Twelve key Capital Football stakeholders have called for boardroom transparency in Canberra's highest participation sport, airing their grievances and concerns about soccer's future in the capital.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
An email summarising more than 30 concerns was sent to the association on Wednesday by Capital Football company members, made up of 12 stakeholders, with the backing of Canberra soccer clubs.
The concerns raised weeks out from the start of the 2022 NPL season focused on transparency, communication, support for clubs, players and referees, staffing levels, junior pathways, consultation and vision in the code.
Capital Football's interim chief executive Chris Gardiner said they had not responded to the email but would in due course.
He said he was already asked to provide a report to the board on services, priorities and current structures, and it addressed a number of the matters raised in the email.
"The board takes stakeholder views seriously. The board took decisions at [Wednesday's] meeting that will be communicated to members on the key recommendations from the [chief executive]," he said.
"The board has accepted recommendations from the [chief executive] for operational focus on member services and authorised him to implement them. The board schedules meetings with members at board meetings throughout the year and will engage with them on the views that have been expressed and on the decisions it has taken.
"[I] will be undertaking discussions with members to strengthen communication, consultation and transparency."
MORE IN CANBERRA SPORT:
Gardiner was brought in as an interim chief executive for the code's peak body this month, after former boss Phil Brown left on December 17 and the void was not filled.
The lack of a permanent replacement for the job, with it having to be re-advertised, was one of the concerns raised in the email.
Another was finding out information about board decisions through the media or other means, without consultation or communication beforehand.
This included a recent The Canberra Times article about the association considering unlimited interchange for the upcoming NPL seasons to help players and clubs cope with the impact of COVID-19.
Belconnen United FC president Joe Carbone was one of the code's presidents who aired their concerns to the company members, after raising them first through other avenues.
He said NPL clubs were concerned when they found out through the media unlimited interchange was being considered, without any consultation or communication beforehand.
"The state of the game at the moment in Canberra is in a bit of bother, that's putting it mildly," he said.
"I just think there's no direction, lack of transparency, lack of communication. From Capital Football down we need to all be going the same way and at the moment it just seems that everyone's not.
"As stakeholders we don't even know at times what's going on. We're hearing information second-hand, straight from the media. It's tough from our point-of-view as a club. We're trying to get sorted for the year. I'm not saying Capital Football don't do their job, but I think that with better communication between all of us it would work a lot better."
The NPL season starts on April 2, having been pushed back due to ground closures.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark canberratimes.com.au
- Download our app
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram
Isobel Cootes
Sports reporter at The Canberra Times. A Novocastrian with a passion for football (or soccer as they call it in the capital) via The Examiner and The Port Lincoln Times.
Sports reporter at The Canberra Times. A Novocastrian with a passion for football (or soccer as they call it in the capital) via The Examiner and The Port Lincoln Times.
