Football Australia dumps ‘national playing style’ amid executive clean-out
By Vince Rugari
Plans for a “distinctly Australian” style of play for the Socceroos and Matildas that would direct player and coach development appear to have been abandoned by Football Australia amid a dramatic restructure of its executive team.
Two-time A-League championship coach Ernie Merrick was the author of a 57-page document seen by this masthead, titled Forward Press 2032: A blueprint for sustainable success on the world stage, which outlines a high-intensity, proactive brand of football designed to be embedded at every level of the game, from grassroots to the national teams, aimed at achieving success at the 2032 Olympic Games in Brisbane.
Former Football Australia CEO James Johnson and chief football officer Ernie Merrick, who was appointed in mid-2022, but recently departed the organisation.Credit: Gregg Porteous
But the document was blocked from release during Merrick’s time as FA’s chief football officer – and won’t be made public, at least in its current form, after his position was made redundant last month.
It comes amid a dramatic turnover of executive staff at FA – headed by the departure of former chief executive James Johnson – which has been described as akin to regime change by several sources within the sport’s administrative ranks.
Of the 14 members of FA’s executive leadership team as listed in the federation’s 2023 annual report, only two remain: commercial boss Tom Rischbieth and ex-Matilda Sarah Walsh, who is heading up the 2026 Women’s Asian Cup organising committee. Last week, Peter Filopoulos, FA’s former media and marketing chief who was closely aligned with Johnson, was also shown the door without public acknowledgement.
Best known for twice winning the A-League Men with Melbourne Victory in the competition’s early years, Merrick was a surprise appointment when he was unveiled in mid-2022 as FA’s first chief football officer, and part of his wide-ranging remit was to define what would become Australia’s “national style” of play.
Johnson created the position in response to concern about Australia’s technical direction after the Socceroos’ failure to qualify directly for the World Cup in Qatar and the Matildas’ disappointing quarter-final exit at the last Asian Cup. At the time, FA had gone more than two years without a full-time technical lead after the resignation of Rob Sherman, the former national technical director who criticised the “dominant political, bureaucratic and administrative mindset” of the sport and FFA on his way out.
The role of the chief football officer, Johnson said, would suit a “disruptor” who was prepared to take on stakeholders to advance player development, coaching education, and bigger-picture philosophical matters, including a rewriting of the national football curriculum. Merrick, however, soon faced pushback internally and externally on some of the reforms he pursued, according to sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, and some of the things he had worked on never saw the light of day.
Other sources allege Merrick did not engage in sufficient consultation with stakeholders and that some of his projects were pursued without building necessary consensus.
Contacted on Tuesday, Merrick declined to comment.
Football Australia’s executive team, as per the 2023 annual report. Only two remain. Credit: Football Australia
A spokesperson for Football Australia confirmed that Merrick was no longer in the role and thanked him for his contribution to the game.
“However, following an internal review of our technical leadership and consultation frameworks, it is clear that Football Australia’s (FA) technical development department requires a collaborative and modern approach – one that is built with and for our coaching community and technical staff, inclusive of national team programmes and Member Federations,” the spokesperson said.
Merrick’s axing leaves FA yet again with a part-time technical boss, with national youth coach Trevor Morgan named on the federation’s website as the acting football technical lead – responsibilities he will need to juggle as he guides the Young Socceroos to the FIFA U-20 World Cup next month in Chile.
Members of FA’s football development committee hold concerns about the continued chopping and changing of Australia’s technical direction over a number of years, according to sources, at a time when rival nations across Asia remain wedded to their own plans while ploughing millions into grassroots programs.
The version of Forward Press 2032 which has been seen by this masthead takes the form of a presentation deck, outlining what it describes as a long-term plan for “sustainable success on the world stage”, and an Australian playing style that was “forthright and skilled … adventurous and intelligent … ruthless and accountable”.
It set out detailed tactical principles, behavioural cues and coaching methodologies designed to align Australia’s grassroots with its elite pathways and to future-proof development of Socceroos and Matildas for years to come.
Merrick’s other signature reform, the state-based academy programs, which have been piloted in several states, are expected to be discontinued after they “upset” some A-League clubs, according to sources.
It remains to be seen how much Merrick’s work will be built upon or whether FA will pursue a totally different philosophical approach, with a broad audit of Australia’s technical ecosystem ongoing, the findings of which are to be revealed by the end of September.
FA’s executive clean-out and philosophical pivot had been foreshadowed at the federation’s annual general meeting by chairman Anter Isaac and interim chief executive Heather Garriock, a former board member who stepped in to take the reins after Johnson’s resignation. At the AGM, Isaac said he was “not satisfied” with the organisation’s financial performance – having posted a record $8.5 million loss – and that FA was becoming an “extension of its stakeholders”, which would be “very different” from how it had operated in the past. Garriock said a “right-sizing” of FA’s employee base, which swelled under Johnson, would follow.
Garriock is widely seen as the favourite to become FA’s new full-time chief executive officer, with Switzerland-based executive search firm Egon Zehnder appointed to lead a global search for candidates.
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