Sfl 2006

[DLH]

There's certainly been plenty of discussion at higher levels over the past twelve months, much of it initiated by the League, on the need to try and accomplish a Premier Division presence in the west.

Certainly in an ideal world it would involve collaboration between the various senior clubs to make it happen. Unfortunately for various reasons the discussions have never gotten too far and the whole thing's back where it started from really.

The League are still interested in the basic premise of a side coming out of the area, how it comes about is still up in the air and seems a few years off at this stage.

As Tara and Pekay have variously pointed out, their clubs have had their share of difficulties recently, as have Parramatta and Penrith. It makes it much harder to consider the bigger picture when you're struggling to keep your own club above water.

Unfortunately, the further you move out of the city the harder it is to gain the human and financial resources required to operate a successful footy club.

[Mightyswans2005]

Originally posted by DLH
There's certainly been plenty of discussion at higher levels over the past twelve months, much of it initiated by the League, on the need to try and accomplish a Premier Division presence in the west.

Certainly in an ideal world it would involve collaboration between the various senior clubs to make it happen. Unfortunately for various reasons the discussions have never gotten too far and the whole thing's back where it started from really.

The League are still interested in the basic premise of a side coming out of the area, how it comes about is still up in the air and seems a few years off at this stage.

As Tara and Pekay have variously pointed out, their clubs have had their share of difficulties recently, as have Parramatta and Penrith. It makes it much harder to consider the bigger picture when you're struggling to keep your own club above water.

Unfortunately, the further you move out of the city the harder it is to gain the human and financial resources required to operate a successful footy club.

Mate seriously have you not seen the business parks at NorWest and also Huntingwood. THere is plenty of opportunity for Sponsorship out there,

[Pekay]

Originally posted by Mightyswans2005
Mate seriously have you not seen the business parks at NorWest and also Huntingwood. THere is plenty of opportunity for Sponsorship out there,

no sponsorship unless you play directly opposite their business-we've been down the Norwest path many times.Tara,i'm still in process of writing back to you,give me a week!!its gonna take a tonne of work to get the Jets back into 1st Div,so any talk of a Premier Team comprising those teams out west,will be met with a "come back later" from me,but i dont speak for the club officially.but that was what essentially dropped us down in the first place.it will be interesting to see what happens,i have no doubt.what chance of a sydney round robin again?and yes,i think u18s shouldnt matter,Sydney Uni shouldve been in Prems from the start.students?phhhh!

[tara]

Originally posted by Mightyswans2005
Mate seriously have you not seen the business parks at NorWest and also Huntingwood. THere is plenty of opportunity for Sponsorship out there,

Mighty have you been involved with organising sponsorhips for AFL clubs? Seriously it is hard to get money out of people. Firstly you need to have the right people and the right plan within the club to achieve this. Secondly you need to convince businesses that there is something in it for them. In the Syndey market we are competing against league in particular which is far more heavily supported than AFL so you are fighting an uphill battle to get people who support league to put their money into a game which they may know little or nothing about.

At South West our biggest sponsor is the Club Hotel at Wattle Grove, followed by a lot of smaller businesses. This sponsorship barely helps keep the clubs head above water. Players rego is minimal and is is primarily there to ensure shorts, socks and insurance is covered. League/umpires fees have doubled yet umpiring numbers have halved which not only adds to the financial pressure but makes us look like a tin cup operation when on a sponsorsday you have player officiating games.

Our biggest sources of revenue come from our canteen and from running three raffles every friday night at the pub. Trying to get players to the pub on a friday night to help out running the raffles in the off season is diffilcult as many of their better halves jack up about it.

In the Unis cases they are in a far stronger position to gain sponsorships than suburban clubs. This is primarily due to the large numbers of students within a Uni. For instance I believe that if Pekay and the Jets were to align themselves with Western Sydney Uni they would be in a far better finanical position and also have the added advantage of making themselves accessable to more players through the students. However they probably would have to forsake their own identity to do this.

If you were a businessman would you invest in a Uni side with the potential to promote your business to thousands of students or in a Suburban side with 80 odd players (if lucky) on their books and thrir partners and maybe another hundred or so people associated with the club? Givin I am in a corporate environment I know where my money would be going.

People also should realise that 95% of guys at a footy club just want to come on Sat/Sun have a kick and enjoy themselves afterwards. It is the other 5% who put in a hell of an effort to ensure that they have this privledge.

I hope that with the Swans win this year the game continues to grow in popularity and more avenues become available to the struggling clubs to grow and prosper but only time will tell.

[Mightyswans2005]

Originally posted by tara
Mighty have you been involved with organising sponsorhips for AFL clubs? Seriously it is hard to get money out of people. Firstly you need to have the right people and the right plan within the club to achieve this. Secondly you need to convince businesses that there is something in it for them. In the Syndey market we are competing against league in particular which is far more heavily supported than AFL so you are fighting an uphill battle to get people who support league to put their money into a game which they may know little or nothing about.

At South West our biggest sponsor is the Club Hotel at Wattle Grove, followed by a lot of smaller businesses. This sponsorship barely helps keep the clubs head above water. Players rego is minimal and is is primarily there to ensure shorts, socks and insurance is covered. League/umpires fees have doubled yet umpiring numbers have halved which not only adds to the financial pressure but makes us look like a tin cup operation when on a sponsorsday you have player officiating games.

Our biggest sources of revenue come from our canteen and from running three raffles every friday night at the pub. Trying to get players to the pub on a friday night to help out running the raffles in the off season is diffilcult as many of their better halves jack up about it.

In the Unis cases they are in a far stronger position to gain sponsorships than suburban clubs. This is primarily due to the large numbers of students within a Uni. For instance I believe that if Pekay and the Jets were to align themselves with Western Sydney Uni they would be in a far better finanical position and also have the added advantage of making themselves accessable to more players through the students. However they probably would have to forsake their own identity to do this.

If you were a businessman would you invest in a Uni side with the potential to promote your business to thousands of students or in a Suburban side with 80 odd players (if lucky) on their books and thrir partners and maybe another hundred or so people associated with the club? Givin I am in a corporate environment I know where my money would be going.

People also should realise that 95% of guys at a footy club just want to come on Sat/Sun have a kick and enjoy themselves afterwards. It is the other 5% who put in a hell of an effort to ensure that they have this privledge.

I hope that with the Swans win this year the game continues to grow in popularity and more avenues become available to the struggling clubs to grow and prosper but only time will tell.

It all depends what type of business you are running, and what your target market is.
With Sponsorship there has to be something in it for the Business, ie great coverage, there is ways to make this work.
Signage on Guernseys, shorts, club shirts, 1/4 , 3/4 time banners on ground around huddles, signage at grounds!
Rather than getting money, products is always a good way to go with companies, ie Bing Lee, Good Guys etc, can get free promotional Dishwashers, TV's and this way doesnt cost the company any money to sponsor the club, and you can either raffle of the prizes or auction them off to make money!

[tara]

Originally posted by Mightyswans2005
It all depends what type of business you are running, and what your target market is.
With Sponsorship there has to be something in it for the Business, ie great coverage, there is ways to make this work.
Signage on Guernseys, shorts, club shirts, 1/4 , 3/4 time banners on ground around huddles, signage at grounds!
Rather than getting money, products is always a good way to go with companies, ie Bing Lee, Good Guys etc, can get free promotional Dishwashers, TV's and this way doesnt cost the company any money to sponsor the club, and you can either raffle of the prizes or auction them off to make money!

We do all these things at present with the exception of huddle banners. One of our sponsors is Aristocrat Signs who have been great. They have enabled us to have professionly made signs which are hung on the picket fences at the games for nothing. Basically we are able to then use the signs to lure sponsors. I would love to be able to convince the marketing area at work to take out a dozen of these signs for a reasonable amount as I know it would benefit them, however the owner is never receptive to these sorts of things.

[DLH]

Originally posted by tara
For instance I believe that if Pekay and the Jets were to align themselves with Western Sydney Uni they would be in a far better finanical position and also have the added advantage of making themselves accessable to more players through the students. However they probably would have to forsake their own identity to do this.

Penrith went down this road a few years ago with UWS. Unfortunately, any meaningful partnership involved a loss of the club's identity which was considered unpalatable.

Outside of licenced establishments that can get something back from a sponsorship via patronage, it's extremely difficult. A Division One club has very little to offer in terms of benefits at the end of the day, and it's an extremely hard sell to business people who have no affinity with the game. There are very few people involved in footy clubs who have the time, inclination or ability to undertake this hard sell. That is the reality.

So what it really comes down to are business contacts you are able to try and use via guys involved in the club. Again, as Tara said, most players are only interested in turning up and having a kick, not badgering employers, friends or family for sponsorship.

Our major sponsor, Emu Plains Sports and Recreation Club (Leonay Golf Club), provide sponsorship in kind, ie: they pay our bills up to a certain value for expenses such as medical, club shirts and jumpers, training balls etc which is great. What it does mean though is that we struggle with cash flow, especially when guys don't pay their fees!! (and you'd be amazed how many can't even manage that simple task which is pretty poor really)

The joys of running a footy club.

[humphrey bear]

Lets not kid ourselves.

The simple fact is that companies other than pubs and clubs who are after patronage dont put money into Sydney footy at any level below the Swans for sponsorship or advertising.

It is a donation from principals of businesses who love footy and not anything to do with helping their business receive exposure or any benefits.

The reason Eastern and inner city clubs have a little more success is than transplanted footy loving southerners tend to settle in those areas.

[tara]

Originally posted by humphrey bear
Lets not kid ourselves.

The simple fact is that companies dont put money into Sydney footy at any level below the Swans for sponsorship or advertising.

It is a donation from principals of businesses who love footy and not anything to do with helping their business receive exposure or any benefits.

The reason Eastern and inner city clubs have a little more success is than transplanted footy loving southerners tend to settle in those areas.

You might think so but that is not always the case. UTS received a substantinal sponsorship from Barcardi as a way into the uni bars for Barcardi. Do you think their logo or name was a group of students thinking hey lets call ourselves the bats and just conincidently stumbled accross a company with a new product just released to the market targeting their age demographic.

[Pekay]

Originally posted by tara
You might think so but that is not always the case. UTS received a substantinal sponsorship from Barcardi as a way into the uni bars for Barcardi. Do you think their logo or name was a group of students thinking hey lets call ourselves the bats and just conincidently stumbled accross a company with a new product just released to the market targeting their age demographic.

to the tune of about $30k from what ive heard.thats even big money for a Premier Team

[tara]

Originally posted by Pekay
to the tune of about $30k from what ive heard.thats even big money for a Premier Team

I heard 35K but who knows what the real figure was but I think that the 30K mark is a safe bet.

Maybe you should approch UWS and Carlton - New name Pure Blondes after their new low carb beer. Get J to dye his hair and you have the mascot, god knows he thinks of himself as a male model

[humphrey bear]

Tara

I understand what you are saying but that sponsorship isnt representative of what other clubs come up against because bacardi really only want to get into the uni and it fits their marketing plan.

The other SFA or SFL clubs dont have that option and are really reliant on the good nature of benefactors either individually or in their companies names who are happy to make a donation bacause your average Sydney footy club offers absolutely nought as a way of marketing, branding or exposure.

[Pekay]

Originally posted by tara
I heard 35K but who knows what the real figure was but I think that the 30K mark is a safe bet.

Maybe you should approch UWS and Carlton - New name Pure Blondes after their new low carb beer. Get J to dye his hair and you have the mascot, god knows he thinks of himself as a male model

GOLD.Printed and will be shown to J,not as a joke,but a good idea!!!

[tara]

Originally posted by humphrey bear
Tara

I understand what you are saying but that sponsorship isnt representative of what other clubs come up against because bacardi really only want to get into the uni and it fits their marketing plan.

The other SFA or SFL clubs dont have that option and are really reliant on the good nature of benefactors either individually or in their companies names who are happy to make a donation bacause your average Sydney footy club offers absolutely nought as a way of marketing, branding or exposure.

I accept what your saying I just wanted to point out there are a few exceptions.

I would love to see highlites of the match of the round featured at half time of televised games. I remember seeing a similiar thing in the late eighties in Sydney, including a very messy brawl between St George and someone else.

Imagine if the AFL had the foresight that inlcuded in the next round of TV rights included a provision that stipulated that a 15 minute segment highliting the local competition must be featured in all games televised to developing and regional markets. A short 5 minute highlight of the match of the round followed by a short focus on a particular club then a wrap of the previous weekends results and next rounds games and locations. All up this would do more for promoting the local competition in NSW than anything else. I wouldnt leave this exclusive for premier league either. If someone did a short focus on a particular div 1 club it raises their profile as well. For example imagine if they did a wrap on the now defuct bankstown (if we still existed that is)whose juniors included Greg Stafford kids in the local area could see the potential of playing the game.

[humphrey bear]

I agree there a million things that can be done. Unfortunately the only ones with the finances and in a position to do it are the NSWAFL and waiting for them is akin to leaving the porch light on for Harold Holt.

I have a feeling the West Tigers winning the Rugby Leaugue and the Soceroos qualifying might mean the Demitriou's prediction of the Swans winning a flag being worth $15million to AFL in Sydney being a pipedream.

By the way I though Stafford was a Western Suburbs junior whose house backed onto Wagener.