FCA delegation joins Working Group discussions

As part of the process to establish a Working Group to review membership of the FFA Congress, a Football Coaches Australia delegation met with representatives of FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation in Sydney today.

Also present at the meeting were representatives of Football Federation Australia.

FIFA and AFC are presently assessing which stakeholders will be involved in the make-up of the Working Group. FCA is seeking representation, not only on behalf of coaches, but as an active voice which advocates for higher standards across the entire sport.

FCA was represented at the meeting by interim directors Glenn Warry and James Kitching, alongside FCA Interim Executive Committee members Spencer Prior, Warren Grieve, Kelly Cross and Rae Dower.

The FCA delegation warmly welcomed both the FIFA and AFC representatives to Australia and was pleased by the highly productive exchange of ideas.

“We presented our strategic plan to FIFA and the AFC and put forward our key priorities with regards to delivering better outcomes for coaches,” Warry said.

“All FCA and member federation coaching delegates present expressed the same view: that coaches have had no historical voice in the management of the game, which is unacceptable given the fundamental importance of what coaches do.”

In the short-term, the key priorities, which were highlighted to the FIFA-AFC delegation, are: – ensuring access to FFA grievance procedures for coaches involved in employment-related disputes with clubs.

• the introduction of standard professional contracts at A-League, W-League and NPL level.
• support and legal advocacy for Australian coaches abroad.

Warry said that FCA’s rapid progress over the past few months was a testament to the unity of the coaching fraternity and were pleased at how informed both FIFA and AFC were of the ongoing situation in Australian football.

“We’re making huge strides as a stakeholder and it was fantastic to see this acknowledged,” he said.

“Our membership structure is in the process of being finalised and we communicated the overwhelming response we’ve had from coaches right around the country.”

“Both representatives from FIFA and AFC showed a detailed understanding of the current situation regarding coaches and were inquisitive about what needed to happen moving forward.”

“We know the keys to moving the game forward in this country boils down to producing more elite players, who can only get to that stage if they receive elite coaching and mentoring.”

FCA will shortly announce the details of its forthcoming inaugural Annual General Meeting.

FCA’s Interim Executive Committee, elected during the organisation’s inaugural meeting, is as follows.