FFA CEO Ben Buckley talks Asian Cup
FFA CEO Ben Buckley talks with Australian Assistant Coach John Kosmina and Ireland's Michael Lynch from The Age.
I interviewed FFA CEO Ben Buckley after the Iraq game. Here's the article.
Football Federation Australia has been stung by criticism earlier this week as The Socceroos struggled to live up to their pre-tournament tag as Asia Cup favourites.
Fans in Australia were shocked at dismal performances against Oman and Iraq, which left Australia in a do-or-die battle with Thailand. Australia won 4-0 easing pressure on Coach Graham Arnold, the players and the whole FFA organisation but the previous performances haven’t been forgotten.
Many fans have called for Graham Arnold’s resignation. Others blame a lack of preparation. Some say the players don’t want to be here. A lack of knowledge and respect of Asian football within the FFA structure has also been raised.
FFA CEO Ben Buckley admits seeing the Socceroos play in their first Asian Cup is a big learning curve for everyone.
But Buckley, clearly disappointed by the criticism, strongly refutes the team is under prepared.
“Not at all. We invested a lot of time and money in reconnaissance. We sent a team to the various locations to check training facilities and hotels. We worked hard on having a preparation plan; we went to Singapore where we acclimatised. We had a very strong game plan in place. But it’s like anything when you are first time participants. Entering a new tournament for the first time, when you sit down afterwards you will learn a lot about what went right and what you can improve on.”
Within the FFA Coaching structure is there anybody with Asian Cup knowledge?
“The Coaches have studied the teams. The coaching staff watched tapes and saw them play in some games so I don’t think we have been deficient in our preparation but there is always going to be a team who comes and plays a different way from what we’ve seen or a player who plays better than we anticipated he could. That’s the same in any sport.”
Despite the rocky start the FFA is delighted with the interest back in Australia.
“We were unsure how the Australian public would embrace the Asia Cup. But the TV audiences have been extremely strong. Clearly there is a lot of interest and that’s really pleasing. The scale of the tournament; the reach around such a large region can only be beneficial to Australian football in the long run.”
If Australia goes out of the tournament early will this hinder the growth of the sport?
“Sure it would help if we are successful here, but our long term strategy is governed by a range of factors; not just success at one tournament. We want to grow the A-League, bring in quality players and get the huge grass roots participants through the turnstiles. Our long term growth doesn’t depend on success at anyone tournament.”
“There is no one silver bullet for the growth of football in Australia. But getting the participants and people who have an interest in the game through the turnstiles of an A-League club would result in higher attendances, bigger revenues for clubs and more income from TV and Sponsorships, and this would allow us to reinvest back into the community.”
The Socceroos are reported to be on $110,000 per person to win the Asia Cup. Given the wages of some of these players, plus the fact there is no national women’s league or men’s youth league due to a lack of funds within the FFA, are these player incentives warranted?
“Well, I think you are being selective in your numbers. But the players are the games greatest asset. These are the ones young people aspire to. It’s the players who generate huge interest in the game. They need to be appropriately rewarded, and to be fair, they could have asked for more. But they sat down and we went through our four-year business plan and they saw what we are trying to do for the growth of the game. The players accepted our plan.”
Football Federation Australia has been stung by criticism earlier this week as The Socceroos struggled to live up to their pre-tournament tag as Asia Cup favourites.
Fans in Australia were shocked at dismal performances against Oman and Iraq, which left Australia in a do-or-die battle with Thailand. Australia won 4-0 easing pressure on Coach Graham Arnold, the players and the whole FFA organisation but the previous performances haven’t been forgotten.
Many fans have called for Graham Arnold’s resignation. Others blame a lack of preparation. Some say the players don’t want to be here. A lack of knowledge and respect of Asian football within the FFA structure has also been raised.
FFA CEO Ben Buckley admits seeing the Socceroos play in their first Asian Cup is a big learning curve for everyone.
But Buckley, clearly disappointed by the criticism, strongly refutes the team is under prepared.
“Not at all. We invested a lot of time and money in reconnaissance. We sent a team to the various locations to check training facilities and hotels. We worked hard on having a preparation plan; we went to Singapore where we acclimatised. We had a very strong game plan in place. But it’s like anything when you are first time participants. Entering a new tournament for the first time, when you sit down afterwards you will learn a lot about what went right and what you can improve on.”
Within the FFA Coaching structure is there anybody with Asian Cup knowledge?
“The Coaches have studied the teams. The coaching staff watched tapes and saw them play in some games so I don’t think we have been deficient in our preparation but there is always going to be a team who comes and plays a different way from what we’ve seen or a player who plays better than we anticipated he could. That’s the same in any sport.”
Despite the rocky start the FFA is delighted with the interest back in Australia.
“We were unsure how the Australian public would embrace the Asia Cup. But the TV audiences have been extremely strong. Clearly there is a lot of interest and that’s really pleasing. The scale of the tournament; the reach around such a large region can only be beneficial to Australian football in the long run.”
If Australia goes out of the tournament early will this hinder the growth of the sport?
“Sure it would help if we are successful here, but our long term strategy is governed by a range of factors; not just success at one tournament. We want to grow the A-League, bring in quality players and get the huge grass roots participants through the turnstiles. Our long term growth doesn’t depend on success at anyone tournament.”
“There is no one silver bullet for the growth of football in Australia. But getting the participants and people who have an interest in the game through the turnstiles of an A-League club would result in higher attendances, bigger revenues for clubs and more income from TV and Sponsorships, and this would allow us to reinvest back into the community.”
The Socceroos are reported to be on $110,000 per person to win the Asia Cup. Given the wages of some of these players, plus the fact there is no national women’s league or men’s youth league due to a lack of funds within the FFA, are these player incentives warranted?
“Well, I think you are being selective in your numbers. But the players are the games greatest asset. These are the ones young people aspire to. It’s the players who generate huge interest in the game. They need to be appropriately rewarded, and to be fair, they could have asked for more. But they sat down and we went through our four-year business plan and they saw what we are trying to do for the growth of the game. The players accepted our plan.”
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