Some valid points here - especially with banned clubs who try to re-enter the competition. But some of the things you have highlighted such as poor line marking, lawns not mowed etc have also occurred at clubs who have got the numbers, dollars and support and are in the higher divisions. As for teams folding in the 11th hour, I guarantee there would be another club who would quickly put there hand up to step up a division. To redo the fixtures is another issue but with the use of software these days it can take 5 mins to generate a new one. I have done it myself.Der kaiser wrote:Hi Jogabonito - just wishing you luck in setting everything up. Being involved in Club administration, it involves work on a daily basis just to organise the simplest of things, so all the best in your endeavours.
There is a wider issue here though in the one that Nugget has raised and I tend to also agree with him that the SAASL need to look at tightening up entry requirements for any new clubs. I'm not suggesting they ban the creation of new clubs in certain areas, but at the moment it seems like anybody can go and set up a Club, even in situations when it may not be best for the league as a whole.
Clubs that have poor administration generally fail, but more importantly, when they fail they affect the broader league - situations like Allstars United - where they formed in the last 5 years and struggled administratively (poor or no line marking, didn't mow the lawn on the pitch, struggle with Club referees and linesmen etc) and then pulled out of the Div 2 Saturday League this year a week out from the start of the competition, leaving that league with 9 teams.
There is also the issue of Clubs that may be banned or suspended from the SAASL just reforming under a new name with 80% of the same players.
New clubs and growth of the game should always be welcomed, but in my opinion there is little point in continually adding new clubs if there are no minimum requirements (constitutions, executive committees, minimum number of players, bonds, minimum % of players new to the league etc).
Anyway, good luck Jogabonito and all the best, but i definitely think long term the Amatuer league needs to think about putting minimum requirements around the formation of new clubs so that the league has strong, vibrant and sustainable Clubs that are here for many years to come.
Lets keep the big picture in mind. This is an amateur competition and if a bunch of mates wish to enter a team into the competition for a social kick-about and are able to follow all the existing policies in place then there should be very little to stop them. If they had tightened the entry requirements years ago, then some of today's clubs which are doing well for themselves may not even be here.