People often ask me “Why are we doing the National Premier Leagues?” and for me it’s as easy as this - “Because we want to win the World Cup!!”

I understand that statement might be hard to comprehend for some people but that really needs to be the mindset passed down to players, parents, coaches, volunteers and administrators. There is no bigger prize in Football and that should always be the holy grail.

When we look ahead 10, 20, 30 years and say, let’s set some goals for the game of football in Australia, we should also look back the same amount of time and see just how far we have come. That will allow us to see if we are being realistic and winning the World Cup should be seen as being achievable, some day.

The events of the past year has seen just how difficult it is to qualify for the Men’s World Cup and although we should take time to celebrate, there’s a long road ahead.

Take a look at our fiercest rival in Asia, Japan. Japan are 20 years into a 50 year strategic football plan and two of their end goals are to win the Men’s and Women’s World Cup in that timeframe. They won the Women’s World Cup in 2011.... tick.

Does that mean we are 20 years behind? I don’t think so, but we need to get our structures in place as soon as possible.

When we look at the Matildas, the National Women’s Team, their current ranking of nine in the World suggests they are more likely to challenge for our first World Cup. However, the challenge is no easier than the Men’s qualifying with the likes of Japan, South Korea, North Korea, China, Vietnam and Thailand all in the Top 30 Women’s Teams in the World.

The Qualifying Route through Asia is no doubt the best thing that’s happened to us in our short football history but as seen recently, teams from Asia are becoming smarter and strategic in ways to beat us so it is important that we continue to develop talented players.

The National Premier Leagues in 2014 will take a new look and feel across the country as the remaining three Member Federations join the five existing States currently on board.

We will now have a truly consistent National Program of “The best vs The best” which will allow us to continue our Coach Education, Player Development, Improved Governance, Referee Development and give us the best chance of producing the players that we need to compete at the highest level.

We will continue raise the bar to challenge our NPL Clubs and with that comes huge responsibilities for them to make that happen. I am confident that it will happen although some may need more time.

So next time someone asks, “Why are they doing the National Premier Leagues?” Hopefully you know the answer!!

Enjoy the celebrations and hopefully one day we can all say, we helped Australia Win the World Cup.

(Editors note: This article was originally published in the Football Queensland June newsletter. To subscribe to the monthly newsletter please follow the link - http://www.footballqueensland.com.au/index.php?id=194)

 

Words: Ben Mannion (Chief Operations Officer - Football Queensland)
Image: Ian Judd