In Episode 11 of Soccerscene’s Off the Pitch Podcast, Football Victoria Interim CEO Dan Birrell explores his previous roles in football operations, how the new media team will market the game better in this state and the next steps to ensure more stability in the organisation.
One particular hot talking point was the discussion around the cost barrier of playing football in this state, particularly for young kids.
Birrell spoke about the recent Emerging Socceroos Championships and how the fact each participant had to pay thousands of dollars ‘bewildered’ him.
“I think [this issue] is two-fold. We had the Emerging Socceroos Championships in Bundoora at the Home of the Matildas which came at a cost. This is the best young talent in Australia in u15’s and 16’s, and they had to pay several thousands of dollars to compete,” he said on the podcast.
“I’m thinking as the CEO that it still bewilders me a little bit that there is such a cost implication or a cost barrier to get the best young talent to a national tournament.
“They weren’t staying at The Hilton or The Ritz-Carlton; they were staying at La Trobe University dorms eating dorm food. That lead us to talk with the other CEO’s and Football Australia about the cost to play and the barrier of participation.”
Birrell also spoke about what Football Victoria are doing about clubs who set exorbitant prices for annual paying fees and how to communicate it better.
“The other thing that we do need to do is that there are probably still clubs, because there is no maximum to what you can charge, that we need to hold to account,” he added.
“I don’t mean that in a negative sense, I just mean introducing a value index which I am a big fan of making this happen over the next six months in advance of next year.
“It means having all of our clubs sending through what their registration fees are, publishing those and going ‘well this is what registration fees are for clubs A, B, C and D and what they offer in terms of coaching and what the fees cover. Then it speaks to a different story.”
Football Victoria are assessing the current problem with expensive playing fees and also making sure they give clubs with a low-cost barrier of entry a voice, by highlighting them more through the value index that Dan Birrell mentions.
Click hear the full interview with Dan Birrell, on Episode 11 of Soccerscene’s Off the Pitch Podcast – available on all major podcasting platforms.
