The FFA has released the Football Federation Australia Member Federation Charter!
Go to http://www.a-league.com.au/site/_content/document/00001941-source.pdf for the full text of the Charter.
So why is this document important to us here in the ACT region and what it is about?
Most of our discussion locally around football can be generally grouped into the three general headings - Referees, development of talented players and development of the game (in the ACT).
This Charter sets out the who is responsible for what, and, who does what, between the governing body in Australia for Football (FFA) and the member Federations (in our case Capital Football). The Charter, in its various parts, covers off on all three areas of discussion. I guess you could say that it hammers a peg in the ground on the "who does what and who is responsible for it" front in Football. When anyone at Capital Football or the FFA talks on any of three heading mentioned previously, just keep in the back of your mind, who has agreed to do what and hold them all to account.
I have taken the following pertinent extracts to illustrate and inform. Let's take a close look at Schedule 1 of this Charter, the very important subject of Football Development:
Background
1.3 Each Member Federation has responsibility within its region for the:
(a) conduct, development, strategic direction and promotion of football; and
(b) implementation of FFA strategies, policies, programs and regulations for the playing, development and promotion of football in Australia.
2.2 This Charter is intended to cover all areas in which FFA and the Member Federations interact with each other and the detailed provisions of the Charter are set out in these Schedules:
(a) Schedule 1 – Football Development;
(b) Schedule 2 – Interaction with A-League Clubs;
(c) Schedule 3 – Women’s Football;
(d) Schedule 4 – Commercial Activities;
(e) Schedule 5 – Events;
(f) Schedule 6 – Marketing;
(g) Schedule 7 – Government;
(h) Schedule 8 - Media and Communications.
Schedule 1 – Football Development
1 FOOTBALL DEVELOPMENT
1.1 In November 2007 FFA released the National Football Development Plan.
1.2 The purpose of this Charter in relation to football development is to facilitate the implementation of the National Football Development Plan at state member level.
1.3 The purpose of football development is to:
(a) improve the overall technical standard of the Australian player base;
(b) design and oversee the delivery of the best participation experience in Australian sport;
(c) identify, attract and retain more and better athletes particularly in the 12-16 age group;
(d) convert football participants to life-long fans of the Australian game;
(e) attract and retain more volunteers to the sport of football;
(f) increase the number of accredited coaches and referees; and
(g) ensure that facilities keep pace with demand.
1.4 Football development falls into two categories:
(a) Game Development; and
(b) Talented Player Development.
please read on
1.5 The aim of Game Development is to educate, support, resource and service all football participants through:
(a) participation (e.g. small sided football);
(b) coach education;
(c) referee education;
(d) club development;
(e) facilities;
(f) regulations;
(g) football in schools;
(h) inclusive initiatives;
(i) indigenous programs;
(j) women’s football; and
(k) futsal.
1.6 The aim of Talented Player Development is to provide a pathway for talented players, coaches and referees with associated high quality programs and resources. These include:
(a) National Training Centres;
(b) National Junior and Youth Championships;
(c) National Futsal Championships;
(d) National Curriculum;
(e) Coach Scholarships;
(f) Player Scholarships;
(g) A-League
(h) W-League;
(i) National Youth League;
(j) AIS; and
(k) National Teams
2 RESPONSIBILITIES OF FFA AND THE MEMBER FEDERATIONS IN FOOTBALL DEVELOPMENT
2.1 FFA is responsible for:
(a) creating the National Football Development Plan;
(b) developing and aligning an organisational structure and personnel best suited to deliver this plan;
(c) identifying the key areas of Football Development;
(d) setting acceptable minimum standards for Member Federations;
(e) formulating and improving Football Development policy as appropriate;
(f) managing and exploiting all commercial (including intellectual property) rights to the Football Development Plan and the programs and activities within the Football Development Plan including all the programs and activities referred to in this schedule;
(g) providing funding support for Football Development;
(h) supplying resources and curriculum for Football Development;
(i) measuring the effectiveness of the delivery of Football Development programs in accordance with the Annual Implementation Plans for each Member Federation.
2.2 Each Member Federation is responsible for:
(a) implementing in its region the Charter as it relates to Football Development;
(b) leading all aspects of Football Development in its region;
(c) supporting, promoting and adhering to the National Football Development Plan;
(d) organising its Football Development structure to mirror FFA as much as possible; and
(e) ensuring that FFA can maximise the commercial rights referred to at 2.1(f) including by ensuring obligations to FFA commercial partners are met (e.g. distribution of partner collateral to participants in the Member Federation region) in accordance with its Charter Implementation Annual Plan .
3 KEY AREAS FOR FOOTBALL DEVELOPMENT
3.1 FFA has identified the following areas as being key for Football development:
(a) Organisational Structure;
(b) Talented Player Development Programs;
(c) Participation Programs;
(d) Coach Education;
(e) Referee Development;
(f) Club Development;
(g) Futsal Development.
.............
5 PLAYER DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM
5.1 FFA is responsible for:
(a) the conduct of National Youth Championships (NYC) and National Junior Championships (NJC) including organisation of air and ground transport, equipment, refreshments, referees and technical Staff;
(b) the creation and distribution of the National Curriculum and associated programs and resources, to be used by coaches at this level;
(c) the development of a National Club Accreditation Scheme;
(d) the provision of funding for NTC programs;
(e) the facilitation of MOU’s between FFA, Member Federations, SIS/SAS and where applicable Hyundai A-League clubs in the Member Federation’s region with respect to player development;
(f) technical leadership, advice and support from the FFA National Technical Director in accordance with the Annual Implementation Plans for each Member Federation.
5.2 The roles and responsibilities of each Member Federation are:
(a) putting in place appropriate competition structures for talented players;
(b) to support the communication and implementation of all aspects of the National Curriculum in a manner consistent with FFA’s strategies, policies and regulations;
(c) to actively support the NTC program (male and female) within their region;
(d) identifying players, selecting and preparing teams for the National Junior and Youth Championships;
(e) ensuring there are minimum coaching accreditation qualifications and experience for coaches operating at the above levels;
(f) coordinating the staged rollout of the National Club Accreditation Scheme (NCAS) system at State Premier League level, private provider, school and grassroots club, including monitoring and evaluation of clubs against the criteria;
(g) adherence to the National Curriculum; and
(h) entering into MOU’s between FFA, SIS/SAS, Hyundai A-League clubs and the Member Federation in accordance with its Charter Implementation Annual Plan.