By Phil Murton – EFL CEO
2016 saw the beginning of the most significant reform in community football history with the state-wide introduction of the first phase of the Community Club Sustainability Program, the Player Points System. To follow in 2017 will be a Salary Cap, along with a range of educational tools for players and clubs.
Feedback on the introduction of the Player Points System to date has been extremely positive. It was acknowledged from the outset that starting at 50 points meant not all clubs would be materially affected in year one. This hasn’t been a bad thing. What it has done is allow leagues and clubs to become familiar with the system in an environment that isn’t as pressurized as it may have been.
In competitions where points systems had been in place we’d seen similar results to competitions without. What it did show when the entire state was reassessed using the new system was that the list profile of clubs in leagues where points systems had been in place had less player points totals indicating less player turnover, less mass recruiting and greater retention.These are some of the outcomes we are hoping for.
There is no doubt that as the total team points reduce over time the intricacies and challenges of the system will come to the fore. Clubs will need to be more careful of who they recruit and have a list strategy that looks further than the next 12 months.
The numbers have been interesting.
While there are some clubs who have averaged in the mid-high 40’s, they aren’t necessarily the best teams with the high profile players. For example, Nunawading, a team with well-publicised troubles and an almost entirely new playing group, have had quite high points totals all year.
It’s been a significant change but something across the industry that was needed. The collective efforts and collegiality of leagues right across the state has been wonderful to see with footy, both metro and country, working together more than ever before.
The salary cap is the next challenge and the limits proposed for the EFL are below;
Division One $225K
Division Two $150K
Division Three $100K
Division Four $75K
While to start with not every metro league will have exactly the same limit, there will need to be a level of similarity between the major leagues to ensure one league is not advantaged more than others. The limits are also not an aspirational figure for clubs, nor players. The aim is to put a ceiling on the two or three clubs in most competitions who the most resourced and then over time try and reduce this number. Similar to competitions like the VFL, it is anticipated most clubs will spend less than 80% of the salary cap limit.
There are some sceptics regarding the ability of a salary cap to be policed. I’ve spoken at many clubs in the last two years and to everyone who has posed that question I’ve asked, “who does not want it to work”? To this stage no one has told me they don’t want a salary cap in local footy to work.
If we start from that point, that as an industry we want it to work, then have a fair system with significant penalties in place for players and clubs who knowingly cheat and are caught, it’s a good place to start. The penalties need to be a significant deterrent. Do you want to be the player suspended for 12 months for cheating? Or the club President standing up in front of players, members, sponsors, your junior club and community, explaining why you will have points deducted for the next three years along with a large fine?
Community footy isn’t like professional sport with media rights underpinning the economics of the game. The economics of local footy are built on the tireless work of thousands of volunteers. And feedback has told us that as an industry, both in the country and metro regions, we are almost at tipping point regarding the goodwill of these wonderful volunteers generating money to pay players.
There isn’t an endless bucket of money behind the bar clubs can keep dipping their hand into. Most players in the game play for nothing. It’s time those fortunate enough to get some reward for their efforts understand where it comes from and the impact generating it has.
See you at the footy this weekend.
