Football in Western Australia is in for a long-awaited shake-up, with a three-member government task force charged with sorting out the mess.
The situation in WA at the moment is a sorry one. The code is supposed to be governed by the Soccer Administration of WA (SAWA), which was formed as a breakaway from the old SFWA in 1991. SAWA put together the Professional Soccer League (PSL) which ran in opposition to the old league for two years. Eventually the SFWA caved in and merged with SAWA. A new league was created, the Professional Soccer Federation of WA (PSF).
But of course it all came apart again very quickly. The PSF went bust in 1995, underwent restructuring and renamed itself Soccer West Coast (SWC). SWC, the WA Amateur and Social Soccer Association (WAASSA) and the Junior Soccer Association (JSA) are all supposed to be under the umbrella of SAWA. However, all have become increasingly independent. They are now autonomous to such an extent that SAWA is bereft of financial support. SAWA is so starved of money that they've been operating without a chief executive for four years now.
The animosity is keenest between SAWA and the SWC, with the former whingeing that they're always blamed for everything that goes wrong when they're not actually doing anything. And to quote SAWA chairperson David Nurse from the 1998 SWC Yearbook:
"Until all of the parts can agree that a single representative administrative system speaking with one voice to government, sponsors, marketing opportunities, National and International Companies and Soccer Australia then we will continue to be a motley group of factions for whom the Code is something with which to massage our own personal egos."
SWC is little healthier than SAWA. In 1997 president Nick MacCallum actually managed to resign from his position twice within twelve months. His successor lasted only a couple of months before resigning himself. By this stage the vice-president and chairman had also resigned, and the organisation was run by acting vice-president Vince Versace. Versace has since become president proper, but SWC has rarely been anything better than a shambles.
The saddest aspect of this farce is that SAWA, SWC, WAASSA and the JSA all share the same building (Perry Lakes Stadium). SAWA and SWC even have the same phone number!!!
The State Government (namely Minister of Sport Norman Moore) has decided to step in and sort out the mess. The three member task force consists of:
Naturally Nurse had some very positive remarks for the "West Australian", as SAWA can only benefit from an inquisition. He claims that SAWA have been pushing for such an inquiry for the last two years. No comments yet from SWC and Versace ... yet!
WA's representative in the national league, Perth Glory, is an affiliate member of SAWA (and also resides at Perry Lakes) but won't be much affected by the inquiry as they come under the auspices of Soccer Australia.
Does the task force have any chance of succeeding? History says no. There was a precedent in WA in 1985, well summarised in these two paragraphs from Richard Kreider's "A Soccer Century: A Chronicle of Western Australian Soccer from 1896 to 1996":
"In December 1985, a State Government Task Force was formed to investigate and recommend changes to WA soccer, which would take the game into the 21st century. The board members were Chairman Steve Stacey, Alistair Norwood, L. Smith and P. Gravestock. A 36 page document reported on administrative structures, a new headquarters, a revenue raising policy, marketing and promotional strategies, the development of grounds and facilities, and coaching. Over forty submissions were presented to the Task Force from people like Des Abraham, Alan Beale, Fred Burfitt, Harry Croft, Frank Schaper, Ron Tindall and from soccer associations right around the state. The Task Force recommended many items, including developing a central soccer complex named 'Soccer City', a new competition called the Western Pro League, and substituting ethnic club soccer for district soccer at the high performance level. The SFWA and its competitions would remain, but become amateur.
"The document was presented to the clubs of the SFWA at the December 1986 annual general meeting, and was eventually cast out at a second meeting the following year - despite the promise of funding from the WA Premier Brian Burke and the Labor government toward the 'Soccer City' complex, to the tune of nearly five million dollars on a dollar for dollar basis. It is believed the primary reason for the rejection was that the clubs were fearful of losing control."*
So despite a large backing of money, a government genuinely keen to promote the code in WA and the promise of a top quality venue and administrative centre, it was the narrow self-interest of local clubs that prevailed. One could strongly argue that had the recommendations of the 1985 task force been accepted there would be no need for one to take place in 1998. Apart from the recent success of Perth Glory in the NSL, football in WA has not progressed a smidgen in the last thirteen years. The code is still torn asunder by in-fighting, and it will take much more than a list of recommendations to achieve at least a semblance of order.