The National Second Tier & how to apply for it.

Criteria breakdown - with examples.

Vision:

Here, you'll showcase the long-term vision for the club, and community, and your contribution to Australian football. Financial sustainability speaks for itself. Being progressive as a club is a little vaguer. In light of recent events, we can assume this refers to the attitudes surrounding clubs & their associated fan groups. Clubs must touch on their plans to interact with their fan groups. There’s no doubt that the current NPL fans bring a unique & passionate atmosphere to games. It's an atmosphere that is sometimes missing from the A-League, but this atmosphere will have to be checked through the lens of progression.

It seems the FA wants to ensure the longevity of the competition and the teams within it. We know the game is growing in Australia, and in Asia, but the women’s game is also booming too. With a World Cup on home soil, each club will need to outline how they can check current "passion" levels against inclusivity and growth. Outside of player pathways, inviting more fans into the game is a positive contribution.

Opportunities & restrictions in the football landscape are about as vague as criteria can get. Here, just talk to points that directly reference your club. The opportunities could be anything positive. An increase in membership over the years. Census data revealing an increase in population within your area. Anything. Or, a restriction may look like having to move grounds to provide a “high-quality” stadium compared to your existing ground.

A strong vision for gameday, including community engagement & venue experience isn’t anything new to clubs, but to do it at the level required will be. ‘Brand’ is a term that’s used increasingly nowadays and the clubs that want to apply, need to know what it means. If your club doesn’t have brand guidelines in place, now is the time to start working on them. Gone are the days of old, your club needs to lift to a new level.

Thankfully, this is our area of expertise. We can provide you with a branding service that will skyrocket your club in time for the NST. Get in touch.

Your attitude, ethics and mindset are all part of your brand and need to be outlined in brand guidelines. Once you have these in place, it will be easy to both communicate this to stakeholders, and for these stakeholders to read for themselves. This will only make collaboration easier.

In summary, outline a plan that invites more fans into your club. Use us to create a brand guideline that touches every part of the club (matchday, social media, uniform, merch, ethics, attitude & more). Look further into your opportunities and restrictions.

History & Culture:

The best part about this one is that the majority of clubs form a massive part of Australian football history. In the simplest form, you will need to tell your club’s stories again. Showcase your historical and present contributions to Australian football.

NPL clubs are immensely rich in history. They just don’t know how to showcase and share their history effectively. Technology has changed. People have changed. How was consume things has changed. You need to adapt.

2023 is the time to get your storytelling right and put yourself deeper into Australian football culture.

In summary, each club needs to share a strategy on how they intend to showcase their history while adding to Australian football culture.

We build football strategies. We take teams to new levels. We showcase history & culture better than anyone else. Get in touch.

 You also need to share your current membership/attendance numbers.

Alongside that, share the trials and tribulations your club has been through, and survived, over the years.

Governance:

Simply put, governance refers to the legal structure of your club. These include but are not limited to:

• Unincorporated association

• Private company limited by guarantee

• Private company limited by shares

• Community interest company (CIC) (which can either be limited by guarantee or shares)

• Registered society (which can either be a Co-operative or a Community Benefit Society).

All you need to do is detail your existing/proposed governance framework and entity structure.

Your supporting evidence should be the current ASIC Extract, the current Constitution, Statutes and Policies, and the current organisation chart, including titles for each role and current status (full-time, part-time, volunteer) - administrative and technical.

Financial Capacity:

Straightforward criteria this. Either you’ve got the systems in place, or you need to outline how you’ll build and maintain these financial systems before the start of the competition.

It’s estimated that clubs will be spending around AUD$2 - 3m per year. These costs would include travel, staff, player wages, media, rent & more. Outlining an effective financial system will be key to getting through the EOI stage. The FA has longevity in its sights so shaky financial models that output a loss year-on-year won’t cut it.

A big part of your financial system is of course revenue generation. To operate at this level, you need to have a plan to generate more revenue in new ways.

Revenue generation outside of memberships, broadcast deals & sponsorships is challenging. If you need help with other areas of revenue generation, reach out. We have many successful ideas up our sleeves. Get in touch.

Capability & Experience:

Another part of the EOI that we intend to leave to you. You’re the experts at running your club.

We will add that you’ll need to reference everything from financial, coaching, admin and media. Especially MEDIA. The stronger your media capabilities off the pitch, the more capable you will be. It’s a modern world and you need to make sure your club is a part of it.