Quote: “And all this
brings me to the question of what's the actual point of all this? Are we just
trying to scrape through any old way we can, get a bit of cash from the Confeds
and World Cup qualifiers, just so we can go and do the same old depressing
cycle again? Or are we actually trying to grow the game in this country?”
I totally agree with your overall point here, but have a
real issue with the concept of “growing the game”. It’s a phrase we hear a lot, and there’s an
idea that if something is large it must be good/better/sustainable etc (feel free to insert genitalia gag here). From my own point of view, I’m more
interested in football in NZ being in good health rather than growing because they’re
not the same thing – and yet the health is diabolical.
We constantly hear that junior and social numbers are
growing etc – but how well do those people get looked after? For the large amounts of money they
contribute to be involved every year, what do they actually get in return? For those who participate as spectators or
supporters, how well are they catered for/respected/entertained? I know “growth” may equate with increased funding,
but I’d have to ask right now if giving this current admin more money to play
with is going to improve anything in any way shape or form?
What if the sport’s focus was actually positive
consolidation? What if they actually
focussed on quality programmes, quality products, quality staffing,
professionalism, sustainability, a working fax, and the sorts of things that
might actually make the people involved feel valued and give them a sense of
enjoyment/reward? If the sport was
healthy like this, then I’m imagining sponsors and other corporate involvement would
follow.
Back when the Small Whites programme was launched with Ryan
as the figurehead, it got panned by a range of “experts”. But what it did have going for it was 1)
ordinary parents felt their kids actually got something in return for their
involvement, and 2) four major sponsor brands saw a product they could hook on
to and put in quite a lot of money. Do we have anything doing that now??
I know there’s a lot of good stuff going on in various
areas, but the overall admin/running of the game situation at present is one of
the worst I can recall (and that’s up against some pretty stiff opposition over
the years). If things were to “grow” at
present it’d either mask the rubbish going on, or simply create more of the bad
situation.
Before we focus on growing, the house needs to put in
order. As a life-long football fan, I
couldn’t care less if football is popular or not. I don’t care if some rugby-head munter bags
the sport I love, even if I can appreciate his. I don’t feel more validated as a football aficionado if more people
agree with me. All I want is for
football people in NZ to have a good quality product to experience and enjoy –
whether that be as a player, spectator, coach, administrator, volunteer, or
some combination of those.
Some people argue that growth means more potential good
players/athletes are attracted to the game, meaning our national teams improve
etc – but surely youngsters are more likely to be attracted by a quality viable
experience and pathways, rather than this current shambles and the past spectre
of paying to represent their country?
If the numbers of people ‘consuming’ football in one way or
another increases, then fine – but shouldn’t that be a by-product rather than
an aim? Surely the aim should be to have
the sport in good health at as many levels as possible – because history would
suggest that when it’s not, then it’s unlikely to capitalise on the
opportunities that come from major outlier events, such as World Cup
qualification. In the last seven years,
we qualified for a World Cup, drew with the World champions, bagged $10million
from another playoff – and as someone pointed out, this week suggests we’ve
hurtled backwards. It’s fine for a World
Cup to be the outlier rather than the norm – but should the norm be an inept
admin and the dross we saw last night??
Rant over, apologies it's so long...