Happy New Year! . Welcome to our 549th show in our 19th year thank you to all those who have stuck with us on this journey.

If you care about football this is one interview you do not want to miss!

To start 2024 we are catching up with Niall Coupar the CEO of Fair Game in the United Kingdom who are looking to try and get football back on track. With an astounding statistic that 64 of the 92 clubs in the top four divisions have gone into administration since the Premier League was created shows that the state of the game is not in a good place. Fair Games has attracted experts in various sectors who have not only identified the problems within the game, but also unlike many who have done that have also come up with some solutions to make clubs once again sustainable. One of the key factors is the removal of rogue owners who are stripping clubs and alienating the communities that they represent. With 34 clubs committed to what Fair Game is trying to do there is a strength in numbers and as an independent body there is a real chance that change may well happen, change that could save many of the tradition community clubs. Trust us every football fan should listen to what Fair Game are doing or check out their website. (Fair Game UK) Does Australia need a similar body to help the game?

As this is the first show of 2024 there are plenty of topics to discuss. John bemoans the fact that sponsors logos have taken centre stage when it comes to cricket, while Ashley raises again the naming rights of national teams and who makes this decision and how the public feel about these companies being attached to our national teams. He also questions the hyperbole surrounding Nathan Lyon’s 500th Test wicket and David Warner’s retirement and the current commentators recency bias. Ashley asks how Football Australia’s new Socceroos brand advert shows a lack of understanding as to how DNA works.

After the interview with Niall there is a discussion as to how football has found itself in such a position. Is this why the possibility of a Super League for Europe’s big clubs stays alive? John questions whether these big clubs need their traditional fan base any more, or are they looking at the fans and money available outside the countries that they currently compete in.

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