Recent criticism of the A-League seems unwarranted. Not long ago I wrote an article on the NBL and how well it was doing at being an innovator. Is it because the NBL is an independent league with its own governance structure, its own marketing and its own business...

Each year around late November, it is time for the Australian Football League (AFL) player draft. A great majority of players are recruited by clubs fresh out of school. The draft provides great theatre. It provides great excitement for some and disappointment for the...

Recently I watched a bit of the Women’s Big Bash League cricket match between Sydney Thunder and Brisbane Heat. The Thunder won the match with an unbroken partnership of 97 runs between Phoebe Litchfield and Alex Blackwell. The match result was in the balance right up...

Since the National Basketball League (NBL) relaunched in 2015, it has grown enormously and is now a league that has established itself as an innovator not only in Australia but also overseas as well. Going to an NBL game is an event that now appeals to the masses. The...

Many of us have experienced losing our self-respect and the effort it takes trying to rebuild ourselves. We question our purpose and our skillset and often feel we have let down our loved ones.  I won’t bore you with my lot, but my last couple of years haven’t been...

Volunteers make a huge contribution to sport worldwide. This labour of love goes unpaid, but as sport grows, the roles that are required to be fulfilled by volunteers have grown immensely. Unfortunately, the supply of volunteers has not followed suit! Some of the...

Many sports organisations have a database that contains customer information, but they don’t use this information to kick some winning goals. Even though there are privacy implications regarding the sharing of people’s information, you can use some demographic data...

In a previous blog, I wrote about how sports organisations need to focus on alternative/new revenue streams for future sustainability.  Solid relationships with all levels of government are also important for future growth and sustainability of sports and sports...

Many sports organisations are still relying on traditional revenue streams such as sponsorship, membership, gate takings, food and beverage, fundraisers, raffles and even benevolence/donations to stay afloat. However, some of these streams have plateaued or are on the...

Members are key stakeholders in sport organisations. The AFL clubs do this extremely well—some clubs such as Collingwood and Richmond have over 90,000 members! Now other sport organisations from other codes are getting on board with implementing membership programs—in...

A trend is occurring in sport organisations where executives and board members with no experience in sports administration are being appointed CEOs/GMs. On the other side of the coin, sport administrator skills are not being considered complementary for other...

Sport is competing in the mass entertainment market. People have a greater number of choices when it comes to spending their recreational time and recreational dollar. Whether that’s going to the movies, watching a live game, being involved in competitive or social...

There is a distinct lack of governance in some sport organisations. They have no governance framework or policy in place. A lack of governance creates issues with board members not knowing their roles and then interfering too much in the operational side of the...

Many businesses don’t have a strategic plan in place. They work on the premise of ad-hoc strategies, with a lack of direction and no focus. Even if there is a strategic plan in place, there is not much attention paid to it, even though that disregard can cause some...