Whole of Football Plan sets out 20-year vision

The Whole of Football Plan (WOFP) setting out a 20-year vision for Australian Football was unveiled today after an unprecedented consultation with the Australian Football community and major stakeholders.

More than 20,000 people joined an online survey, hundreds attended 13 community forums and the game’s leaders and key commercial partners provided individual feedback.

Speaking at today’s WOFP launch in Sydney, Football Federation Australia Chairman Frank Lowy AC acclaimed the unity of purpose behind the plan.

“Ten years ago at the outset of Football’s new beginning, publishing a Whole of Football Plan for the decades ahead would have appeared premature and overly optimistic,” said Lowy. “We first had to rebuild the foundations and restore credibility to our game.

“Today, much hard work has brought us to the point where we have the unity and sense of destiny that means the time is right to think big. There are millions whose lives are enriched by Football and we owe it to them to fulfill the game’s great promise.”

FFA CEO David Gallop said the WOFP would provide the landmarks towards the strategic objective of becoming the largest and most popular sport in Australia.

“Football is on a mission to become the largest and most popular sport in Australia,” said Gallop.  “It’s a bold idea, but now is the time for the Australian Football community to bring it to life.

“The Whole of Football Plan gives everyone in Football a long-term view of what the game needs to do in order to fulfill its potential and reach its destiny.”

The key long-term projections of the WOFP include;

• A 15 million strong Football community by 2035, including 1 million club members
• A distinctive Australian style of playing that puts our National Teams in contention for all FIFA and AFC championships
• Hosting the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup as the driver of women’s Football participation and professionalism
• National competitions that attract 75% of participants to support a Top Tier club
• A combined pool of 3,000 elite male and female players from 12 to 19 vying for future national selection and professional contracts
• Academies that provide world-class coaching so that no Australian youth needs to go overseas to find elite development
• A redistribution of resources to community Football
• Lower cost and higher quality coach education from the grassroots to professional tier
• Making schools and social Football the focus of an “Anytime, Anyhow, Anywhere” approach to playing the game
• Sourcing Football facilities that accommodate the increasing urban density of Australian society
• Redefining the role of referees as game facilitators, not just as arbitrators of the Laws of the Game

Gallop also made the point that in developing this plan, Football has made a decision not to be limited by the game’s resources in 2015.

“We have a firm conviction that Football’s best years are ahead of us,” said Gallop. “We know that growth will inevitably bring greater revenues and new incomes streams, enough to fund the future.”