There could be change coming to the Limestone Coast Football Association (LCFA) with meetings discussing about the possibility of an increased presence of Football SA (FSA) in the region.

The possibility of the governing body offering more support to the sport around the community is nothing new, with FSA Chief Executive Officer Michael Carter making frequent visits this year.

His most recent appearance was at the “State of the Game” dinner, where he held a presentation discussing the benefits of what the governing body would bring including increased participation, improved facilities and locations.

It got minds ticking and last Tuesday a special meeting was held to discuss if, when and how a helping hand from FSA can help grow the game.

The meeting consisted of the LCFA board, club presidents, plus FSA events director Tracey Dycer and football operations general manager George Georganas, who visted from Adelaide for the meeting.

After so much attention was on the field during the recent finals series, LCFA Chief Executive Officer Chris Fleetwood said off-field matters were discussed and revealed a potential rethink of the governance of the sport was being looked at.

“What we are proposing is a whole new administration model for the LCFA, which was discussed with a very fruitful discussion,” he said.

“It was a question and answer and information session and basically an extension of what Michael had to say (at the State of the Game dinner).

“What we want moving forward is something that will benefit the game down here.

“We have reached a stage where we need to push on with the growth and development of the game.

“Decisions will be made by the end of September as to what happens next year and it could be one of the biggest changes we have had down here.”

Last month Carter helped reveal the LCFA’s Strategic Plan for the next three years.

The document outlined a desire for greater FSA involvement and the development of a new centre of football, which the governing body has rolled out at various locations with success.

Fleetwood said it was the next step in the process as LCFA and FSA collaborate even further to further grow the game.

“What we are trying to do is gather as much information as we can,” he said.

“We are also seeing how the clubs feel on their role and what support do they need to ensure they are offering a better service to their stakeholders, so it is all about looking at ways we can utilise the skills and whether we can improve on our practice.

“Especially with the new indoor program coming up opening a Wulanda very soon we need to be front and centre with that and opening up on other opportunities for people to play.

“That is what we need support with to grow the game and we want to tap into the best support that can be offered in that area and Football SA has the expertise.

“Hopefully the development of a new (football) facility will enable us to set up offices and provide a base to work from.

In a pleasing sign for the region, Fleetwood said it was a two-way discussion, with the FSA heavily interested as well.

He believes the body can help boost the LCFA, which relies on a board with plenty of passion, but little time due to full-time work commitments.

“They are professionals in growing the game and there is a whole lot of new staff they have brought on board to support associations like us,” he said.

“It is a priority for them as well, to support us, grow us and give us expertise, which we do not have at the moment

“Our board is all volunteers with full time jobs trying to do things, which is sometimes (hard) because the association is large and we need to ensure all of our stakeholders are getting the best service.

“FSA can offer the expertise in an area we do have and enable us to focus on growing the game.”

A big opportunity to grow the game will be next year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup, which comes to the Southern Hemisphere for the first time as Australia and New Zealand welcomes the world game.

Not only will the world’s stars will be on the screen, but Fleetwood would love to see some of them come to the region and hosts clinics and meet and greets to inspire the next generation.

“2023 will be a big year for football in Australia and we want to tap into some of the things that will happen with the World Cup,” he said.

“We want to ensure we are setup to capitalise on any of those really good programs because we are big enough to offer that sort of thing.

“If we are front and centre with FSA we will be at the table instead of being an add on.”

Now with the premiership season over Fleetwood said the information sharing, gathering and analysing would only pick up as the month goes on.

“We need to flesh it all out and see what it is going to look like,” he said.

“The timeline is short (so we are) trying to get moving as quick as we can to implement some things for next season.

“We are looking at bigger picture things and hopefully the outcome will be momentous and enable football to start to reach its potential.”