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ParraFirst story in Sports Business Insider
http://sportsbusinessinsider.com.au/news/former-eels-player-steve-sharp-makes-play-for-control-of-parramatta-nrl-club-board/

A three-time Premiership winner with the Parramatta Eels, Steve Sharp enjoyed more than his fair share of good times on the pitch throughout the 1980s. Today, the club is struggling to replicate the successes that the club enjoyed in those times, having failed to qualify for finals football for three years in a row, compounded by a last placed finish in 2012.

Sharp believes that the Eels’ failure on the paddock is reflective of a club leadership he says is not equipped with the football know-how to facilitate an improvement in performances. In response he has announced that he will lead the ParraFirst ticket in the upcoming Parramatta District Rugby League Club board elections, to be held on December 8, with the hope of ousting Roy Spagnolo’s  board and, he says, bringing the club back to its members in the process. ParraFirst will also contest the Parramatta Leagues Club election next year.

“Parramatta is a little bit different than most other clubs in the football fraternity, and particularly league,” Sharp tells SBI.

“The elections that we are talking about right now are for the Football Club board. For most other clubs, that board controls the playing destination of the NRL side and relies on a subsidy from the Leagues Club board that helps pays the costs.

“Parramatta is a little bit different in that the NRL side is actually controlled by the Leagues Club Board. Where the link between the two boards is that at all times three of the directors of the Leagues Club Board must also be directors of the Football Club Board.”

One issue which Sharp and ParraFirst are keen to address is the issue of member voting structures, and the ways in which the members can vote, which Sharp feels is much too narrow in its scope, meaning that plenty of members with voting rights are being disenfranchised from having a say in the way that their club is run.

“Currently, there are 22,000 voting members but it is only something like 1,200 who get the opportunity to express their vote,” he said.

“This is because of restrictions on voting day, such as only having voting on one day, or only holding votes in one central location, so we need to explore the avenues available to give everybody the opportunity to cast their view.”

Sharp is keen to ensure that the board retains control of the Eels, as opposed to relying on the money of a private investor, to make sure that the club remains accountable to, and in the control of, its members.

“We don’t need [a private investor] if we have a board that is making responsible decisions.”

Despite finishing in last place last season by a total of four points, and losing five of their best players to retirement or other clubs, the Eels are still in excess of their salary cap, which has seen them miss out on the opportunity to sign a number of players, Israel Folau included, all of which, Sharp argues, is indicative of a board that has consistently made poor decisions.

“We’ve had three or four CEOs, three coaches over three years, three financial officers in place…we just don’t have any consistency that would make players want to come to this club,” Sharp said.

“The first step is to gain control of the Football Club board, which gives us a guaranteed three people on the League Club board which controls the finances for the NRL side.

“This gives us a chance to influence the direction the club will go in, and gives us a springboard into the League Club election in May next year, and hopefully we’ll put the right people in the right places to support the new coach and CEO to get the Eels out of the doldrums.”

The ParraFirst ticket features a number of prominent businesspeople, six in total, who have all supported the club in a variety of different ways over the years, from sponsorship to running fan forums, which Sharp believes is of pivotal importance to the ticket’s chance of success.

“We’ve got some quality people on our ticket with great expertise in their fields,” Sharp said.

“Most of the people on this board are successful businessmen in their own rights, and there’s no vested interests for these people to be involved and put their time into this.

“There’s certainly no financial reward to being on the board. The very small amount that a director gets paid certainly wouldn’t cover the costs of just getting to the meetings.”

Sharp also stated that the ParraFirst ticket had been developed in consultation with a number of the club’s supporters, who have provided feedback, advice or volunteered their efforts to further the ParraFirst cause.

While Sharp does believe that there is enough support behind the ParraFirst ticket, he feels some concern that they very same voting structures he is trying to change could prove a stumbling block in their bid for election.

“I feel there is enough ground support from the people that really love Parramatta,” Sharp said.

“Our first wooden spoon in only 40 years last year was the result of three years of poor performing management, so it’s time for the fans to express what they want from the club going forward.

“The thing is we have to get these people motivated to get down on that one day, to that one location, to have their say.

“A lot of members don’t just live ten kilometres away, they live on the outskirts of Sydney, in the central coast, down the south coast and even interstate there’s some passionate Parramatta supporters who part with their money, but never get the chance to vote.”

FULL STORY HERE