Archie fraser to head national second division

Former head of the A-League, Archie Fraser, has been named by the Association of Australian Football Clubs (AAFC) to drive the further development of the national second division, known as The Championship.

AAFC was instrumental in getting a national second division considered as an issue by FFA and the state federations with the release of a concept paper this time last year.

“Since then, from a standing start of less than zero, we have managed to get all interested parties to the table to discuss a national second division,” said AAFC Chairman, Rabieh Krayem.

“This includes FFA, the state federations, the A-League clubs and the PFA.

“With the input of our clubs, and the professional support of Nous Consulting, we now have a financial model and plans that we will be sharing with interested clubs at a briefing in Melbourne later this month.

“We are at the stage where we can drive this forward even further and, if necessary, knock on some doors to get things moving.

“The AAFC Board believes Archie Fraser is the ideal person to guide us in this next stage.”

Fraser was a former professional footballer in Scotland and Australia, and has worked at senior executive and CEO level for organisations as diverse as Adecco and St Kilda Football Club, and has experience in technology transformation, commercialisation, sponsorship and media rights and sports participation and entertainment. 

He was head of the A-League for 14 months in 2009-10 before resigning after a fallout with former CEO, Ben Buckley.

“I feel very passionately about the need for Australia to become a genuine football nation,” Fraser said.

“Key to that is having a proper national second division, expanding our national footprint, giving more opportunities for more players and, eventually, promotion and relegation. 

“Of course, all of this needs to work within the existing A-League franchises.

“My aim is to work with all parties to achieve the best possible outcome for football in Australia and to see The Championship in operation by 2020,” Fraser said.

The AAFC briefing, which Fraser will lead, is being held for AAFC members in Melbourne on Saturday 27 October. 
ENDS

To register for the briefing, go here.