The Weekender: Ivan Slavic leads Canberra A-League bid

The Nearpost supports Transact CEO Ivan Slavich.

I believe it's time for all in the Canberra business and football community to support the drive, and the vision, of Ivan Slavich.

The Canberra Times and ABC's Tim Gavel has written an article about football in this Saturday's Canberra Times. And it's all about Canberra and our cities opportunities in the A-League. Well done Tim.

Canberra is interested. We have a leader, a vision and there are opportunities.

Tim writes:

The benefits to those with the vision to take on an A League licence in Canberra would appear to be many. With Australian football now part of Asia and its booming economy, IT companies in Canberra seeking an entraacée to China and South Korea may see possible synergies.

Read the full article below.

Football or soccer, as it is often referred in Australia, has the potential to be the dominant sport in this country. For its part, Canberra needs to get its act together and unite to present, at the very least, an expression of interest in being an A League team home for the 2010-2011 season.

Canberra has a rich history of involvement in the sport through some great players and sport administrators. Gary Cole, the late Johnny Warren and, in more recent times, Ned Zelic, Carl Valeri, Nikolai Topor-Stanley, Caitlin Munoz, Lydia Williams and Amy Chapman come to mind as players, while Gordon Dunster, Ben Wilson and Ben Williams have excelled as officials.

This is an indication that Canberra has a solid platform from which to launch a bid.
If we are to put forward a proposal, something must happen soon. Football Federation Australia has indicated that it will be admitting another four teams to the A League over the next couple of years. One of those teams will be the Gold Coast, which will be bankrolled by one of Australia's richest men, Clive Palmer. The remaining three licences are up for grabs.

Last month Football Federation Australia received ten expressions of interest from syndicates interested in taking up an A League franchise. There was interest from areas such as north Queensland, The south coast of NSW, and a second team in Sydney and Melbourne.

Surprisingly, there was none from Canberra. I say surprisingly because an expression of interest would have at least invigorated those with a passion for getting an A League team up and running in Canberra, coupled with the ACT being part of the bid for the 2018 World Cup.

On the surface it would appear that Canberra has been slow off the mark in mobilising support for a bid for an A League team but, there are several underlying factors. I have the feeling that some in the football community were under the impression that it was the responsibility of the sports governing body in Canberra, Capital Football, to be the driving force behind a bid.

That is not the case.

Each of the existing A League teams is run as a franchise, separate to the local federations. In Canberra, there has been an A League Foundation working behind the scenes determining the level of support an A League team would have from the business community.

Sure, there is a solid relationship between the licence holders and the local Federation but there is no financial input from the Federation. Interested parties have been told to expect losses of between one and a half and two million dollars for the first couple of years.

The former president of Soccer Canberra, Steve Dozpot, is a man keen to see an A League team in Canberra but says it's worth heeding some of the lessons learnt from the Cosmos experience.

He says the A League franchise needs to be a separate entity, looking at commercial opportunities, and it needs to be separate from the local Federation .It is a point that has been adopted nationally by Football Federation Australia.

Capital Football can facilitate discussion among Football Federation Australia and the ACT Government with business people interested in taking up a franchise but, they have made it clear that their focus is on running the local competitions which have close to 15 thousand registered players.

They also run Kanga Cup, which has emerged as one of the biggest junior tournaments in the world.

In other words, it is really up to people with a passion for football to drive a Canberra bid. Thankfully, there are people in the community who are prepared to drive a bid and canvas the business sector.

Prominent local business identity, Ivan Slavich, is heading up the process and is optimistic that Canberra can secure a licence for an A League team. Mr Slavich says, to mount a bid, he needs to find a substantial backer with start-up costs alone in the vicinity of six to seven million dollars, followed by on-going running expenses.

He says it is still early days and his drive to make it work comes from the belief that if centres with a smaller population than Canberra are in contention for a licence, then why not the nation's capital?

I have spoken to people who were involved in sponsoring national soccer teams in Canberra in the past. For some, the experience left a sour taste and they have expressed a reluctance to be involved again.

This time around though, it would appear that Football Federation Australia has its act together.

It has worked hard to ensure that ethnic issues, that held the sport back for so many years, are no longer part and parcel of the sport in this country.
In the past, when sports were looking for significant sponsors, the benefits to the sponsors and people putting money into sport wasn't exactly clear. Times have changed and a solid business plan outlining how a company can be rewarded by putting money into sport needs to be presented in a tangible sense.

The thing about sport that encourages sponsorship and support is that it is capable of breaking down many barriers which may otherwise seem intractable.

The benefits to those with the vision to take on an A League licence in Canberra would appear to be many. With Australian football now part of Asia and its booming economy, IT companies in Canberra seeking an entraacée to China and South Korea may see possible synergies.

Building companies in Canberra looking to break into the Asian market may reap the rewards of backing a football team playing in an Asian competition; What about Canberra Airport, with obvious benefits from increased exposure in Asia?

A League games are televised into Asia with potential audiences of half a billion viewers. For Asian Cup games involving Australian teams playing sides from Japan and Korea, the reach would be even greater.

There could also be business opportunities for Asian companies wanting to move into the Canberra market whether it be a closer relationship with the Australian Government or other business opportunities.

By financially backing an A League team, an entry point to Australian opportunities is possible, especially if there are influential people involved in the club. That's how business is often done these days.

Financial support may also come from the ACT Government through the National League teams' funding program; the Brumbies, the Raiders and the Capitals are current beneficiaries.

As these teams have found in the past, Canberra is a very tight market when it comes to sponsorship but talk to the soccer community and there is a belief that people who don't put money into the rugby union, rugby league and basketball may be willing to sponsor an A League team.

There is still a long way to go but now is the time to start mobilising support for a Canberra bid before the task becomes impossible.

Having said that, community support is vital if the team is to be successful. It is all very well to have a club with willing financial backers but if the people of Canberra don't support the team and don't believe it is their own, it is destined to follow the path well worn by a number of former national league teams in Canberra.