By Vince Rugari
A swathe of blue-chip sponsors, headed by CommBank, have committed significant funding to the game, while grassroots participation is at an all-time high.
Australia has also become an increasingly attractive export market for playing talent, with outbound transfers in the men’s game growing from an average of around $5 million per year to over $16 million in the past two years, creating a important revenue stream for A-League clubs – a shift Johnson is proud to have helped push through various reforms and raising greater awareness of the business model of cashing in on developing young players.
Johnson has one main regret: that he was not able to work more directly on the A-Leagues, largely because of the “unbundling” deal to spin off the domestic competitions, which was agreed before he started and legally actioned at the end of his second year in the job.
“I’ve not really had the opportunity to involve myself as much in the A-League, and that’s something I wish I could have done, or could have been able to do,” he said.