Exactly...Palos hit de nail on de head. The early leaders of the nation, and this includes the current crop of Government because our nation is still very young, seem to have missed the boat entirely when it comes to National Pride, sport, and it's importance in Nation Building. International Sport has replaced wars (for the most part). Nothing builds National Pride more than war between nations or Sport.
For our Local league to improve, with our Cultural Heritage, there MUST be massive financial backing for things such as, player development, talent scouting, SPORT PSYCHOLOGY (very important for us), infrastructure and all the attendant pre-requisites of successful Sport. Our league cannot, just like that, develop into what we want without money, and the only entity in OUR country that will have the ability and willingness to fund it properly is Government....not direct funding for player salaries and such, this must remain the domain of the private enterprise (Teams), but nurturing the environment so that private enterprise can thrive. Australia has done an excellent job of this and we have done a piss poor job of it. We still clueless, with no end in sight.
Australia has done well IN SPITE OF a Cultural bias to sports other than Football. Rugby is really their sport (their version anyway), not to mention Cricket, but really, competing in sport on the whole is so ingrained into that Nation's psyche, that their recent serious advents into Football is quickly producing good players and teams. They are doing it right. If Football was their National pastime I believe they would be right up there, like Cricket and Rugby. Are they "punching above their weight"? Could be.. a little..but then they working it so they are getting the results they deserve.
With all that said, despite our complaints, it is obvious that WE, TNT, are punching WAAAAAAYYY above our weight in Football, and even some other Sports, and have been doing so for some decades. What was our population in the '70's, 500,000!? ; and they had to tief we to keep we out de Worldcup back then? 1989 again we come within a hhuummmp again, and really should have been in like Flynn. Now finally 2006 with still only 1.2 million people; and we ourselves could even argue that football just may not be our national sport. Is population size really that important? How come such a small nation always buzzing round and having at times some spectacular success on an International Level (Crawford comes to mind)? Where is Australia's 100m winner? Isn't the 100m the World's premier Track event? Where is China's or India's for that matter. IS POPULATION SIZE REALLY THAT IMPORTANT!!? Could it be that Culture and environment is really what makes a man, and by extension, his achievement in Sport?
What is needed before a CONSISTENTLY successful team is truly a successful local league. For a successful local league the pre-requisite must be youth, player, and administrative development. For this to happen, our local environment must change to nurture and foster development. It takes money and organization. Football in TNT, any Sport for that matter, needs to move from mere leisure, to include connotations of personal and National Pride and achievement, not to mention a way to make a good living.The catalyst for this in our particular Culture, in our young Nation, as in Australia's, could only be Government. What the EF does the Ministry of Sport, Culture and Youth Affairs really do? By their name, this is right up their Alley.
And people like Jack hah to go. He good fuh the short run, dah is how he does operate. He stifling development. The TTFF is a broken organization in many ways. They cyar nurture nothing.
NOTE : Ah say government must NURTURE the environment eh, NOT PAY MAN SALARY. Private enterprise must take care of that.
