Football Federation Victoria staff are benefiting from the sporting contacts of interim CEO Cathy Acocks.
Recently, Acocks organised Warwick Waters, executive officer of the Victorian Olympic Committee, to make a presentation to the staff about the #RoadtoRio campaign for the Australian Olympic Team.
The presentation detailed the various administrative and behind-the-scenes activities undertaken to effectively support the Australian contingent heading to Brazil for the upcoming Olympic Games.
Supporting touring sports team is a concept the FFV team is very used to, and the experiences of Waters served to reinforce what happens with a national team at a local level.
One such leadership team putting these skills into practice was the FFV technical and coaching team, who themselves were on tour in Coffs Harbour.
They were with the Victorian Under-13 and Under-15 girls teams, who were competing in the Westfield National Youth Championships.
FFV general manager – commercial and media, Anthony Grima, spoke highly of the opportunity to hear from Waters.
“It was interesting to say the least, and we took some valuable learnings regarding their experiences in project and event management and also player welfare,” he said.
“It is an extremely complex and financial task taking the athletes and their cargo to Brazil, and strong efforts are required to cater for player welfare before, during and after the games” he said.
The search to replace interim CEO Acocks has already started, with the FFV Board casting a wide net to identify the preferred candidate it hopes will be in place within a few months.