Quote Originally Posted by AVB View Post
I think you're heavily underestimating costs for clubs here.

Average grounds rental for year including lighting etc $30,000
Maintenance on ground $10,000
Clothing - $200 per player: 200 * 100 players = $20,000
Youth coaching not sure but maybe $1500 per team? Plus TD which is mainly youth focused at maybe $10/15k? + 10/15K per 1st grade team?
Equipment ~$5kpa?

So let's assume 100 players at $1500 each rego, that's 150k

less NNSW fees, that's $105K

Less the club costs (~$95K) above is ~$10k left.

I'm sure there are heaps of activities clubs do that I haven't considered costs for. I also see clubs at Gyms, or LMRFF. Clubs have match day physios, VEO Cameras etc

The cost of regos is very high, but the reality is that the price is more or less the cost of running the programs. Demand has shifted to expect a much higher quality program. Qualified coaches and TDs, demand for the best quality pitches, expectations around clothing, expectations around training equipment and facilities etc

The obvious question is how are 1st grade players paid etc, and clubs would argue that they are paid from sponsorship, gate takings, canteen taking etc.
My feel is that you may be overestimating the costs for grounds, maintenance, kit. Remember that a club pays one set of ground fees whether its for JDL, youth or seniors, and then recoups fees across all these groups. Some clubs include kit in the rego fees, others charge more on top. Coaching fees are minimal, somewhere around the amount one youth player rego fees. Yes some train out at Speers Point but equipment is not an every year thing. I am confident after all outlays there is ample left for this to be ploughed back into youth but it does not. It goes into a seniors black hole and doesn't come out again.

Yes sponsorship, gate money, canteen helps pay seniors but younger grades fees help more. I would just like to see what goes in to youth comes out at the other end. Clubs are generally doing good jobs across the cities in youth but on a shoestring when there could be more $$ if youth fees were kept separate from seniors.

Show me a club that publishes there full fees breakdown from seniors down to JDL. If you cannot then ask why.