AGM Week: The Great Reveal

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Who is getting excited?

It is AGM week.

Tasmanian football’s own leadership spectacular is almost upon us.

After several weeks of whispers, coffee shop intelligence briefings, sideline diplomacy, constitutional interpretations, proxy mathematics and “sources close to the situation”, we are finally about to discover who wants to lead Football Tasmania for the next four years.

Well… probably about 24 hours before the AGM.

Apparently that is considered more than enough time to decide who should oversee the future of football in Tasmania.

Because nothing says healthy modern governance quite like unveiling leadership candidates at almost the exact moment voting begins.

To be fair, maybe this is all part of the excitement.

Maybe Football Tasmania has simply pioneered a new governance format.

Less “member engagement”.

More surprise elimination reality show.

Because the whole thing currently feels less like a sporting election and more like an old game show nobody fully understands the rules to.

“Behind Curtain A is a candidate who believes in governance reform, strategic alignment, stakeholder engagement and sustainable pathways.”

“Behind Curtain B enjoys football sustainability, community consultation and perhaps a quiet bit of gardening.”

“And behind Curtain C… honestly we are still waiting for the nomination paperwork to clear.”

Cue awkward applause.

Some suspense music from 1987.

A volunteer nervously holding an envelope near the stage.

Somebody whispering “have they got the numbers?”

Then Tasmanian football collectively gets 24 hours to decide whether the future of the game feels inspiring, terrifying or mildly confusing.

Fait accompli.

There’s your AGM phrase of the week.

Democracy, But Make It Secretive

I still find it extraordinary that in 2026 we can buy a toaster online and spend three weeks reading customer reviews, comparison articles and watching YouTube unboxings…

…but the leadership of football in Tasmania can effectively be decided with less scrutiny than choosing a new kettle.

The clubs and Associations and their members fund the game.

The volunteers hold the game together with zip ties, raffle books and toasted sandwiches.

The members technically own the game.

Yet somehow the process of selecting the people steering the entire sport still feels oddly mysterious.

Who is standing?

What do they actually believe?

What would they genuinely change?

What is their vision for the future of the game?

Who knows.

Perhaps there will be white smoke released from outside the AGM venue once a decision has finally been reached.

Or grey smoke if someone is still counting proxies in the Salamanca Inn car park.

At this point Tasmanian football governance feels only a few steps away from a full Vatican-style leadership selection process.

Locked doors.

Whispered conversations.

Careful numbers counting.

People emerging from meetings saying things like:

“There is a strong feeling in the room.”

“We’ve had some constructive conversations.”

And somewhere outside, ordinary football people are still just trying to work out who is actually running the sport.

The 24-Hour Candidate Deep Dive

One of my favourite parts of AGM season is the completely serious expectation that members can fully absorb a candidacy overnight.

“Here are the nominations.”

“Oh okay.”

“Voting tomorrow.”

Excellent.

No meaningful time for discussion.

No proper opportunity for clubs to digest the direction of the people asking to lead the sport.

Just enough time for football people across Tasmania to quietly start ringing each other.

“So… what have you heard?”

“Does anyone actually know this person?”

“Who’s backing them?”

“Are they aligned with certain clubs?”

“Are they truly independent?”

“Has anyone checked the constitution?”

Somewhere across Tasmania right now, football people are pretending not to care while simultaneously trying to work out who has the numbers.

Does Anyone Actually Know The Board?

And here is the awkward question.

How many football people in Tasmania could actually name the current Football Tasmania board?

Not just the President.

The board.

Honestly, has anyone actually read the board bios?

Because if somebody can potentially become President this week and large sections of the football community are still saying “wait… who is that?”, then maybe that tells us something too.

Not necessarily about the individual.

But about the disconnect between governance and the everyday football community.

Football Tasmania can sometimes feel a bit like one of those mysterious upper floors in an office building where ordinary people assume important things are happening but nobody is entirely sure what they are.

The board appears during AGM week, constitutional discussions and major announcements, then quietly disappears back into the governance mist for another year.

Meanwhile the rest of football keeps rolling on underneath it all.

Wet grounds.

Volunteer exhaustion.

Parents appealing under-10 offside decisions like they are appearing before the High Court.

Committee members desperately searching for canteen volunteers at 10pm on a Thursday night.

You know… football.

And sometimes it genuinely feels like the people governing football and the people carrying football exist in completely different universes connected only by the occasional PDF statement and a strategic plan nobody fully read.

Yes, I Thought About Standing

I did briefly toy with standing myself.

Which certainly would have added some entertainment value to proceedings.

And I genuinely appreciate the people who encouraged me, contacted me and believed I could contribute.

That support meant more than people probably realise.

But the reality is I have stepped away from enough governance recently to know my own limits.

Family matters.

MSS matters.

CRJFA matters.

My own peace matters.

Besides, if I actually got elected, I would probably end up having to write about myself and the shite job people thought I was doing.

That feels awkward.

It is difficult to aggressively analyse governance decisions when you are the governance decision.

Although, to be fair, plenty of people would probably still volunteer to help with the criticism.

So instead I remain where I currently sit.

Inside the room through CRJFA.

Outside the big table.

Close enough to see how the machine works.

Far enough away to still say what I think.

Which, honestly, is probably the most interesting seat in the house anyway.

So unless I suddenly drop dead, I will still be here.

Writing.

Observing.

Revealing.

Sharing.

Asking awkward questions.

And occasionally annoying people sitting around the big table.

Because Football Tasmania is not some secret society requiring a special handshake and whispered passwords to enter the room.

It is supposed to be a member organisation.

A football organisation.

Built for the people actually participating in the game.

Which means asking questions should not feel rebellious.

Transparency should not feel threatening.

And ordinary football people should not feel like outsiders peering through the window trying to work out what is happening inside their own sport.

Anyway.

Enjoy the big reveal.

May the envelopes be dramatic, the smoke signals visible and the constitutional interpretations plentiful.