Long-time Border soccer mentor Scott Kidd has voiced his concerns about the “win at all costs” mentality he feels has swept over the Albury-Wodonga Football Association’s (AWFA) senior ranks.
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The recently re-appointed Albury United coach believes the competition needs to finds a balance between attracting players from outside and developing local talent.
Kidd drew comparisons to nearby leagues, including Shepparton, which had just five teams in 2016 before merging with the Bendigo Amateur Soccer League last year.
“I think everyone is concentrating that hard on winning, you run the risk of forgetting you’re a community-based team,” Kidd said.
“If you have a look at what’s happened in Shepparton and now in the Griffith league where a lot of players come in and a lot of money is splashed around, it’s not sustainable.
“I said last year I don’t think there will be six Albury clubs in five or six years time.
“There’s that pressure and there’s going to be a real gulf between teams.
“At times there has been (pressure) here, but it was more based on who had the best culture and the most attractive environment for players to be at. Now it’s not.
“My fears are for the competition, not necessarily our club, because we’ve got nothing to prove as a club.”
Kidd believes AWFA became the best competition in the region because clubs prided themselves on developing strong talent off their own bat.
“Why have we got the best competition? Because for so many years it wasn’t about players from outside or money,” he said.
“If a club keeps getting pumped, players drop off and all of a sudden if you don’t have teams, you end up in a competition like Shepparton or Griffith with four sides.
“These other clubs have got to remember they didn’t want to be part of those comps because of that and it’s becoming an ‘us versus them’ on the lines of imports and money.
“The import rule brings another level of professionalism to first grade which is a good thing, but you can just see now that the focus is so much on winning that the cultural and historical side of what the league has been about has started to change.
“I guess it’s about getting the mix right and we’ll figure out this year where we stand in the mix.”
Beau Greenway
Beau Greenway is a journalist at The Border Mail. He likes to tell the stories of great people in our communities. Email: beau.greenway@austcommunitymedia.com.au
Beau Greenway is a journalist at The Border Mail. He likes to tell the stories of great people in our communities. Email: beau.greenway@austcommunitymedia.com.au
