>
Socceroos legend Mark Schwarzer HAMMERS Football Australia boss over shocking treatment of young players who played major role in France’s beating of national side
Socceroos great Mark Schwarzer has publicly berated Football Australia boss James Johnson for the ‘astronomical cost’ of playing the sport at a local level.
Exactly where the government funding provided to FA is allocated was also raised by the impassioned shot stopper.
In addition, Federal Sports Minister Anika Wells has been in the crosshairs of the decorated goalkeeper as questions continue to be raised about the future of football in Australia following France’s 4-1 thrashing in Qatar on Wednesday.
In Doha, while covering the World Cup for Optus Sport, the 50-year-old Schwarzer pointed to “ongoing complaints about costs” from fed-up Aussie parents.
And with rival sporting codes such as the AFL waiving base-level fees for junior players, there are fears that football in Australia could become irrelevant if the outrageous fees for six and over are not reduced in the coming years.
Football coach Mark Schwarzer fears for the future of the sport on Australian shores
It follows France’s comfortable 4-1 victory over Australia in their World Cup opener (pictured, Adrien Rabiot after the Doha equalizer)
Les Bleus class shone with Kylian Mbappé and Antoine Griezmann terrorizing the Australian defenses
“I’m not asking this question on behalf of Optus Sport, I’m asking it on behalf of myself as a football player who played for the national team,” Schwarzer said.
“Growing up as a kid, you didn’t need money to play football, it was there, it was an opportunity to play. In Australia, the cost of playing football for the average person is now astronomical.
“I know the government has increased funding. I agree it needs to be addressed, seriously addressed, because we need more kids playing football, and sports in general, we are so far behind other codes, which cost next to nothing. I hear it all the time, constant complaints about the cost.
“So also for James (Johnson), if there is extra money, where is it going and will it go to reduce costs for the average individual and if not, why not? Because it should be.’
Wells acknowledged that the problem needs to be addressed.
Schwarzer asked Football Australia boss James Johnson exactly where the funding was allocated
Australia’s sports minister Anika Wells acknowledged there are ‘problems’ that ‘need to be addressed’
Mark Bosnich (pictured) felt the one-sided result against France exposed just how poor Australia’s junior talent trajectories are compared to European systems
“I don’t know the answer yet, but I do know it’s a problem,” she said, before adding that there is no “unlimited pot of money” at FA.
“But I think it goes back to that general question: What do you want? Do you want us to discount those things (costs) as a government subsidy or do you want us to put (money) into the sport and let them work it out?’
Fellow retired goalkeeper Mark Bosnich felt the French result exposed poor junior talent trajectories in Australia compared to systems in Europe.
“You’re seeing the results of that now, and you’re seeing the difference in class and quality,” he said.
“That’s the biggest question here: what is Australian football going to do in the future to see our players become like this one day?
In Qatar, Australia will next play Tunisia on Saturday night (9pm, AEDT) before meeting Denmark in the final Group D game at 2am on Thursday 1 December.