Annual Report

2015 Football Federation SA Annual Report

2015 Annual Report

2015 Financials

2015 Financials

2015 Presidents Report

The Annual Report for 2015 is my final report, 10 years after Football Federation South Australia (FFSA) ran its inaugural competition in 2006. That year we moved to the three-tiered competition in what is now the National Premier League (NPL). In the lead up to the kick off that season there had been robust debates, detailed negotiations and lengthy meetings about what the future would hold.

Football was in a transitional phase with the National Soccer League, and the South Australia Soccer Federation having ceased activity during 2005. In the first year FFSA had just over 3,000 registered participants, just over $10,000 in reserves and was operating on a modest establishment grant from the Office of Recreation and Sport. The inaugural President, Trevor Basso, and the first and the interim Directors, volunteered an enormous amount of time in the first year, laying the foundation for a strong organisation which would benefit the whole sport of football.

In the intervening years I have had the pleasure of working with a number of Directors of the organisation who have also volunteered enormous amounts of their time, skill and knowledge for the advancement of football. I have had the pleasure of working with a wide range of people who share a passionate interest in football. Some are focused on the success of their own children; some are focused on the success of their team; some are focused on the success of their club or their branch of football, and others have taken a broader big picture view of what is best for football overall. All of them, in their passion and dedication, have contributed to the advancement of football in this state.

The intervening years have seen much of the football family come together under one umbrella. In addition to running the Men’s competition, and the elite junior competitions, from an early stage SAWSA came on board and the FFSA became responsible for Women’s football. We were joined by Associations including regional Associations, and later the Collegiate and Masters leagues. In 2015 the FFSA directly coordinated approximately 15,000 matches. In all, there are almost 25,000 registered participants. Football will continue to grow. It is the natural choice of sport for those newly arrived in Australia. At a time when we are the most successful multicultural nation on earth, football can be a uniting force.

With the growth of football, we identified a need for an increase in facilities, so that young players were not turned away from the game. We have worked with governments to provide grant funding for improvements to existing clubs premises.

The establishment of the facility at Burton was a starting point in the direct development of facilities, and from the experiences developed there the excellent practical facilities at The Adelaide Shores and at The Parks emerged, as part of our overarching Football Facility Strategic Plan. We have engaged in an ongoing process dealing with governments at all levels, which will lead to the development of more high quality venues with artificial pitches able to withstand the vagaries of weather and water shortages, and which will provide a base for clubs to be able to provide a home for the thousands of participants in football, and to deliver football-related programs.

An important part of the role of a peak sporting organisation is the development of programs for talented young footballers, both boys and girls. The performances of the South Australian teams at the national level has been a testament to the success of those programs. The strong performance of our NPL teams at the national level, including in the FFA Cup, are also indicators of the strength of football in South Australia.

We have worked with Futsal SA which contributed greatly by continuing to run that aspect of the game over past years, and we expect to see significant growth in Futsal in the coming years. I also thank Dennis Harlow and the Hall of Fame committee members, and the Museum committee members who are custodians of the history of our game in this State.

Managing our game also involves providing avenues for participation for those who want to participate at a social or community level, for fitness and enjoyment. The facilities that we have developed, and will develop, will make such participation possible. A crucial component of our game is the availability of independent and trained referees. The programs designed to recruit, and to train and to retain our referees is an important part of the work of the FFSA.

Providing training for coaches to improve the experience, and the skills and development of young players is just as important. Increasing the capability and the professionalism of our clubs and associations is also crucial. The move towards fully qualified coaches, and professional administrators or managers, will be seen as a benefit, not a cost, as time goes on.

I would like to acknowledge the volunteers in the game who run our associations, and our clubs, and our supporting organisations. They are the backbone of the sport and although they may do it for love, they do a great service to the sport and to the community.

The management and staff of FFSA, led by Chief Executive Officer Michael Carter, are a very dedicated team of people who have worked selflessly since the establishment of FFSA for the advancement of football. They have shown great vision and ambition for the game, provided great service to the game and to the participants in the game, and have made chairing the organisation a pleasure.

By the time of this report, as is required by the constitution, I and my two remaining fellow interim directors will have retired. New directors will be appointed and new directors will be elected. They will take the reins of an organisation which is in a healthy financial position, which is well placed to further develop and promote our sport, and carry on the tasks of developing facilities and of strengthening our clubs and associations.

They will be at the helm of an organisation which enjoys strong relationships with state and local government, with our national federation, with our fellow member federations, and with our partners and sponsors. I thank my fellow directors, present and past, and I look forward to seeing the upward trajectory of our sport in the coming years.

Judge Rauf Soulio

Football Federation SA Annual Reports

2014 Annual Report

2013 Annual Report - Part 1

2013 Annual Report - Part 2

2011 Annual Report

2010 Annual Report

2009 Annual Report

2008 Annual Report

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