FFA CEO James Johnson: “We have many challenges in front of us as a sport”

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James Johnson FFA CEO

Is James Johnson the trailblazer Australian football needs?

When James Johnson, the FFA CEO, attended his first press conference in mid January, he could never have predicted the enormous challenges facing Australian football.

Significantly, he was the first CEO in the history of the FFA to have a football background, having played for Brisbane Strikers at youth and senior level in the NSL and also being an original member of Les Scheinflug’s Joey’s squad of 1999 which performed so gallantly to reach the final in New Zealand before succumbing in a penalty shootout to the mighty Brazil.

In late March, mainly due to the impact of COVID-19, it seemed the sky was falling when 70 per cent of the FFA staff were stood down and there was extreme uncertainty about Fox Sports’ commitment to A-League coverage.

Fortunately, Johnson demonstrated all the negotiation skills he had gained in his senior roles at the PFA, Asian Football Confederation, FIFA and the City Group since 2009 to carve out a deal which ensured A-League backing from Fox for the remainder of the current season and to the end of next season.

He also played a major part in Australia and New Zealand securing the 2023 Women’s World Cup, and was the main architect behind the selection of the Starting XI and the proposed XI Principles which are designed to lead football into a new era.

Nevertheless, despite his track record and excellent credentials, Johnson has one of the toughest jobs in Australian sport as he tries to unite the stakeholders of a game which has always exhibited major political divisions.

In this interview with Roger Sleeman, James Johnson discusses all things football in his attempt to take the game to a new high in the Australian sporting landscape.

ROGER SLEEMAN
What are your views on the current state of Australian football?

JAMES JOHNSON
We have many challenges in front of us as a sport, intensified by COVID-19. These include the economics of cost and funding, as well as many football challenges, for example rankings in senior men’s national teams and not producing the same number of players competing in leading overseas Leagues. Also, our youth teams still find it hard to qualify through Asia in both the men’s and women’s game so this has to be addressed.

However, there are many opportunities, including capitalising on the large participation rate, local and global ownership, NPL clubs with an amazing history which has to be tapped into, and great products in the Matildas and the Socceroos, with the Tokyo Olympic Games, and World Cups, including one on home-soil in 2023, to look forward to.

ROGER SLEEMAN
Which of the Proposed XI Principles deserve major priority?

JAMES JOHNSON
They are all important as they include a vision, a narrative and definition of who we are. These philosophical football principles must be reinforced by commercial well-being of the game so real change can be implemented. Critically, changes in all parts of the game are required to realise the principles.

ROGER SLEEMAN
What is the state of progress in the efforts to fund the game, in light of the competitive marketplace and sponsorship dollars foregone?

JAMES JOHNSON
The traditional methods of business are broadcast, sponsorship, gate receipts and player registration fees. Undoubtedly, post COVID-19, broadcast revenues will be more difficult to obtain and sponsorship will be more competitive. Due to globalisation of the game across the world, the sponsorship funds go to bigger Leagues and clubs. Therefore, in Australia we need to look at new ways like O.T.T. and digitalisation of the game to produce more reliable revenue streams. Capital investment from the private sector and government also has to be increased.

ROGER SLEEMAN
What is being done to engage the general media in lifting the profile of the game within print, radio, television, and internet mediums?

JAMES JOHNSON
Firstly, we have to identify how our supporters are absorbing content. Our ongoing market research shows the A-League supporter is between 16-30 years of age and they are obtaining content through digital means, for example social media, especially Facebook. We have to capitalise on this further, but we shouldn’t ignore traditional and mainstream media. The Women’s World Cup can be very important in leading the transition to gain increased coverage through this medium. Also, we have to identify people in mainstream media who support our game and can influence the decision makers. In this regard, I recently met with Karl Stefanovic from the 9 Network who played youth football in Cairns and whose father played for West Ham. We have to be smart and find such people to put their hand up and make a statement for the code.

ROGER SLEEMAN
What are your plans to revamp the youth development system?

JAMES JOHNSON
In this space, there are significant challenges and it takes a long time to develop pathways. Some of our recent failures to qualify in both men and women youth tournaments must be reversed and we have to find ways to invest in youth development and pathways. Ideally, a transfer system will be an incentive for NPL and A-League clubs to focus on player development which will guarantee rewards and reinvestment in the game.

ROGER SLEEMAN
There is a distinct absence of technical players in Australia and very few playing regularly in the world’s top Leagues. What are you proposing in this area?

JAMES JOHNSON
The improvement in technical skills is a major priority for our game and we are discussing this in detail with the Starting XI. Regarding the fewer Aussie players in top Leagues, the freedom of movement of players in Europe sees more players moving across borders which increases the talent pool and can limit the opportunities for our players.

ROGER SLEEMAN
The selection of the Starting XI with former star players like Mark Viduka, Paul Okon and Mark Bosnich was an innovative step but what about former players who have achieved at the highest level in the game and in business but are not given a chance to contribute, e.g. Jack Reilly, Peter Katholos, Danny Moulis, Alan Davidson, Craig Johnston, Gary Marocchi, Glen Sterrey, Richie Williams, Manny Spanoudakis and Dave McQuire to name a few.

JAMES JOHNSON
The Starting XI is a football advisory panel and they have provided a lot of feedback already, including on the transfer system. Certainly, we have to listen to other football people to assist the game’s growth, and we are very open to doing so.

ROGER SLEEMAN
The game’s history reflects a lack of recognition for former players to be involved.
Your comment.

JAMES JOHNSON
I reiterate, it is important to draw on the expertise of former players and perfect examples are (Zvonimir) Boban and (Marco) Van Basten with FIFA and (Dejan) Savicevic at UEFA. The appointment of Mark Bresciano and Amy Duggan to the FFA Board last year was a positive move and former Socceroo and Newcastle Jets CEO, Robbie Middleby, is making a big difference at the FFA. Sarah Walsh, a former Matilda, is also a member of our senior management and works in our participation and grassroots space.

ROGER SLEEMAN
What are your thoughts on the proposed change of season from summer to winter?

JAMES JOHNSON
Obviously, the practical reason for a change is the late finish in August, rather than May this season. We have flagged the 2020/21 competition to start in December which will allow a fair time for the clubs and players to re-set and provide the opportunity for us to assess the benefits of A-League, W-League, NPL and grassroots playing simultaneously. This will also test the alignment of more grass-root supporters to become fans of senior football.

ROGER SLEEMAN
Many people believe the decision of the Board to deny the Southern Expansion an A-League license was a major mistake, particularly in light of their commitment to put down $15 million dollars on the table immediately and their Chinese backer’s intention to purchase Shark Park from Cronulla League’s club.
Your comment.

JAMES JOHNSON
I can’t comment because I wasn’t in the country at the time, but I can say, there is a solid commitment in the XI Principles for our Professional Leagues to be expanded.

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How Football Victoria’s Opens Board Nominations will Address the Game’s Rapid Growth Demands

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Image Credit: Shutterstock

Football Victoria has opened nominations for two board director positions ahead of its Annual General Meeting on May 25, with the governing body explicitly seeking candidates with expertise in investment and fundraising, digital innovation, and people and culture to meet the modern challenges facing football administration in Australia’s most populous football state.

Nominations close at 6pm on Monday April 20. All candidates will be assessed by an Independent Nominations Committee against the requirements of FV’s 2024-2028 strategic framework, which is built around five pillars: clubs and competitions, participants, pathways, facilities, and the organisation’s future direction.

The appointments arrive at a moment when football in Victoria, and nationally, is navigating a participation boom that has significantly outpaced the infrastructure, governance and financial frameworks built to support it. The game is growing faster than the systems designed to manage it, and the people who sit at the top of those systems will determine whether that growth becomes sustainable or starts to work against itself.

A Sport at Crossroads

Football is now Australia’s largest club-based sport, and Victoria sits at the centre of that story. Participation numbers have climbed sharply in the years since the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, and more recently the successful AFC Women’s Asian Cup, with junior registrations in particular placing pressure on community facilities, volunteer workforces and competition structures that were not designed to absorb growth at this pace.

The consequences are visible at ground level. Councils across Victoria, many of which did not anticipate the scale of football’s expansion when planning their sporting infrastructure, are now confronting a facilities gap that is measurable in cancelled training sessions, overloaded grounds and clubs turning away players for want of adequate space. Drainage, lighting, changeroom access and pitch availability, have become pressure points that no amount of elite-level visibility can resolve from above.

The incoming board directors will inherit that problem directly. Football Victoria’s strategic framework names facilities as one of its five core pillars, and the organisation’s ability to make the case to government, councils and private investors for the kind of sustained infrastructure funding the sport requires will depend significantly on the financial and advocacy expertise sitting around its board table.

Football Australia and Football NSW recently called on the NSW Government to establish a $343 million grassroots facilities fund in response to the same structural pressures. Victoria faces an analogous challenge, and the director recruitment process signals that FV is aware its board needs people who can drive investment portfolios and revenue streams, not merely administer existing ones.

The Commercial Dimension

The case for bringing investment expertise onto the board extends beyond facilities. Australian sport sits within a $41.7 billion economy, and football’s share of that landscape is growing in ways that create both opportunity and complexity. Broadcast rights, commercial partnerships, digital platforms, and the expanding role of sports betting in the revenue structures of sporting codes are reshaping how governing bodies at every level think about financial sustainability.

Football Victoria’s competitions, including NPL, state leagues,  and an increasingly significant women’s program, represent a substantial commercial asset that has historically been underleveraged relative to its scale. The appointment of directors with investment and fundraising competencies is a direct acknowledgement that the next phase of the sport’s growth in Victoria will require a more sophisticated financial strategy than the one that got it here.

The digital innovation competency sits alongside that commercial imperative. Football is generating more data, more content and more participant interaction than at any point in its history in Australia, and the governing bodies that build effective digital infrastructure now will be better positioned to manage participation, retain players and engage communities at a scale that was not previously possible.

Governance and Equity

Football Victoria’s nomination process includes a constitutional requirement for 40:40:20 board composition. It translates to 40 percent identifying as women, 40 percent as men, and 20 percent of any gender.

The equity means decisions made at the board-level, about facilities investment, participation pathways, and community engagement have a direct impact on who gets to play, where and under what conditions. A board composition that reflects the diversity of the football community it governs is better placed to identify the structural barriers that data alone does not always surface.

FV CEO, along with the Independent Nominations Committee, will assess candidates against the full range of competencies outlined in the strategic framework, including governance experience, demonstrated involvement in football as a player, coach, referee or administrator, and an understanding of the broader football ecosystem.

The sport is at an inflection point. The foundations have been laid by decades of community building, volunteer labour and grassroots investment. What happens next, whether the participation boom becomes a lasting structural shift or a wave that recedes from insufficient infrastructure to sustain it, will be shaped in no small part by the quality of leadership at the governing body level.

How Sunbury United Is Defying the Odds to Keep Grassroots Football Alive

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Image credit: Football Victoria

Sunbury United stands as a cornerstone of the local community in Melbourne’s outer northwest. But for all the hard work given by local families and volunteers, the lack of funding continues to prohibit a level of growth which matches both ambition and potential.

 

Consolidating growth across the club

Soccerscene recently spoke to Club President, Sherridan Long, about the club’s ambitions going forward, the family-oriented culture, and the challenges of operating at grassroots level in Australia.

“It’s gone really well in retention of players from 2025, [and] recruiting some players who have been really keen to come to the club and are really contending over just a small handful of spots,” explained Long.

“That’s been really rewarding to see the popularity of our programme and what the team is trying to develop in terms of culture and performance, to be somewhere that people want to go to.”

Furthermore, Sunbury United’s reputation in the community continues to inspire waves of prospective junior players, who are lining up for squad vacancies.

“We’ve got waitlists for almost every age group,” Long continued.

“We’ve seen a growth in interest coming into the club and girls wanting to play football, but also lots of families wanting to move to Sunbury and join our club, or move from other clubs.”

Sunbury United is ensuring that its culture and matchday atmosphere remains a safe, welcoming place for those who matter most in grassroots football: families, players and volunteers who sustain it every week.

Planning for success on and off the pitch

Despite solidifying a successful culture off the pitch, Sunbury United are refusing to slow down. From the senior men’s team to junior age groups, high-performance remains a key objective.

“Everyone is trying to win leagues – this is something we’ve been working towards for a few years,” said Long.

“Each little milestone across the year means we’re getting closer to a senior men’s promotion or championship – it’s been over ten years since a promotion or championship at the club.”

Although several years have passed since Sunbury United saw success in the form of silverware, the club’s progress in recent seasons may yet lead to a trophy in the very near future.

But reaching this goal requires not only a cohesive effort from players and coaches, but from all stakeholders and participants within the club space. To this end, Sunbury United underwent a strategic plan set-up to align their operations with the ambitions and thoughts of everyone involved.

“We undertook some survey and stakeholder analysis through our members to understand what it is they love about Sunbury United, why they participate, where they see the club going and how they can be a part of that.”

“It was nice to hear exactly what they wanted, what they thought of and what they felt by being part of United. So that shaped our strategic plan in terms of performance, community and working together as a team.”

Ultimately, it is this balance of performance, teamwork and trust in the community which can set clubs up for success. Whether at grassroots or professional level, if everyone involved operates under shared values and vision, the silverware becomes a question of when, not if.

 

Challenges of the grassroots game

As with any club or organisation in sport, progress inevitably encounters barriers, hiccups and challenges along the way. Facility access, infrastructure quality and investment are common issues not just for Sunbury, but for all in the grassroots space.

“Most places share winter and summer sports so you can only use your space a certain amount of months a year before it turns to the summer sport,” Long outlined.

“It means that there’s no space for juniors to conduct a proper pre-season, so they’re doing it at other reserves in Hume Council and not actually at our home.”

Indeed, we have seen already the lack of investment directed towards the football community. Soccerscene recently looked into The City of Hume’s current budget, which revealed a 10:1 funding imbalance between AFL and the beautiful game. For Sunbury United, and many other clubs, the impact is undeniable.

“We can’t fill the second or third women’s team because there’s no infrastructure to facilitate changing between boys and girls changing room on the flick of a dime. You’re not only balancing access between two squads and gendered safe spaces, but also junior and senior spaces,” Long explained.

“We’re limited by aspirations being within the lines and being within the physical building that we have. Investment in football infrastructure would be a game-changer.”

It’s a common theme in Australia’s grassroots landscape. Clubs with loyal supporters, interested players and a desire to develop, continue to be restricted by the boundaries of their facilities.

It is not about demand. It’s about necessity. If clubs like Sunbury United are to continue working towards player development and squad expansion, external investment is a must-have.

 

Fighting for the future

As Sunbury United continues to strengthen bonds with the surrounding community and within the club, the foundations are ready for the seasons to come. From youth teams to seniors, the club continues to emphasise connection as a fundamental principle.

“We sit under one umbrella. We’re not two separate committees or two clubs,” Long revealed, expressing the idea behind a connected senior’s and junior’s set-up.

“It’s important to the long-term sustainability and longevity of our club, not just to the performance side, that everyone’s invested and feels a part of something, and that they can be involved.”

One club, one philosophy and one family. Grassroots football will continue to throw its challenges for years to come, but Sunbury are, and will be, more united than ever.

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