I look at a country like Japan who started their pro league in 1992 and whilst they focused on making their league attractive for fans with the use of marquee players and focusing the Brazilian market for foreign players they also focused a commitment to youth development from top to bottom.
Whilst the FFA only focused on making the league attractive with marquee players whilst trying to create a tribal experience it worked to some extent and failed as well.
But unlike Japan the FFA took their eye of the ball for the future of the game and its no coivendence their have a stronger national team than us at almost every level.
If its about not repeating mistakes they got to focus on football development, otherwise the game will asking these sort of questions again in the next 15 years.
Develop better players = Develop better teams = Develop better leagues = Develop Better National Teams
All on this should be capitalised through the revenue streams it makes and feeding it off down the pyramid, whilst building a better reputation internationally through its players, clubs and national teams.
|