ASSOCIATION

Evening Post, Volume CIV, Issue 10, 12 July 1922, Page 3

ASSOCIATION

THE ENGLISH TOUR

NEW ZEALAND'S OFFER TO

AUSTRALIA /

MR, STOREY SATISFIED

The special meeting of tlie Council of the New Zealand Football Association, held last evening for the purpose of conferring with Mr. S. Storey, assistant manager of the Australian Association team and hon. secretary of the New, South Wales Association, resulted in a very satisfactory tentative arrangement, after free discussion of the whole matter.

The question was first disoussad in what may be styled open committee, following the report of tho Finance Com-, mittee. The secretary, Mr. B. L. Salmon, speaking to the report, said that the committee considered that it was wise to make a 6fcr_ight-out offer. It was all very well to pool pax>fits or losses in New Zealand, where the various provincial associations were all affiliated, but New Zealand associations were in no way connected with the 00-mon-wealth associations. Further, it was not clear whether the £3000 would cover New Zealand m__age_)ent expenses. A point which had been,made to him by a supporter of the game was that the New Zealand: team would! not be so great an attraction in Australia after the tour of the Englishmen through the Commonwealth, as before it, and that point was an important one to the O.F.A. ]J(lt. A. Metnzies said that the committee felt that 1924 would be a better year far the tour than 1983, provided that the Australian arrangements were not so far advanced that a postponement could not well be made. The New Zealand Association had a deal of work to dio next year in consolidating tihe game, and, if possible, to ararange to pay a return visit to Australia. There was no dioubt in the minds of the committeefmen that the tour would be a financial success in New Zealand, andi, although the committee did not wish to reflect in any, way upon. the Australian control, it felt that, though New Zealand would be perfectly willing to shoulder its own losses, if there were any, the. New Zealand associations should not be asked to pool with Australia, if far no reason other than that New Zealand had no representation in ..Australia.

The pa-oposed itinedrary provided for four Saturday and possibly five Wednesday, matches. Wellington could! be expected to return gates of £1000, Auckland! £800, Canterlrary £500, Otago £900, Southland £350, Manawatu £200, Taranaki £300, and Wanganui £250, the guarantees which would probably be required being £500 from Auckland, Wellington, CtoteH-bury, and Otago, ami £250 from the other centres. The totaili' esfcimated gate then would, be about £4300, less £850 for 'gates [at 20 per cent.), leaving £3450, a fair margin over' the amount asked from guarantors. These figures were on the basis of 2s tickets, and did not include grandstand tickets ait ss.

The Chairman suggested that profits from the present tonr should be placed in the bank at fixed deposit, as against the amount which would have to be guaranteed for the English tour. Mr. Graves - remarked that -he understood that an English Rugby team would be coming out next year. The Chairman : "And a Leagne team.!' Mr. Menzies considered that each would be as anxious to avoid a clash of dates as the other, and would boom the other. , THE AUSTRALIAN PROPOSALS. Mr. Storey, on being invited in to the meeting, explained that the main reason why the Commonwealth Association was so anxious to bring out a British team was that it believed that Soccer would never reach its highest popularity in Australia till such a team did come out. The Australian public was becoming rather tired of hearing that a team was coming, and an end should be put to the dilly-dallying. Once it was definitely stated that an English team was on the way public interest would wake up, and those who did not play the game would look up the book of rules in readiness for the big matches. Moreover, the Rugby League would have an English team out in 1924, and the association could not afford to risk a clash of dates. There was not the same good feeling between sports bodies in Australia that he had heard so much of in New Zealand, and the competition between them would be " all out." •" I don't know whether the good feeling is genuine or partly talk over here," added Mr. Storey. Several voices: "It is genuine, all right." The C.F.A.-, continued Mr. Storey, had already forwarded an invitation to the association at Home, an invitation for 1923, and if that were accepted there must be no further delay. It was, in fact, for the very purpose of inviting an English or British team to Australia that the C.F.A. had been formed into a limited liability company. AN ESTIMATE OF COSTS. . | The general estimate prepared for the C.F.A. was then placed before the meeting by the speaker. Thr_e estimates had been made: (a) Based on first-class travelling throughout, (b) on second saloon oh ocean voyages and first class elsewhere, and (c) at second-class rates. Basis (a) worked out at £480 per man for the voyage, the total for eighteen players and a manager being £9234, and the difference between that figure and the £11,000 to be guaranteed was set aside as out-of-pocket expenses, allowances, etc. A survey of the guarantee proposals was then given, Mr. Storey reminding the meeting that New, South Wales and New Zealand would each be required to find £3000, Victoria £2000, and the other States, including Tasmania, each £750, the money to be at hand by the end of September, 1922, if possible. New Zealand would be well treated under the proposed tour, which .would cover fifteen Saturdays in all. New South Wales was to get two Saturday and one holiday matches, Queensland the same, while New Zealand would get four Saturday and mid-week matches. New Sonth Wales was immeasurably worse than New Zealand on that basis, and perhaps the best served would be the smaller States, Victoria, West and South Australia with two, and Tasmania with one, in comparison with the amounts they were being asked to guarantee; but the C.F.A. wished to foster the game, and '• was willing to give them that treatment. Certainly if New Zealand was willing to spend £8000 or £9000 in bringing out a team to New Zealand alone, the greater number of matches would bring a bigger return, but the Australian control thought that it was making a very fair1 offer. However, if New Zealand did not consider the offer'reasonable, the C.F.A. would consider the matter further, and would endeavour to meet the wishes of the Dominion, either in the matter ol giving another game or in regard to pooling and other financial arrangements, though the C.F.A. thought the pooling system the fairest method. Australia wanted the team next year, and wanted New Zealand's co-operation. TWO BIG POINTS. Mr. Campbell asked whether it would not be advleable to «e.t the return visit

by New Zealand over before the English team was brought out, but to that.Mr. Storey replied that he had doubts as to the great success of that tour from a financial point of view, whereas he had none in regard to the British team's visit. If, however, the Home team could not be brought out in 1923, then the money must be ready and arrangements made at the earliest possible moment.

A discussion then followed upon the question of whether the team should be amateur or professional, members of the council making it clear that none but an amateur team was wanted in New Zealand, and that if a professional player was included in the team he would have to come as an amateur, i.e., not in receipt of salary. Various other points were also discussed in detail.

THE NEW ZEALAND OFFER.

Mr. A. Menzies, as chairman of the Finance Committee, then outlined New Zealand's offer, which, shortly, was that the Dominion should bear the expense of bringing the Home team i from Sydney, all expenses of the tour through New Zealand and the expense of sending the team back to Sydney, and should also hand to the C.F.A. £1000 towards the cost of bringing the team from- England to Sydney. In that way New Zealand would bear the whole risk of the tour as far as New Zealand games were concerned, and would provide 25 per cent, of the cost of bringing the team to Australia. It was to be understood that the team should ba composed strictly of amateurs, and that, if possible, the tour should be made in 1924. The New Zealand associations, he could assure Mr. Storey, were heartily in accord with the suggestion to bring the tour about, but the offer that had been made was still subject to ratification by the various associations and was not yet binding. The proposals, Mr. Storey answered, appeared to be very fair, . and he was extremely pleased that he would have something so concrete to report upon when he returned to Australia.

The meeting again returned to the question of the status of the English team, and it was stated that apart from wishes it was extremely unlikely that a professional team could be, brought to Australasia, Mr. Gibbs, the London representative of Australia and New Zealand, having spoken definitely upon that score and said that in all probability the team would be largely composed Of university men. ....'.

The number of men to be brought out was also referred to, some of those present, including Mr. Gibb, the captain of the Australian team, . considering that nothing short of twenty or twenty-two would be a safe number to bi-ing out upon such an extended tour.

In conclusion, the meeting briefly discussed the possibility of a New Zealand return visit to Australia next year, and a general working basis was drawn up in order that Mr. Storey might report to the Australian control.

Both Mr. Storey and Mr. Gibb expressed their thorough appreciation of the. splendid treatment givjsn the Australian . team throughout the tour, and congratulated the council on it. success in working up the game in New Zealand.

The Australian team will leave . for Sydney on Thursday.