James Johnson - New CEO of the FFA

Jul 5, 2011
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Who is James Johnson? A Little Info

FFA Appoints James Johnson As New Chief Executive Officer - Ministry of Sport
Shaun Carney View all posts

The Board of Football Federation Australia (FFA) has appointed football executive and former youth international, James Johnson, as its new Chief Executive, replacing the outgoing David Gallop.
Most recently the Senior Vice President of External Affairs with the City Football Group (CFG), Johnson is an experienced seasoned and experienced executive in football having worked for all the major football stakeholder groups including world football governing body FIFA, the Asian Football Confederation and the Professional Footballers Australia.
Announcing the appointment, FFA Chair, Chris Nikou, stated: “having run a domestic and international executive search, and in a strong field of candidates, we have no doubt James is the right person for the role.
“We are thrilled that he is coming back to Australia at this important time for the game.
“Football is in James’ soul.
“He has demonstrated that he is a collaborative leader and team player and brings global and local experience and networks to the FFA.
“Importantly he also understands the importance of developmental pathways and the grassroots of the code having on the ground experience representing Australia as a member of the 1999 U-17 “Joeys” National Team and having risen through the ranks of football in Queensland in the 1990’s.
“He is one of the few leaders in the sport who has spent his playing and executive career within the various stakeholder groups associated with football and in this time of change we think that matters.
James has been at the centre of many major industry negotiations, managing multi-stakeholder situations and projects including currently representing Manchester City Football Club (MCFC) within the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and European Clubs Association (ECA) bodies in the ongoing reforms to the competition format, match calendar, financial distribution model and qualification pathway to the UEFA Champions League.
“In 2016, James received international recognition when Leaders™ listed him as one of its ‘Leaders under 40’ across all sports and he is also considered as having played a meaningful role in supporting the global leagues to form the World Leagues Forum.”
Looking forward to his role, Johnson added: “Australian football is my first football community – I grew up here, I first watched football here, I’ve played here, and I built the basis of my football administration career here.
“I see my appointment as a responsibility to the game.
“I am looking forward to working with the Member Federations, the Women’s Council and all stakeholders across the game to build the unified and prosperous future the game deserves.
“We have much to do, and together we will build a shared vision for the future.
“One where the fans are engaged, the players fulfil their potential and the clubs at all levels thrive.”
Johnson will commence in the role in January.

 
Jul 5, 2011
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James Johnson make is first press conference as CEO of the FFA

the link below is a replay of the press conference if anyone is interested, he speaks well and is saying all the right things but will he delive?

 
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What's this bloke doing about getting fans back onside? There should be a heavy focus on targeting grass roots clubs firstly to get fans back onboard. Most importantly the player drain to Asia has to be reduced. If that means partially removing or getting rid of salary caps so be it. The only Australian footballers playing in the likes of the Middle East should be those that have played the majority of their career in Europe or Australia and are chasing that last big payday.
 
Jul 5, 2011
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FFA chief Johnson steps up bid to slash cost of playing football | The World Game
By Dave Lewis

Despite year-on-year growth in the numbers playing the nation’s most popular club-based participation sport, some parents are turning their back on the game with junior fees at a number of the 200-plus NPL clubs sometimes exceeding $2,500 a year.
It has been asserted that these fees are often used, in part, to pay wages - whether declared or under-the-table - to senior first grade players.
Johnson, a former player at Brisbane Strikers in the old NSL and a one-time Australia U-17 international, is better equipped than most to understand the complexities of a conundrum which has become one of the game’s hottest topics.
Finding and ultimately rolling out a more sustainable and equitable funding model is one of his most compelling priorities as he looks to regenerate and reshape football - not least its finances - across multiple fronts.
“If you ask 100 stakeholders or football fans across the country what are the top five issues in the game right now almost all of them would put registration costs up there as one of them,” Johnson told The World Game.
“In my personal view, looking at the registration fees and the cost of playing football is something that needs to be looked into as a matter of urgency.
“I want to work collaboratively with our stakeholders, in particular State and Territory Member Federations, to fully understand and assimilate all the facts and figures surrounding this, and come up with agreed solutions.
“Time needs to be spent not just looking at what the problem is, in terms of the cost of registrations, but to try and understand, scientifically, exactly what is driving it.”
After almost a decade overseas as a football executive - two years at the AFC in Kuala Lumpur, six in Switzerland at FIFA and a year in the UK at the City Football Group, Johnson knows all about working in territories where the cost of playing the game is often far less than the figures charged in Australia.
And Johnson is committed to an in-depth analysis: from council fees for fields, to clubs’ pay-for-play structures (including their academy programs), the Skills Acquisition Program for juniors and the role played by the member federations who charge licence fees to the clubs.
“We need to look at not just the cost, but where and how the funds are dispersed, to really understand what is causing these registration fees at the semi-elite level to be at the extreme end when you compare us to other countries around the world,” he added.
“If we don’t properly understand the problem then the antidote we use to treat it might not be the right one.
“So we want to get the diagnosis completely correct.
“Why are we looking into this? Because we don’t want these fees to be a barrier to youngsters playing the game.
“The vast majority of players at grassroots level get great value for money, when you consider the hours on the field every week, playing and training for six months of the year.
“Football should be available to all, no matter at what level, grassroots or semi-elite.
“We want to see more boys, more girls, more adults and more elite athletes playing football. It’s as simple as that.”


I'll believe it when I see it, don't just say it do it!
 
Jul 5, 2011
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My son plays U10 and it costs $400. He isnt playing NPL either - just a normal community club. Looking at 1k plus for elite level U10s. That's too much.

Ridiculous! How many talented kids has the game lost because the parents couldn't afford their kids to continue to play? You shouldn't have to pay you way through junior ranks, It stinks! worse, a lot of these clubs don't even channel the fees down to improve coaching and facilities most of it goes to funding the seniors teams.

A lot is wrong and a lot needs to change JJ has a massive task at hand if he really thinks he can change the fee prices and structure.
 
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