PAYING to play.

It’s the topic that causes hot debate in the football community, especially with regards to juniors.

How much should clubs charge? Should they charge at all? Do registration fees go towards subsidising senior player wages?

All these issues were covered in a Sydney Morning Herald article this past weekend, with particular focus put on fees paid by youth players in the National Premier League in New South Wales.

On the face of it, some of the costs do look steep - the most expensive being around $2400 per year. It’s a reality that other sports are often cheaper to play.

Dunbar Rovers (in NPL (NSW) 3), want to change that, and have made it club policy to offer fee-free football. The scheme has been a huge hit, with Rovers claiming parental engagement levels have gone “through the roof” this year.

Rovers make up the shortfall through contributions from a lengthy list of sponsors - but as the clubs Commercial and Sponsorship Director, Matt Delves, explains, it’s not just a case of “take, take, take” from their benefactors.

“We look at our club almost as a “Dunbar economy” - people connected with us do business through us. If someone needs a home loan (for example), we want them to come to us as the first point of contact, and do it through the club. That perpetuates business & sponsorship. You can do that in any region. It can be replicated anywhere,” says Delves.

Adam Peacock, Simon Hill and Daniel Garb are back to discuss all the big issues in the world of football.

It’s difficult not to be impressed by how Rovers have made it work - their end of season lunch was a smart, top end of town affair, featuring a guest appearance by ex-Liverpool star, Steve McMahon, and a long list of sponsors. Yet not everyone believes it can be incorporated into a “one-size-fits-all” approach across the board.

Dean Hennessey is the coach of Hume City in the NPL (Victoria), and he says that for many clubs, the “fee-free” model is just not feasible.

“My Chairman would love to allow all the juniors to play for free. But the reality is we have to pay a $40,000 licence fee every year. Every week we have to pay for security, turnstile operators, referees, plus (as an NPL 1 club), media departments for branding. We have a big centre to pay for - you need people to clean it, staff the restaurant, so without a turnover, those figures don’t add up. If you want to give players the best environment, and facilities to help them improve, then it costs. I do think the cost is too much, but I think there needs to be a fee. We have one of the better products, but we’re certainly not the most expensive in town,” says Hennessey.

Nick Hegarty of Hume City and James Troisi of Melbourne Victory in the FFA Cup. Source: Getty Images

“Also, when you’re an NPL club, you’re competing for a potential spot in the national second division when it happens - and, we have to match A-League clubs when we play in the FFA Cup. We had our first pre-season training session this week - all the players had full medicals before we even kick a ball in anger,” he adds.

This perhaps drives at the very heart of the argument. What do we want our NPL and other grassroots clubs to be? Purely developmental clubs to serve the pro ranks, or aspirational?

Matt Delves says clubs can be both - with a little help.

“We as football need to get tribal. If you’re in business and you are a football fan, support football. If a business knows you have 500 people at a club that are going to utilise you, then they are going to put money in - people at the club can get employment opportunities through that too. But do people have the right skill sets to raise revenues? Are clubs given best practice models by FFA?” he asks.

Football New South Wales - the governing body in Dunbar Rovers’ state, say they applaud their initiative, but stress that youth fees remain capped at the $2400 maximum. They also back up Dean Hennessey’s view that the model is “not viable for all clubs, and is highly dependent on achieving significant sponsorship to cover costs.” FNSW is also poised to conduct a review of youth league financials in 2017.

Dunbar Rovers. Source: Facebook

As to the question of whether youth players fees are used to fund the senior teams, FNSW has this to say.

“Clubs invest in full programmes, across all teams and ages within the club structure. This requires both on field and off field investment - coaches, administrators, uniforms, equipment, field hire etc.”

There is no doubt that, in an ideal world, all players would be able to play football for free. Other sports can subsidise their playing fees more easily thanks to bigger TV deals and better sponsorships - a top-down approach that football would love to copy.

Yet the reality is, football still has some way to go to reach that position. It also has the added burden (at national level), of having many more mouths to feed - ten international outfits, who play across Asia, plus five national competitions (A-League, W-League, Youth League, NPL, FFA Cup).

But in the meantime, the football community will be watching the Dunbar Rovers experiment with interest. The final word goes to Matt Delves.

“(Other) clubs might not necessarily be able to charge nothing, but they might be able to reduce fees. We tried to do something different. We’re getting interest from overseas clubs to develop strategic relationships because of what we’re doing. We believe we have to reduce the barriers to entry for players. Essentially, it’s being “professionally amateur,” says Delves.