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Q and A with Nathan Godfrey

grazorblade

grazorblade

World-Class Star
Staff member
3rd Monthly Contributor
Joined
Oct 17, 2024
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Hi all,

Feel free to put questions for Nathan here. This thread will be open until next friday :)
 
My question for Nathan is:

Do you think there'll be a women's equivalent of the Australian Championship in the near future as part of legacy commitments for the 2026 Women's Asian Cup, or does the current system of football in Australia, particularly with regards to the women's game, mean that any such implementation would be unsustainable and therefore not worth pursuing?
 
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rebelliousfeminist974 said:
My question for Nathan is:

Do you think there'll be a women's equivalent of the Australian Championship in the near future as part of legacy commitments for the 2026 Women's Asian Cup, or does the current system of football in Australia, particularly with regards to the women's game, mean that any such implementation would be unsustainable and therefore not worth pursuing?
Click to expand...
Add to that a Women’s Australia Cup, which really should’ve happened by now.
 
Did the organisational approach to the Aus Championship differ much after JJ left (i.e. more resources, less resources, more attention etc), or was it much of the same?

Have you heard about any possible overseas player transfers based on their Aus Championship form? Noting the January window is coming up in most Asian countries.

Who are some people that you met during your time in the wider Australian football community that are top operators that should be involved in the higher levels of the game (at FA or APL)? (e.g. club administrators, state officials).
 
Vince Rugari has questioned the sustainability of the competition and asked how much money it is currently losing. He has suggested a winter competition where the biggest NPL clubs (SMFC, Preston, APIA, etc.) play alongside A-League teams in a format similar to what we see now. He believes this would be more financially viable, help grow both tiers, use matchups like Victory vs Hellas as major drawcards, and help stretch the season.

So is the competition sustainable as Vince has questioned, and should we follow his idea, or should we continue striving for a full home and away competition?
 
Pasquali said:
Vince Rugari has questioned the sustainability of the competition and asked how much money it is currently losing. He has suggested a winter competition where the biggest NPL clubs (SMFC, Preston, APIA, etc.) play alongside A-League teams in a format similar to what we see now. He believes this would be more financially viable, help grow both tiers, use matchups like Victory vs Hellas as major drawcards, and help stretch the season.

So is the competition sustainable as Vince has questioned, and should we follow his idea, or should we continue striving for a full home and away competition?
Click to expand...
Let me guess, he is going to write a biography on "effnikz sokkah clubz" next is he? Farking sellout wanker.
 
rebelliousfeminist974 said:
My question for Nathan is:

Do you think there'll be a women's equivalent of the Australian Championship in the near future as part of legacy commitments for the 2026 Women's Asian Cup, or does the current system of football in Australia, particularly with regards to the women's game, mean that any such implementation would be unsustainable and therefore not worth pursuing?
Click to expand...
My personal view is that a women’s Australia Cup would add greater value to the domestic game in the immediate short term, but thats not to say that expansion of the Australian Championship would not be feasible in the medium to longer term. I’m sure the WAC26 will have a positive impact on participation and likely assist in terms of continuing the conversation about the growth of women’s football in Australia.
 
fatsothewombat said:
Did the organisational approach to the Aus Championship differ much after JJ left (i.e. more resources, less resources, more attention etc), or was it much of the same?

Have you heard about any possible overseas player transfers based on their Aus Championship form? Noting the January window is coming up in most Asian countries.

Who are some people that you met during your time in the wider Australian football community that are top operators that should be involved in the higher levels of the game (at FA or APL)? (e.g. club administrators, state officials).
Click to expand...
Thanks for your insightful questions.

JJ was a strong advocate for the Australian Championship and I valued his support and leadership. The competition format, and budget, were in place before he departed FA in early 2025, at which point the focus shifted to strategy execution. Eg. Broadcast, Regulation, Fixturing, Travel etc.

I’m not aware of any specific players that could be signed by overseas clubs, but I’ve spoken to player agents who believe there will be strong interest, especially given the quality of the football played during the Australian Championship. I hope we see player movement in the January transfer window - watch this space!

I worked closely with many club officials over my 2.5 years at FA. It would be unfair to name individuals but generally speaking the clubs that consistently perform well on and off the field have quality leaders and administrators in place. From an FA perspective, I would highlight Webb Sarris (National Competitions Manager) as an emerging football executive destined for higher honours.
fatsothewombat said:
Did the organisational approach to the Aus Championship differ much after JJ left (i.e. more resources, less resources, more attention etc), or was it much of the same?

Have you heard about any possible overseas player transfers based on their Aus Championship form? Noting the January window is coming up in most Asian countries.

Who are some people that you met during your time in the wider Australian football community that are top operators that should be involved in the higher levels of the game (at FA or APL)? (e.g. club administrators, state officials).
Click to expand...
Thanks for your insightful questions.

JJ was a strong advocate for the Australian Championship and I valued his support and leadership. The competition format, and budget, were in place before he departed FA in early 2025, at which point the focus shifted to strategy execution. Eg. Broadcast, Regulation, Fixturing, Travel etc.

I’m not aware of any specific players that could be signed by overseas clubs, but I’ve spoken to player agents who believe there will be strong interest, especially given the quality of the football played during the Australian Championship. I hope we see player movement in the January transfer window - watch this space!

I worked closely with many club officials over my 2.5 years at FA. It would be unfair to name individuals but generally speaking the clubs that consistently perform well on and off the field have quality leaders and administrators in place. From an FA perspective, I would highlight Webb Sarris (National Competitions Manager) as an emerging football executive destined for higher honours.
 
Pasquali said:
Vince Rugari has questioned the sustainability of the competition and asked how much money it is currently losing. He has suggested a winter competition where the biggest NPL clubs (SMFC, Preston, APIA, etc.) play alongside A-League teams in a format similar to what we see now. He believes this would be more financially viable, help grow both tiers, use matchups like Victory vs Hellas as major drawcards, and help stretch the season.

So is the competition sustainable as Vince has questioned, and should we follow his idea, or should we continue striving for a full home and away competition?
Click to expand...
I haven’t seen this article but I did read another article written by Vince Rugari in which he proposed expansion of the A-League to 20 clubs (2 clubs maximum per year consistent with how the J-League expanded), before separating the competition into two tiers - A1 and A2 - and introducing promotion/relegation.

I think this concept or roadmap has good merit, but I should stress, the focus for the foreseeable future is on raising the professional standards of our clubs (A-League and Championship) with a view to building commercially sustainable competitions.

The challenge is not cost, the challenge is increasing the capability of our clubs, and that’s why we recently introduced the clubs to the FIFA Club Management Program. The football talent in Australia is strong, but this must be matched by the development of club officials and administrators.
 
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Q. I heard Joe Carruzzo a few weeks ago on the G and G podcast and you this time. I found your interview on the podcast with Graham to be informative.

However, a question I pose is that given all the positive info, you and Joe, have provided about the football milieu in general in Aus being ostensibly beneficial for the future, in Legacy Media, I feel football has really lost ground since 2015.
T20 cricket of both genders, basketball and women's AFL, are getting a lot of ABC TV coverage, whilst domestic Aussie football gets virtually none in summer.

Football gets little column space in the local Tassie Murdoch tabloid, and has little radio presence.

* What are Football Aus doing to ameliorate the declining Legacy Media media scenario? Is it important?

I'm sick to death of viewing women's AFL, T20 cricket and basketball on my TV screen in the news.

You alluded to younger media networks supporting football in the interview - namely the Championship.
 
Decentric said:
However, a question I pose is that given all the positive info, you and Joe, have provided about the football milieu in general in Aus being ostensibly beneficial for the future, in Legacy Media, I feel football has really lost ground since 2015.
T20 cricket of both genders, basketball and women's AFL, are getting a lot of ABC TV coverage, whilst domestic Aussie football gets virtually none in summer.

Football gets little column space in the local Tassie Murdoch tabloid, and has little radio presence.

* What are Football Aus doing to ameliorate the declining Legacy Media media scenario?
Click to expand...
IMO - nothing, I suspect.

Decentric said:
Is it important?
Click to expand...
If they thought so, it’d be self-evident that they’re/been at least attempting something to remedy it.
 
BA81 said:
IMO - nothing, I suspect.


If they thought so, it’d be self-evident that they’re/been at least attempting something to remedy it.
Click to expand...
I'd like to hear an answer from Nathan.

In a parallel scenario, I'm also passionate about cricket. I'm a Tas Cricket Member. So being relatively small compared to interstate cricket member state associations, we get access to the Tas Cricket CEO, Sec, Membership Officer, members of the board, informally and formally, plus meet the coach and player sessions.

Some of the older members are really vexed about Shield cricket, the next tier of cricket below Test cricket. It is completely disappearing from Legacy Media - TV, radio, tabloid newspapers.

Every year I keep asking the same questions to the stakeholders publicly, and, in private conversations, about what they are doing to turn around the decline of Shield Legacy Media coverage?

There is always a supposed new media officer who is going to change the poor current Shield media exposure scenario. But it never changes. In summer, late spring, women's AFL, basketball, T20 cricket of both genders, and even the AFL off season, appears to dominate media coverage. The Cricket Tasmnedia officer is ever evolving, usually a slick talker, devoid of any genuine passion for cricket, who is adding the role to his/her CV. Then they move on to another job.

Getting back to Nathan's question, and Football Aus, why does the most popular sport in the world, domestic Aussie association football constantly have such a low media profile in Aus, apart from the offseason visits of big UEFA clubs playing pre-season friendlies?

There are never Legacy Media anymore interviewing Shield players prior to matches, or, even media following the Socceroos and Matildas prior to games publicising the event is on, let alone the AL. I don't watch Ten, so it might be different there for football.

I get lots of snippets via FB, but it is ad hoc.
 
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