Sydney FC visit kicking big goal
FC’s visit to the Far North isn’t over yet, but there is already evidence of the impact the event will have on the football community.
The Sky Blues smashed the FNQ Select XI 7-0 in front of more than 2000 people at Barlow Park on Saturday night, but the scoreline is the least significant part of Sydney FC’s pre-season camp in Cairns.
The newly created FNQ Football Foundation fought tooth and nail to ensure the ALeague champions’ visit to the region could go ahead, and it wasn’t just for the game.
Junior clinics have already given hundreds of young Far North football players the chance to rub shoulders with the A-League champions.
Coaches have benefited from exclusive access to Sydney FC coach Steve Corica and his assistants to help their development, proving what is already done at a local level is similar to that implemented at a professional championshipwinning team.
And for FNQ Premier League players, it deepens the understanding of what’s required for them to not just improve their game, but to push on to higher levels.
FNQ Select XI coach and FNQ Football technical director Reggie Davani, said it is the sum of the visit which he believes is best for the sport in our region.
“It’s everything, even the tactics,” Davani said. “A lot of them don’t go through the tactical stuff, so even if you’re talking just the tactics – what formation they are playing, what they’re going to do at set pieces – it’s everything.
“Overall, I’m quite positive about the learning experience. The young players need to learn this sort of stuff and to be in that environment.
“How we do that in Premier League in FNQ, that’s going to take time, but you have to start somewhere.”
Work will continue behind the scenes on bringing more big-ticket football events to the region, including a Festival of Football featuring several ALeague clubs and games spread over up to two weeks.
The dream is to attract bigname clubs and their best players to the region for the likely pre-season tournament, while allowing FNQ Football’s best and brightest talents the chance to test themselves against elite athletes.
The 24 players who donned FNQ’s green strip played in the biggest game of their lives, and it is that experience which could fuel their desire to play a higher level of football for the next few years.
“We can talk to the players (beforehand), but to actually go on and experience it, they’re coming off saying I get it now, I see what you’re saying,” Davani, a former Papua New Guinea international, said.
“The game was played about two or three steps above what we’re normally used to.
“The only way you’re going to find out is if you play against this competition. It’s a big learning curve for us, but what an experience for the players.
“We knew, when you start to make changes it was going to change a few things. But it’s not about the scoreline, it’s about giving them that experience. I’m proud of their effort.”