ROAR SUPPORTERS FEDERATION Supporters Survey (January 2018) Interim Report The price of excellence is constant vigilance Roar Supporters Federation - Interim Report Supporters Survey Report January 2018 Supporters Survey Report January 2018 1
CONTENTS 1.0 INTRODUCTION 3 2.0 ABOUT THE SURVEY AND THIS REPORT 4 3.0 ANALYSIS OF RESPONDENTS 5 4.0 SURVEY FINDINGS 7 5.0 CONCLUSIONS 9 6.0 RECOMMENDATIONS & NEXT STEPS 9 7.0 ABOUT THE RSF 9 8.0 THANK YOU TO PARTICIPANTS 10 9.0 APPENDICES 10 2 Roar Supporters Federation - Interim Report
1.0 INTRODUCTION 846 people responded to a survey issued by the Roar Supporters Federation (RSF) and there were 1,615 points raised which were condensed in to 24 headline issues, which in turn were grouped in to four related themes with concerns over The Brisbane Roar Football Club (the Club) and its ownership, the management and operation of the Club, the team performance, and the match day experience. When over eight hundred people respond in just three days, demonstrating a high level of passion and commitment of supporters, key stakeholders need to listen to what supporters are saying and importantly, they must act on what supporters are saying. The fans want to see a definable commitment to the club by the owners. Supporters are grateful that Nirwan Bakrie has committed an additional $7.2m over income generated in the last two years but that in itself is not enough. Supporters expect to see a visible commitment to good governance at the club, adequate (and timely) financing, and stable and competent local management empowered to move the club forward year on year. A succession of CEOs/MDs in recent times (five changes in just over three years?) makes it impossible for supporters to have faith in both the vision and the leadership the owners have. Where is the vision? Where is the plan to achieve that vision? The owners should be extremely concerned that supporters are questioning the change in culture, traditionally a strong and proud brand with a culture of on-field excellence has been the hallmark of the Club in recent years. Fans are now questioning a change in culture, and the emergence of a new culture which they feel has deviated from their past experiences and their expectations; culture is not something owners can pay lip-service too, it must be nurtured and protected, and lived day to day, on and off the field. It is natural that supporters question the Head Coach during a poor season and especially so after a poor result; however, supporters raised concerns over the entire A-League coaching team not just the Head Coach position, and raised issues with the quality of the first team squad, the average age of the squad, with recruitment, with the provision of supporting services such as medical. They also have concerns over the lack of opportunities being afforded to young players. Supporters also expressed concern over how the A-League team is been coached to play; winning is not seen as enough it must come with an underlying philosophy of fair play and suitable style. The style of football is as important as the results in many supporters eyes. And with the Head Coach reporting to a Chairman that is based in Jakarta most of the year it raises questions over management oversight and support an inexperienced coach is receiving from the owners and whether the reporting structures, and associated accountability, are indeed appropriate? A League results would certainly suggest they are not! Supporters also raised issues with the match day experience including costs, specifically the large increase in membership prices this season, in addition to the FFA scheduling of matches and concerns over the (poor) number of fans attending games this season. Behind each issue is a supporter, and this is their voice. The RSF have been responsible for executing the survey and collating the results. We expect to meet with the Club and the FFA to discuss these interim findings and agree next steps to address each one. This report is not the end, it must be the beginning of increased engagement with supporters and a collaborative and cooperative dialogue between all supporters and the club. The price of excellence is constant vigilance. Supporters Survey Report January 2018 3
2.0 ABOUT THE SURVEY AND THIS REPORT Objective To meet the Roar Supporters Federation s (RSF) stated objective of providing a voice to fans. Survey method An email was sent to all RSF members inviting them to participate in an online survey. As well as some basic demographic information they were asked to respond to the following questions: a. What do you see as the most important problem that needs resolving at BRFC? b. How would you like to see this issue resolved? It was possible for a respondent to complete these questions up to 10 times. Respondents could complete their input anonymously or provide contact details for possible follow-up. Survey timing The survey commenced on Wednesday the 24th of January 2018 at approximately 9am and closed at 9pm on Thursday the 25th of January 2018 (36 hours). Provisional nature of this report The massive response to the RSF survey is both indicative of the feeling (and passion) that fans have for the club as well as an indication of the frustration they are feeling at this time. Due to the large volume of data received it is necessary to publish this interim report ahead of a more detailed report later. The purpose of this interim report is to provide the stakeholders of BRFC with timely feedback and allow the RSF to analyse the data in more detail and, where necessary, seek clarification from respondents on individual points. Background to the research The survey was initiated in response to frustration within the supporter base, predominantly felt towards the performance of the men s A-League team in season 2017/18 but it is reasonable to say that Brisbane Roar supporters have had simmering frustration for several years. This frustration came to a head with a 3-2 home defeat in the ACL qualifying game against Ceres-Negros combined with an epic and embarrassing kit malfunction that saw numbers sliding off the back of playing shirts during that match. The survey was launched to catch a wave of frustration and protest with the objective of collating fans input and presenting it, both in report format and face to face, with the FFA, the Club management and Owners. Potential limitations All survey responses were text based with respondents requested to list an issue and then a possible solution they found acceptable. The potential limitation in this approach is a possible lack of context with the issue being raised and the possibility that fans provide their most pressing issue following an unexpected defeat without necessarily thinking through all of their possible concerns. However, once this provisional report has been concluded the RSF is recommending further investigation to provide both a resolution to raised issues as well as to identify a full range of possible solutions in more detail. A key limitation of this survey is that the questions asked specifically for areas of concern or perceived issues, which makes the survey responses negative by definition. This is despite the reality that most supporters are pleased with some aspects of the club including the performance of the W-League team, the development of the Academy (especially the end to pay-for-play ) and the imminent arrival of the new Logan Training facility. It should also be noted that respondents were likely to be frustrated, even angry, following the events prior to the survey s launch which may influence their input. 4 Roar Supporters Federation - Interim Report
3.0 ANALYSIS OF RESPONDENTS There were 846 individual survey responses Raising 1,550 line-item issues or 1.8 issues per respondent. The majority of respondents raised one issue only. 44% were anonymous. 56% identified themselves as BRFC club members. 60% of respondents were aged 47 or younger. 56% of respondents provided contact details for further follow-up if required. Members Age Issues Responses Yes No Abstain Emails Anon Under 18 1.2% 1.7% 1.1% 0.6% 0.0 0.2% 1.4% 18-27 14.6% 16.0% 7.3% 7.9% 0.7% 6.9% 9.1% 28-37 23.5% 25.3% 13.0% 10.8% 1.5% 13.2% 12.1% 38-47 20.6% 20.4% 9.7% 9.3% 1.4% 11.8% 8.6% 48-57 19.4% 19.4% 12.5% 6.1% 0.7% 11.3% 8.0% 58-67 14.3% 11.6% 8.7% 2.0% 0.8% 8.3% 3.3% 68-77 4.6% 4.1% 3.1% 0.8% 0.2% 3.3% 0.8% 77+ 0.6% 0.6% 0.4% 0.2% 0.0% 0.6% 0.0% Prefer not to say 1.0% 0.9% 0.5% 0.2% 0.2% 0.5% 0.5% 100% 100% 56.3% 38.1% 5.7% 56.1% 43.9% Table 1: Percentage breakdown of responses and issues by age group Members Age Issues Responses Yes No Abstain Emails Anon Under 18 18 14 9 5 0 2 12 18-27 227 135 62 67 6 58 77 28-37 365 214 110 91 13 112 102 38-47 320 173 82 79 12 100 73 48-57 301 164 106 52 6 96 68 58-67 222 98 74 17 7 70 28 68-77 72 35 26 7 2 28 7 77+ 9 5 3 2 0 5 0 Prefer not to say 16 8 4 2 2 4 4 1550 846 476 322 48 475 371 Table 2: Numeric breakdown of Responses and issues by age group Supporters Survey Report January 2018 5
Base findings The 846 respondents created 1,550 individual entries relating to perceived issues. As some entries contained multiple issues, e.g. the quality of the first team and the standard of coaching, they were resolved into individual areas which generated a total of 1,615 individual issues. The highest ranked issue was Ownership with nearly 300 respondents raising concerns. Second highest response was issues with the Coaching Staff at just over 250. These were followed by issues with the culture at the Club, local management of the club and issues with performance of the men s A League team, all of which scored over 100. The top 12 issues all had a minimum of 54 responses each. The lower half of issues raised varied from 5 to 38 respondents. Issue #8 is listed as miscellaneous and had a total of 73 responses; these were impossible to assign to any one area and typically covered unique issues and will be detailed in the later comprehensive report. The following table list the issues as presented by fans, ranked from highest (#1) to lowest (#24). # Summary of Issue Raised 1 Concern over the ownership of the club and how committed they are 2 Concerns over the Coaching Staff 3 Concerns over the culture at the club, particularly the perception it has changed for the worse 4 Questions on how well the club is being managed locally 5 Overall issues with the performance of the men s first team 6 Issues with the men s first team and the overall quality 7 Question marks over the finances of the club 8 There are a variety of individual and miscellaneous issues 9 General issues with the home stadium, Suncorp 10 Issues with the low level of fan engagement 11 Issues with the (lack of) Marketing for the club and the A-League 12 Concern over the overall leadership of the club 13 Question marks of player recruitment 14 Issues with the match-day costs associated with Suncorp 15 Issues with the men s first team and the average age of the squad 16 Issues with the opportunities being afforded to younger players 17 Concerns with the FFA including match scheduling 18 Concern over the number of supporters attending games 19 Jersey-gate 20 Issues with perceived division within fan groups 21 Issues with club communication to fans 22 Concerns with the level and quality of health and medical support for players 23 Issues with the men s first team and appropriate use of the marquee spots 24 Issues relating to support of the W-League team Table 3: Summary listing of the issues raised by supporters 6 Roar Supporters Federation - Interim Report
4.0 SURVEY FINDINGS Analysis of the survey finding allowed the RSF analysis team to break the feedback down in to four core themes as follows: Theme One: THE CLUB The survey revealed supporter concern over the Ownership of the club and the commitment of the owners to the Brisbane Roar Football Club. There is deep lying frustration with the sustained history of crisis surrounding the club and perpetual rumour and innuendo that frequently surface in the media. Supporters appear deeply frustrated that, despite past promises things will improve, the club lurches from one apparent crisis to the next. Compounding this is a belief amongst supporters that the culture of the club has changed significantly, and this has affected the way the team performs on the pitch. Having won the Fair Play award six times in the history of the Hyundai A-League, the manner in which Brisbane Roar played the game was a source of pride but has now been replaced by a culture of diving, spitting, excuses, blame, fouling and frequent red and yellow cards offences Roar supporters used to taunt opposition supporters with about their team. Finally, leadership of the club was raised as an issue; with owners located off-shore where is the leadership from the top is coming from, especially with the frequent changing of MD, CEO and Directors occurring at the club. Ownership #1 Culture #3 Leadership #12 Theme Two: MANAGEMENT & OPERATIONS This relates to the local operation and business management (non-football related) issues. Supporters raised concerns about the local management of the club and the instability in senior positions, especially the MD position. Supporters have concerns about whether the club is correctly financed or not and the impact that is having behind the scenes; the medical support provided to playing staff this season appears inadequate and may have contributed to a significant injury toll. Marketing of both the competition and specifically of BRFC home games is seen as an issue and while the issue surrounding the jerseys in the ACL game was not ranked highly it is seen as a symptom of poor management at the club. Finally, supporters raised issues around the level of communication coming from the club to supporters. Management #4 Finances #7 Medical #22 Marketing #11 Jersey-gate #19 Communication #21 Supporters Survey Report January 2018 7
Theme Three: TEAM PERFORMANCE The team performance was raised as a significant issue in a number of areas. Not surprisingly this issue was with the performance of the men s first team. The main concern, and second highest of all issues after Ownership, was the quality of the coaching staff. Issues with the coaching staff were raised around head coach and his entire team, the general consensus seems to be that the coaching team is an issue and not just the Head Coach. The performance of the team is an issue, both in terms of how they play the game (culture) as well as the style of play (football Philosophy) and multiple issues with the squad were raised including player recruitment, the quality of the squad plus average age of the squad, the number of opportunities afforded to young players and the appropriate use of the marquee spots. Theme Four: THE MATCH DAY EXPERIENCE Supporters raised concerns over Suncorp Stadium and its suitability as a home venue. The level of fan engagement was also a concern as was the match day costs including unreasonable and unexplained hikes in membership prices this season. The number of fans attending games was an issue as was a perception of division within certain sections of the supporter base. Issues were also raised with the FFA and their scheduling of home matches. Stadium #9 Engagement #10 Match Day costs #14 Fans #18 #20 FFA & Scheduling #17 Coaching #2 Performance #5 Multiple Team issues #13 #15 #16 #23 8 Roar Supporters Federation - Interim Report
5.0 CONCLUSIONS 846 responses in three days shows the level of passion and feeling supporters have regarding the current situation. It s impossible to pretend these issues are all necessarily new, they are not there has been disquiet amongst supporters over several of these issues for some time and there is evidently a lot of frustration at the recurring nature of some of these issues. 24 issues grouped into four core themes demonstrates the large number of concerns supporters have but, if these are explored further with supporters, it is not impossible to see the club benefiting from what is a crisis moment. There is significant satisfaction with the performance of the W-League team, the Roar Academy, and the new Logan Training facilities; however, the underlying concern of a majority of supporters is if the issues with the ownership of the club persist it is only a matter of time before other areas of the club are impacted. It is time to draw a line in the sand and make change, and make change permanent. 6.0 RECOMMENDATIONS & NEXT STEPS We recommend the FFA and the Club management and Owners meet with members of the RSF Management Committee to review the findings from the survey, seek clarification where necessary, and agree a plan of action to improve the situation. The large volume of data from supporters who contributed means survey analysis continues and we believe it may be necessary to issue a revised report with more detail once that analysis is completed. 7.0 ABOUT THE RSF The Roar Supporters Federation is an independent supporters group for the support of The Brisbane Roar Football Club, built by fans, run by fans, and for all fans operating as a Not For Profit (NFP) organisation. The group is governed by a guiding constitution executed by a democratically elected Management committee working for and on behalf of its members. Because we believe fans have rights the RSF is organised to give a representative voice to supporters, a voice that matters and a voice that is listened to and respected by the club management, owners and the FFA. This survey is the voice of supporters! The RSF, along with its subsidiary The Roar Corps dedicated to support of the W-League and women s football, believe Brisbane Roar deserve a long-term vision, a picture of the future state of the club that all of us can work towards. And we believe fans have rights and that we should have a say, a big say, not just in the long-term vision of the club but in all matters that are of importance to this great club. Supporters Survey Report January 2018 9
8.0 THANK YOU TO PARTICIPANTS Thank you to everyone who participated and contributed to the survey. The insight gained is invaluable and we hope the trust and faith supporters placed in the RSF by contributing their time and energy in responding to the survey is rewarded first in the production of this report; and secondly, by appropriate engagement from the club, the owners and the FFA. 9.0 APPENDICES The Open Letter sent to BRFC and The FFA on 24th January 2018. (See page 11). 10 Roar Supporters Federation - Interim Report
Roar Supporters Federation www.roarfans.com.au info@roarfans.com.au An Open letter to the Brisbane Roar Football Club and to Football Federation Australia Something has to change. After Tuesday night s events we have asked the members of the Roar Supporters Federation what they think of the current crisis. We surveyed over 2,500 supporters to find out what issues they have with BRFC and they have told us they are unhappy with ownership, leadership & management, the coaching of the men s team, the state of funding with the Club, the culture of excuses and blame that has emerged and the general communications from Club to supporters. We expect you to listen to the fans, we expect you to understand their concerns, and most importantly we expect change and we expect change quickly. We do not expect words, we want action. The line in the sand has been drawn and we expect to meet the FFA in Brisbane, and the Club Directors within the next week. As supporters of football and the Brisbane Roar Football Club, we are prepared to follow our club through the ups and downs of football life. As supporters we knowingly accept that. What we find unacceptable is the current situation, where members question the commitment of the custodians of the club, where members are calling for the coach to be sacked, players to be let go and even ownership of the Club to change. Thankfully, in spite of all the turmoil, The W-League team, the Logan facilities and the setup of the Brisbane Academy is something that the Club and all BRFC fans can be justifiably proud of. These achievements, managed despite the current environment, have earned the respect and support of the fans. This is not about one night, or one performance, and it s certainly not about a wardrobe malfunction which, while embarrassing in itself, is merely a proxy for the off-field problems that fans have had to put up with for several years. To the FFA: many fans are calling on you to exercise your duty of care and examine the governance and management oversight in place at BRFC. We feel you have a duty to investigate with a matter of urgency any such investigation cannot, and must not, be done over the phone from an office in Sydney. You must take the time and put in the effort to come to Brisbane and see for yourself. To the owners: fans say that the current situation is unacceptable. We deserve better. For years fans have felt ignored and the time has come to say enough is enough. To the owners, the message is simple: if you want this Club, then invest in good business practices and you will be rewarded. If you are not prepared to run the Club professionally and with due diligence, then sell up and move on. We will still be here. To the local management: we say you should be ashamed to be regurgitating the same lines you have used every time there is a crisis, and there have been many. Enough is enough. This is the line in the sand. To the men s coach: it is sad to have so many of our members calling for you to be ousted. This is not the relationship we want to have with the coach of our men s team. Our members are asking you to stop making excuses, stop blaming everyone but yourself, start accepting your responsibility for this situation. As representatives of the most passionate supporters group in the country we will defend the rights of fans to protest, or support, as they see fit. We believe in the Brisbane Roar Football Club and we will be here after all of you are gone and we believe you must listen to the voices of fans now. We don t usually make demands, but today we make one: we demand that you listen to the voice of fans, and that you really hear what we are saying. Sent on behalf of the members of The Roar Supporters Federation Supporters Survey Report January 2018 11