We have often said that, if the game gets NSW right, we take a giant leap forward, simply by virtue of the number of players. I am referring to the structure of the game, the talent identification, the first experience at junior level, the nurturing of good players, the passing on of technically competent boys and girls to the next coach, and increasing the pool of talented players in programs and sound environments conducive to development. As such, a review of competitions resolved to combine the two divisions of the NSW National Premier League competitions into a flatter structure between the ages of 12 and 16 – the vital development years – to take away promotion and relegation, divide the aggregate geographically into two zones and finally add the Sydney FC and Western Sydney youth teams to the system. The strategy is correct, the reasoning sound, and it is something that already has been implemented in Victoria to great effect. But NSW is a very different beast. It is where incumbent clubs are famous for putting the brakes on any initiative, no matter how important for the game, that they feel is not in their narrow interests or weakens some of their authority or power.

Their reaction is predictable, and shows Gallop, the FFA management and technical director Eric Abrams just why they must dig in, refuse to take a backward step and implement these important improvements. Like babies denied their rattles, the club representatives boycotted a meeting with Abrams and Socceroos coach Ange Postecoglou. They literally took their ball and went home. Actually, their reaction is perfect because those at the next level down, where we desperately need reform for a system that has been held ransom to petty politics for decades, have made clear to the rest of us they cannot be tasked with acting in anything but their own, narrow interests. What is this wretched reform they are so dead against? It is a change in competition structure that will broaden the number of clubs in the level directly below the A-League, double the number of boys and girls given opportunities under good coaches, geographically reorganise the zones so that parents no longer have to travel hours for training and competition, and allow the fastest growing regions of western Sydney a representative club to ensure the game is well placed 20years from now.

Promotion and relegation at this age is the scourge of development. It is where clubs give incentives to coaches to produce points, not players, where talent is not pushed to higher age divisions where it can be challenged so a team stays competitive or becomes champions. It's all part of the reason why we are not maximising the number of players we have, and are driving families either out of the game or compromising education for countless hours of driving time. FFA recently conducted a Whole of Football research project to arrive at a set of deliverables over the next few decades. These are of limited value if the game is not aligned so that every state is on song with the national game, and every competition engineered for the good of all. Those who refused to attend an important meeting for football last week are not required in the game's future. They are most welcome to move on. We need futurists, visionaries, people capable of acting for the greater good. The time when a small number of individuals could hold the game back has long passed.

Reform is finally coming to all levels of the game. The difference is that today, rather than having a material effect as in the past, refusing to participate only marks those incapable of working for football.