The A-League Clubs' Ownership Game!

When we read that A-League players receive 48% of Club revenue, compared to 20-22% for the other codes in Australia, we can't but welcome any reliable sources of funding into the competition.
But are we in a position to reject the interests of foreign investors entering into Club ownership?
Craig Foster and David Zdrilic, commenting during SBS's The World Game show, clearly stated that the FFA should not allow this, questioning the Indonesians' 'motives' and preferring to see 'membership-based ownership' or at most a '49% share'.
What seems to have been proven in the short life of the A-League is that current circumstances conspire against Clubs making a profit - in fact it is almost certain that losses will continue to be recorded until there is some change in the economic and sporting landscape. In this sort of setting how can the FFA reject overseas wealth whilst also hopefully continuing to work to improve the A-League's income streams and its ownership practices?  A damn difficult job in a competitive Australian sports market for a sport affected by world-wide trends.
The other recent ownership transfer at Wellington Phoenix highlights the danger of relying on the 'benefactor' model as a whole. This rings many more alarm bells than any foreign investment. In the current economic climate individual wealth becomes more precarious. Terry Serepisos was only doing in Wellington what Greek Governments have been doing for decades! The A-League Club owners' financial criteria certainly needs tightening up and it is hoped that the Roar's new Indonesian group are soundly funded.
Nathan Tinkler is another benefactor who has demonstrated different dangers: the sudden sacking of Branko Culina (and potentially son Jason) has the smell of the cowboy's six-shooter...riding into town like he owns the place (which he does!) nailing anyone in his sights. I wonder what democratic process Mr Tinkler followed?! But money talks and the financial threat that the loss of Jason entailed was enough to act. I wonder what the whole A-League would look like now if the FFA had accepted his offer of 25 mill. to bail it out!
And don't get me started on Clive Palmer's 'crowd cap'...
With such glowing role-models, surely Dali Tahir is worth a go as Roar's new Chairman. Interestingly he is a member of the FIFA Ethics Committee, the very same committee that SBS's Les Murray sits on. Have Foster and Zdrilic been chatting to Les about this?!
In any case, we are certainly living in interesting times when cash is king and there will no doubt be more uncertainties to come. One potential outcome from a positive analysis of the current economic woes suggests that Australia's stronger economy could become a haven for players looking to escape the austerity of European Clubs in countries that are struggling under huge debts.
The other promising, if somewhat amazing, sign is that the A-League still manages to attract wealth in the first place. You would think that there must be some potential in the Game if 'new money' continues to be interested and you just have to wonder if that potential is seen in Asia. It would be difficult to justify that we are seeking to build wealth through our involvement in our neighbouring continent but not allowing their investment to have a stake in our Clubs.
The complexity in all this is bound to continue, particularly as UEFA, through it's relatively new Financial Fair Play rules, seeks to diminish their Clubs' reliance on benefactors so that they could become more self-sufficient. Wonder if a rich Russian billionaire would be rejected by any financially astute SBS Football Commentators?!

Is Australian Football still a victim?

'Football continues to emerge; globalisation, the internet age and the increasing numbers of Aussies abroad, continue to erode Australia’s myopia and there’s more to come.' Andy Harper's conclusion, from his piece relating to Football's inroads into Rugby Union through the elite Schools system, has a beautiful sense of fate.
Surely the significance of this is much greater than a critique of the game on an ABC Four Corners episode that rated with 687,000 viewers! As a matter of fact, Channel 9's The (AFL) Footy Show invited Harry Kewell to appear to an audience of 790,000 - and to my pleasant surprise, their welcome and his ability to manoeuvre the usual code-war issues, probably won over more Football fans than might've been lost through a largely re-hashed look at the World Cup bid.
But have the long struggles of the game in this country resulted in a victim mentality that is preventing Football making even more rapid progress?
The tightrope the game's Commentators need to walk was highlighted by Mark Bosnich's response to the ABC. There's nothing wrong if this generates headlines in our defence, but at the same time the substance of these attempts cannot be flimsy...just another Football warrior crying poor.
If you read Bosnich's article through a neutral lens you can dismiss his claim of bias by referring to both AFL and NRL getting a similar, if not worse, caning from Four Corners in their episodes on head injuries and sex allegations.
FFA's retort was predictably more measured but bordered on an act of propaganda, listing the various examples of progress the game has made under the current administration. Many of us will recall even more significant achievements if you view Australia's Football history over a longer period of time.
And the 'Kewell factor', without him kicking a ball in anger, already shows all the great positive potential many were hoping for. Managed well, and that is easier said than done, the game could be on a real goldmine. Here we have an Australian who has tasted world sports' dizzying heights...there aren't many Kewells parading any of our sporting arenas on a regular basis.
I'll never forget the thrill and respect expressed by AFL footballer Anthony Rocca upon meeting Mark Viduka before the 2006 World Cup...it takes a big fish in a small pond to recognise what it must be like to swim in an ocean! Kewell arguably demands even greater admiration.
Sometimes we just have to survey the landscape and see how much there is to like. A victim mentality is not going to help us at all.