The platform’s updated rollout represents a significant milestone in Football Australia’s ongoing digitalisation strategy, aimed at reducing administrative burden whilst improving service delivery across the football community.

Melbourne Victory joins forces with RUBIX

Melbourne Victory has confirmed RUBIX will continue to operate as the club’s official data partner for the 2024/25 season. The collaboration follows a prosperous first year between the club and RUBIX.

RUBIX is a prominent Melbourne based data company, with offices across Australia and the US. The company has worked for high profile clients such as the Victorian State Government, Australia Post, Telstra and more.

RUBIX has successfully delivered over 350 projects for leading Top 50 companies, rapidly expanding FinTech and software firms.

The company was also a back-to-back SmartCompany award winner in 2022 and 2021 and earned a CRN Fast50 award in 2020.

RUBIX will aide Melbourne Victory’s growth and fan engagement strategies using the company’s knowledge in statistics, data technology, analysis, and artificial intelligence.

Melbourne Victory Managing Director, Caroline Carnegie, warmly welcomed RUBIX via press release.

“We’re thrilled to have RUBIX on board as the Club’s Official Data Partner for a second season,” she said.

“Their world-leading solutions have already offered incredible insights across our operations, and we’re excited to leverage their tools further to help Melbourne Victory grow and engage more deeply with our fans and community.”

Head of Marketing and Brand at RUBIX, Kathryn Smith, also expressed her eagerness for the collaboration.

“This partnership with Melbourne Victory continues to be a fantastic opportunity for us to support one of Melbourne’s most iconic sporting teams with data-driven insights and technology,” she said via press release.

“We look forward to using our innovative solutions to help the Club drive growth, enhance fan engagement, and deliver a richer experience for supporters.”

Together, Melbourne Victory and RUBIX will continue to analyse and adopt new initiatives to improve experiences for fans and drive the club further then ever before.

Through the collaboration, Melbourne Victory will hope to build off of a successful 2023/2024 season, which saw the club reach the A-League Men’s Grand Final.

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