A vote by the members of the Ballarat Red Devils tonight has the potential to deliver member involvement in the club’s governance structure and resolve issues both on and off the pitch. In the midst of player boycotts, a senior squad on the pitch with not one local player, and complaints from players and members to the FFV, a Working Group has been toiling behind the scenes to pull it all together.
An investigation by TCF has taken a behind the scenes look at the club’s structure to better understand the challenges it has faced and the implications this has for the players and the members. The club’s governance structure is a unique mix of control vested in the members, the Ballarat District Soccer Association and a private equity company.
READ MORE > One squad plays, two squads boycott
The Ballarat Red Devils is one of a handful of football clubs in Victoria who are Australian Public Companies. They fall into the same mold as South Melbourne FC, Green Gully Soccer Club and Heidelberg United Football Club in this regard. A search through the records of the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) highlights an interesting fact about the Board of Directors at Ballarat Red Devils (called the Committee of Management internally). Specifically, whilst there are 11 positions available, only three of these places have ever been filled.
Under the club Constitution, the composition of the Board and these 11 positions are very clearly defined:
- 6 positions voted on by the members
- 2 positions appointed by the Ballarat District Soccer Association
- 3 positions appointed by the private equity company (Ballarat Red Devils Investment Company)
According to the official records lodged with ASIC by the club, only the three positions appointed by the private equity company have ever been filled. The Ballarat District Soccer Association have not nominated their two positions and the members have not voted in their directors. There is much conjecture about the reasons behind this and vary perspectives on how and why it came to be. Members and players had become concerned about the manner in which was the club was running under the direction of the private equity company and resolved at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) to appoint a three-person Working Group to review the club structure and make recommendations.
These concerns were not just raised at the AGM, however. TCF has seen correspondence issued to the club by Matthew Annells, general manager of football operations at the Football Federation Victoria. This letter from December states that the FFV has received complaints from members at the club and the sheer volume and range of complaints have placed the club in a position where it is at risk of violating the NPL Participation Licence. Specifically, the section where the club has an obligation to ensure it does not adversely impact the image or reputation of or bring into disrepute the Club, the FFV or football in general.
The complaints stated in the letter by the FFV can be summarised as:
- The senior squad refusing the train as part of the club under the current Board;
- Commercial partners withdrawing financial support under the current structure;
- The City of Ballarat potentially withdrawing access to Moreshead Park;
- The use of 2016 registration fees by junior players and what has happened to those fees; and
- The lack of information provided by the club to junior players and their parents about 2016 squads.
What the correspondence did not identify or address was the resignation by one of the Directors effective December 2nd 2015. This seemingly normal event has the potentially significant impacts the club and its governance. Under the club Constitution, there must be a quorum of three Directors at any Board meeting to make decisions binding on the club. Going from 3 Directors down to 2 means any decision by the Board since December 2nd may not be binding on the Club. This is relevant regarding the appointment of senior coach Savas Saglam and moreso as his appointment was made by the head of the private equity company, who is not a Director of the members club Saglam was appointed to. Importantly, only having 2 Directors may be a breach of Section 201A of the Corporations Act which requires any public company to have a minimum of 3 Directors.
The Ballarat Red Devils therefore appears to be a ship steaming towards the start of the NPL season in just under a month, and its uncertain who is on bridge guiding the club through these muddy waters.
The Special General Meeting this evening will deliver, for the first time, a body of Directors voted in by the members for the first time. A ticket of 5 has been prepared, all of whom have direct links to the club or local football in Ballarat. TCF understands following a presentation of a report by the Working Group to the members, this ticket is expected to be voted in unopposed and with the unanimous support of the members.
Immediately following the SGM will be the first Board meeting of the ‘new’ crew taking over the ship. They have clear priorities and have detailed what they need to achieve over the next month. They have stated their first priority is Coaching and Squad appointments for the Senior and U20 teams who kick-off in just under a month.
The activities tonight thus appear at face-value to be a win for the club and a win for the members. This is not however a complete win-win scenario, there are definitely losers and quite a number of them. The fact remains there are currently two senior squads of players training and preparing to pull on the Red Devils jersey and take to the pitch against Moreland Zebras.
The core group of the 2015 senior squad remains resolutely behind the new club administration and supportive of member-lead club. They have been training away from the club and the new coach Savas Saglam. Despite invitations from Saglam, these existing players have elected not to join him and thus forced him to bring in players to fill the void and deliver on his responsibilities to fill a team regardless of the off-field disruptions.
Saglam has used his network of players and coaches to achieve that objective and hence it was a squad of 21 who took to the pitch last Saturday to play Dandenong Thunder. Somewhat disappointingly, it was a squad of 21 which didn’t include one local Ballarat footballer. These are 21 young players who have generally come from the western suburbs of Melbourne at the request of a club and coach to help fill a team and they have been given the prospect of playing Senior NPL2 football in 2016.
Regardless of the outcome of the meeting tonight, the ratification or not of Saglam as the Senior coach, there are currently two squads of players preparing for a club which can only boast a maximum of 23 on the roster. Critically for those players, the NPL registration window ends on 31st January meaning the Red Devils need to get their act together, but disappointingly for at least half of those players preparing it could be too late to find another club at this late stage.
Alas the answers will come and they will come quickly.
Heidelberg United coach George Katsakis has been quietly drawing together a competitive squad for the 2016 NPL campaign. This Saturday, he and his players will make the trek to Moreshead Park to take on the Red Devils in a pre-season friendly match. One thing for certain, all eyes will be on the dressing room for the Red Devils to see just who takes to the pitch.