Vietnam Swans

On Friday, 7 June, the Vietnam Swans emailed the Asian Presidents proposing a meeting on 27 July to develop a road map for Asian footy.

So far, the Malaysian Warriors, Jakarta Bintangs, Guangzhou Scorpions, Cambodian Eagles and Vietnam Swans have confirmed their attendance at the meeting – to be held, probably in Bangkok.

Below the email drafted by Phil Johns and Mark Stennett has been reproduced.

Gentlemen,

As Presidents of the Asian football clubs, collectively we are the custodians of Aussie Rules across Asia and therefore it falls upon us to set the direction for the future. The time is right for us presidents to get together – for the first time ever on a dedicated weekend – to mould Asian footy into the shape that we want it to be. What will Asian footy look like in 5 – 10 years? What does that mean for the way we are running and coordinating our events now (such as the pre eminent Asian Champs, the SCAFL, the EAAFL, the Manila Cup, the Indochina Cup etc)?

Asian footy has grown enormously in recent years and it has now reached the point where we need to be actively coordinating between ourselves if we are to take the next step. Currently, there is limited and fragmented coordination, at best, between Asian clubs. The closest thing we have to a regional meeting is the night before the Champs when half the teams are still to fly in and the other half only care about the next day’s event.

Accordingly, Mark Stennett and I would like to propose that all Asian Presidents come together for a meeting on (plucking a date out of the air) 27 July to create a roadmap for the future of Asian football.

This will be a fantastic chance to decide what the future looks like so we believe it’s important that all clubs are represented by either their presidents or an authorised representative. In particular we wanted a meeting outside of the Asian Champs which is just too hectic and doesn’t provide enough time for serious debate. However we could certainly use the Champs for follow up discussions if need be.

We envisage representatives flying in Friday night and we will meet all day Saturday at an appropriate conference room and follow up with a dinner on the Saturday night. Everyone could fly out Sunday.

The Vietnam Swans would very happily host the meeting but we suspect that a more central venue such as Bangkok would be better suited for those clubs flying in from further afield (and no visa requirements).

Actions

Could you please confirm:

• Would your club like to take part in this meeting/workshop?
• Is 27 July workable for you?
• What is your preferred city for meeting/workshop?
• Proposed agenda items?
• Anything else?

On a related matter, coincidentally, Luke Mitchell from the Royal Australian Navy called me this morning from Australia (referred by the Bali Geckos apparently. Was that you, Mark?). He was interested in the idea of the Navy joining the Asian Champs next year. I suggested that that might not be a viable option citing the experience of a few years ago. We then played around with the idea of having a stand alone weekend where the Navy would play an All Asian team. Of course, all sorts of issues would flow from that (personally, in principle, I think the idea has great potential).

But, a process issue flowing from that request is, who should the Navy be speaking to in Asia about Asian footy? How does Asian footy decide what it wants to do with the Navy?

The Navy’s enquiry highlights the administrative gap that exists in Asian footy today. The proposed meeting on 27 July would start the process of putting the structure in place to allow Asian footy to go forward in a strategic and coordinated fashion.