FFA Community Football Summits kick-off in Brisbane

A national series of Community Football Summits kicked off with the first meeting in Brisbane at the weekend with National Premier Leagues, player pathways and referee development at the centre of the conversation.

Members of the Queensland football community gathered at Suncorp Stadium to quiz representatives from Football Federation Australia (FFA) including Chair Chris Nikou and Chief Executive David Gallop AM, together with Football Queensland (FQ) chair Ben Richardson and Chief Executive Richard Griffiths.

They fielded questions on a wide range of subjects during a lively two-hour session, moderated by ABC presenter Stephanie Brantz, with the cost of football, the need for investment in grassroots facilities and the role of private academies also discussed.

David Gallop said hearing from those involved at grassroots, in NPL clubs and from referees highlighted some of the opportunities ahead for the game.

“Community consultation is an important first step for the newly-elected Board and the FFA management team and on the weekend we started on a journey to meet with the football community right around the country.

“Our next stop is Newcastle and we want to hear from as many members of the football community as possible over the next few months about the issues that are most important to them, so we can continue to improve our game.

“We will use the feedback from our stakeholders during these forums to help guide the development of the next four-year strategic plan. 

“But most importantly our forums across the country are about listening to our stakeholders, taking that feedback on board and working more closely with the community to improve our game,” Gallop said.

The next summit will be held in Newcastle at the home of Northern NSW Football at Speers Point on Wednesday, 13 March 2019, with summits at other Member Federations to follow. 

In addition, a Fans Forum, aimed at fans of the Hyundai A-League and Westfield W-League, will take place in Melbourne on Monday, 25 March 2019.

Registrations for all summits and the Fans Forum are open herehttps://ffa.formstack.com/forms/community_forum with attendees encouraged to choose the topics of conversation they would like to raise. 

Forums in Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide and Canberra will also be livestreamed by FFA.

Forthcoming Community Football Summits & Fans Forum (all times local):

Date

Time

Member Federation

Venue

Wednesday 13 March 2019

7:30pm

Northern NSW Football

Lake Macquarie Regional Football Facility, Speers Point

Thursday 14 March 2019

6:00pm

Football West

The Rise, Maylands

Tuesday 19 March 2019

7:30pm

Football NSW

Valentine Sports Park, Glenwood

Thursday 21 March 2019

7:30pm

Football Federation Tasmania

KGV Football House, Glenorchy

Monday 25 March 2019

5:30pm

Fans Forum

AAMI Park, Melbourne

Wednesday 27 March 2019

7:30pm

Football Federation South Australia

Adelaide Entertainment Centre, Hindmarsh

Monday 29 April 2019

6:00pm

Football Northern Territory

Michael Long Learning and Leadership Centre, Marrara

Thursday 2 May 2019

6:00pm

Football Victoria

Lakeside Stadium, Albert Park

Wednesday 8 May 2019

7:00pm

Capital Football

Ann Harding Centre, University of Canberra, Bruce