Now if you criticise Capital Football in Canberra you get chastised but sometimes someone needs to voice what many voices are saying.
What are the priorities for Capital Football going forward?
Let's start with the girls/women. The number one focus for Capital Footbal over the last few years - and seemingly into the future.

Alfred Galustian will be in Canberra - the home of football - to run Coerver Coaching's first Diploma in Youth Development March 5/6.
Alf and Coerver are currently employed by the FFA to teach the new Skill Acquisition Coaches and by the English Premier League to teach their young coaches.

The media is a rapid changing landscape. We all know the reason why the paid hacks of the mainstream media keep going, but what about the bloggers? What is our motivation? In the first of a two-parter that originated on Twitter and ended up here, Gav Stone of Les Rosbifs explains his motivation for keeping going.

Well everyone has an opinion and there is always a debate between those who've played professionally and those Coaches who haven't.
Do you need to play professionally to develop young players? I don't think so but then I didn't train professionally - I played in Canberra!!!!
But maybe our Coaches who are full-time, but haven't played professionally have lacked real guidance from the professional side of the game down the years.

Interesting positions:
Former Coach Ray Junna thinks we shouldn't import players for Canberra United.
CEO Heather Reid has just imported a Coach into the Club
Former Coach Ray Junna said:

''That link is still important with whoever is the coach there [at Canberra United] because primarily you want to have most of your local players going to the W-League [and] not Canberra having to import players yearly because we haven't got the depth here.

Socceroos Australia vs Malaysia Goals 5-0 Highlights Score Video Brosque Kennedy is a post from Soccer Blogger. Follow Soccer Blogger on Twitter

Socceroos Australia vs Malaysia Goals 5-0 Highlights Score Video Brosque Kennedy is a post from Soccer Blogger. Follow Soccer Blogger on Twitter Australia vs Malaysia 2011 ( Socceroos v Malaysia 2011) Score and result:- Australia vs Malaysia 5-0 ( Wilkshire, Kennedy*2, Brosque*2) Canberra Stadium, Canberra- 7 October, 2011- 20.

Capital Football have a clear mission to spread the game, the joy of the game.
So when the recent Futsal teams were announced for the National Championships to be played in Canberra there were some interesting mutterings from around the local futsal scene.
Previously Capital Football has run the Cobras and Colts, two teams in all divisions.

The FFA might not want a team in the A-League from Canberra but Canberra will host up to seven games in the 2015 Asia Cup.
Fantastic.
Now show us how the FFA, Capital Football, ACT Government has any plan to use this huge and significant tournament to build the game either through a professional football team, a youth team and a legacy for the kids who play the game in Canberra.

Watched the ACT Under 12 girls in their battle with NSW Thunder, last years winners, last nigt.
3-3 and a fantastic game of Futsal at the National Championships in Canberra.
Two absolute thunderbolts from ACT star Ali Cook brought the house down; mind you the NSW keeper was unbelievable throughout.

What do the FFA think of Mrs Wensing? 80 years of age, she went out of her way to sign the A-League4Canberra supporters pledge in 2009. The FFA could not have cared less.

Fozzie has spoken.
At the recent inaugural fans forum in Sydney, a marvellous initiative btw, to look at and solve the problems facing football in Australia.

Goulburn and Canberra Football ace Chris Bush scores Hyundai A-League deal

No team in Canberra but still we produce plenty of talent!

From the Brisbane Roar website:
Brisbane Roar Youth captain Chris Bush has been rewarded for his inspirational performances in the National Youth League, signing a Hyundai A-League contract with the league leaders until the end of the current season.

FourFourTwo are reporting

Unknown ACT teenager Tom Rogic has caught the eye of professional European coaches at Nike's Chance trials ahead of the final 32 being announced later today London time.

The fertile ground of football development known as Canberra continues to produce, over-produce quality players despite little FFA or Capital Football support or leadership for our post-15 age group - of boys.

FourFourTwo are reporting

ACT starlet Tom Rogic said he was stunned and elated after winning one of eight professional contracts at the Nike Academy in England announced in London on Saturday night.

First Chris Bush gets an A-League contract with the Brisbane Roar - now Tom Rogic scores an amazing contract, one of eight, and he was up against the Rest of the World!

FourFourTwo are reporting

ACT starlet Tom Rogic said he was stunned and elated after winning one of eight professional contracts at the Nike Academy in England announced in London on Saturday night.

First Chris Bush gets an A-League contract with the Brisbane Roar - now Tom Rogic scores an amazing contract, one of eight, and he was up against the Rest of the World!

Players will do anything to make it in Professional Football.
And any player from Canberra needs to work a little harder, have a little more belief, and support, than players from the big Aussie A-League cities.
Checkout former Woden Valley junior local boy Nick Humphrey, now living in Hungary, and his desire to succeed.

I'm serious about football, technical skill, education, kid development and abusing clerics in the Catholic Church...but hey that's another story!
When Capital Football the Peak Body in Canberra announce that u12 boys and girls will now play competitively, ie with results and league tables produced each week, I'm wondering on what criteria this could be considered beneficial to the development of players.

Both young guys are from Canberra football - both have played many many times for the Australian under 17 and now Under 20 teams both had to travel thousands of miles to learn their trade at a very young age.
Bushie probably had the steal on Stephen Lustica in the early years - getting more game time in more Rep teams at a younger age, but Lustica made his mark loud enough, soon enough, running out time and time again for the U20s.

Are we big enough? In Canberra?
The headline suggests "Small players to get a shot at A-League's best"
Well they don't come any smaller than Canberra football in the eyes of Jim Forrest's FNSW or our beloved national body the Double FA.
So don't be surprised if Canberra is given the longest most arduous route possible to get a chance to play a NSW Premier League team, never mind an A-League team.

Gold Coast United won the A-League Youth title for a second time in a row on the weekend, with two Canberrans Andrew Baresic and Stephen Lustica securing the victory over the AIS.
And if you were wondering how to get your club to win a Youth Title the answer is simple.
Sign a Canberran.

FFA have written to Canberra A-League Bid Leader (Friday last)stating if/when Canberra can raise the $6 million start-up fund ($3.5 mill currently) and all other requirements being fulfilled the FFA are very interested in a team from the Capital.
Hmmmm maybe so - but once bitten twice shy.

Sally (Shipard) tweeted:

MATILDAS Internal GAME 2moro (saturday) 2:30pm AIS!Come have a squiz.All vying for WORLD CUP selection.Will be a competitive entertain

As usual it's all happening in Canberra:
The Olyroos were in town this week - the Young Socceroos and Mustafa Amini was spotted at the AIS swimming pool during the week.

Great news for Canberra's boys - they finally have somewhere to test their skills outside of the confines of the local (tiny) boundary.
And it's one of our newest clubs, Boomerangs FC leading the way.
With Canberra FC back in the NSW Cup - okay it's only a limited number of games but it's a start - and now the Boomerangs in the TOP NSW Futsal league finally, finally our boys post-15 might get some opportunities worthy of their developing talents.

Frustrations abound with Capital Football, Canberra football, to achieve competitive football post-15 for our boys.
A boy coming out of 4 or 5 training sessions a week can go and train twice a week at the best Canberra Premier League clubs. Waste of time isn't it if you really want to push on as a player.

In no particular order:
1. Blatter out.
2. Capital Football to produce a vision, a plan for our boys post-15. (It is possible to make professional ranks despite missing out on the AIS or ACTAS - just not in Canberra football.)
An A-League Youth team, inspired but not run by Capital Football.

It was reaffirmed that Canberra's possible inclusion in the Hyundai A-League was postponed for the forseeable future. The idea of a separate, stand-alone Canberra team in the National Youth League was canvassed, but economic factors were identified as a major impediment at this stage

http://www.

Sometimes things in football surprise and delight you.
The performances of Canberra United star Emily Van Egmond, just 17, at the World Cup are doing just that.
Anyone who watched Van Egmond for Canberra United saw a strong young player time and time again unable to vary her game from a long, long passing game to something more creative.

Based on our vast knowledge of football, and having watched many many W-League games, and all of the Matildas World Cup games me and my mates (they are known as the Canberra bootroom and shall remain anonymous at this point) have come up with the team to beat Sweden.
Let's not worry about the shape, too much, just get players who can defend and play through midfield, link up and make some runs in attacking areas.

It's Kanga Cup week and visitors have come from Sydney, Witsundays, NT, Tassie, NZ, Phillipines, Malaysia and Korea to name some of the 230 plus teams in Canberra this week.
It's cold, it always is in July in the Capital but two things have got my goat this week.
Lots of great football, cheery spirit and great comaraderie.

There still seems to be a lack of Technical Development in Aussie football - not perhaps for the chosen 12 kids in a High Performance Federation program but in the rest of the cohort - the other 99% of players.
Australia: Does anyone care?
If 12 and 13 year old boys and girls at ALL levels of the game are expected to play on the same field as our men - ie the biggest ones you can find - how do we expect the culture of the players, the watching parents and the small-sided games philosophy to actually take hold across the land.

Mariners leading the way in Community/Professional Football.
Can't see Canberra ever get it's stuff together in this area - basically no A-League team - no franchise willing to move things forward.
Capital Football should not run Rep teams in a real football world - but for now they are the best we have and do the best they can.

Should football associations and federations call for tenders and financially support the one or two clubs in a region who can provide the best development model.
Gets the Federation out of Rep and player development - something they have struggled to really develop over the years - consistently.

Australian midfielder Steven Lustica made his debut in the second half and Balakov said he made the biggest impact of the substitutes.

Canberra's Steven Lustica came on for Hadjuk Split against the Messi-less Barcelona in front of 35,000 in Split.
Lustica could hardly get a game under Miron Bleiberg - too small and physically lacking or some such label from the Gold Coast manager.

Are Gold Coast junior soccer players better than, and more in number than the thousands in Canberra and the surrounding region.
Well, no and no, is the answer.
But the current Gold Coast United A-League franchise, despite only pulling a couple of thousand people per game, and losing almost half their squad this year, still have a pathway and youth model any young player or parent of a young player in Canberra, would die for.

It could happen.
Take Canberra United women's team - and divorce it from Capital Football - and now would be a great time.
Capital Football do what they are best at - grassroots and local competitions.
The Canberra United professional set-up would gain further expertise and focus in their elite area and Canberra United would expand to run and promote the elite game in town.

"It's been great. Just seeing Sally Pearson win her Gold Medal race at the World Championships has really inspired everyone involved in Primary School Soccer this week," said young Athletics Coach Tiny Passmore.
The Primary School Soccer Tournament is on in Canberra all week and despite all the talk of FFA's revolution of Small Sided Games the girls are playing on the biggest pitch at the recently and more appropriately renamed Hawker Junior Athletics Centre.

Local Aussie journos are wetting themselves over the upcoming Melbourne Victory v Sydney FC clash and are starting to twitter themselves into a frenzy.
They want Brett Emerton and Harry Kewell to play for their respective clubs rather than for Australia, in Canberra, against Malaysia.
Of course the Malaysia game is a walk in the park and a friendly at that - but it is four days before the World Cup clash with Oman.

The Capital doesn't have an A-League team, the FFA don't want the Capital, it can't be maintained with the Brumbies and Raiders and now GWS in the city.
You've heard it all before.
But when you step back from the emotion it's Canberra's intelligence that can and needs to get it over the line.

No surprise given their "issues."
But wonder what their response will be.
1.Learn, dynamically rebrand/engage and go again - (requires a massive change of strategy)
2. Head in the sand; and increase Croatian colours and imagery around the ground and celebrate the annual winning of the ACT Premier League thru simply paying more dough.

No surprise given their "issues."
But wonder what their response will be.
1.Learn, dynamically rebrand/engage and go again - (requires a massive change of strategy)
2. Head in the sand; and increase Croatian colours and imagery around the ground and celebrate the annual winning of the ACT Premier League thru simply paying more dough.

Love Han Berger - love his work and what he's doing for the game in Australia but there are a couple of areas where he and the FFA Technical Group need to improve and could improve our players, all our players more quickly.
The revolution is on - for some, but very slowly in some areas.
In Canberra for example in clubland we are a long long way behind what constitutes technical development.