Restructure, running Southern Utd result in hefty loss

Football South has taken a financial hit but chairman Matthew Holdridge is optimistic it is just a temporary setback.

The organisation reported a significant deficit of $66,883 for the period ending December 31, 2016, at its annual general meeting on Sunday. Most of the loss could be accounted for by the decision to take over running Southern United and costs incurred by a restructure.

''Any loss is never ideal but there were a number of factors last year that contributed to that,'' Holdridge said.

''We had a restructure in the office in late 2016 and that restructure was part of our new strategy to deploy more staff on the ground delivering coaching.

''There was a cost to that restructure in changing those staff. The other cost that came about was the board's decision to take on Southern United.

''When we did that we anticipated in the worst case it may cost us about $100,000 for the year in terms of our investment.''

Football South took over Southern United's playing licence in April after the club approached it for assistance.

The expenses came to $42,916 but Football South also lent the franchise $45,000. It has ''written off'' a $20,000 portion of that loan but the balance is expected to be paid back in the next two or three months.

''The decision we made around that were the right decisions for the game,'' Holdridge said, adding Football South had ''reasonable reserves'' which it had built up from about $15,000 in 2008 to $160,504 at the end of 2016.

''Our cash reserves allowed us to make these decisions.

''But we said at the AGM we can't afford to have many more years of losses, so we are looking at everything we can do ... and how we can create a sustainable model.''

Holdridge said Southern United would continue to be a drain on finances but that was excepted as the franchise also provided a pathway for players.

Football South is on track to post a small surplus of around $40,000 in 2017 and player numbers continue to grow.

Football South chief executive Chris Wright said winter playing numbers were up from 8900 in 2015 to 9050 in 2016, and futsal continued to experience strong growth, up from 900 teams in 2015 to 940 teams in 2016.

Former All White Graham Marshall has replaced David Thomson, who stepped down after six years, in the only change on the board.

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