THE Western Border Football League will have a new president this season, with the deal all-but done.
Former president Darren Philps has moved on for employment reasons, with Grant District Council chief executive Trevor Smart his likely successor.
The final decision will be made at the league board meeting in the coming weeks, but at this stage it all looks set.
Should Smart be installed as president, he will bring plenty of experience and professionalism to the table, with not just his current council position, but also his previous involvement with the sport, as umpire, player and administrator.
Smart was involved with the Far West Football League at Ceduna, on the board and as secretary for several years prior to a move to the Limestone Coast.
He then umpired for “a couple of years” and later joined the WBFL board.
While he said the president’s position is not a job he actively sought, if he does gain the position he will certainly bring passion to the table.
“It is not a role I wanted to move into, but I am committed to hopefully have a bit of a leadership role within football to make us as good as we can be,” Smart said.
“Also, without having a club alliance, I have a fairly unbiased view, which probably makes it easier to be more objective.”
With the football landscape constantly changing in recent years and likely to continue into the future, Smart said he expected the position to be important for the league, despite just six teams competing.
“With the South East Council being reformed and with Michael Mourbey now being full-time administrator across all three leagues, I think it puts us in a good light and hopefully allows us to operate fairly professionally,” he said.
“I am positive in what I see.
“I think six teams is still a healthy and strong competition.
“The junior comp is an excellent standard and with the women’s comp coming on, I think it is healthy for football in the whole region.
“I don’t hold the view that six teams is a bad competition.
“If you look around regional SA, particularly the larger regional centres, most of them have a six-team comp.
“It is not unusual by any means, it is just not what people were used to in the past.”
With that in mind Smart said he looked forward to the challenge, should all go to plan.
“All we can do is make ourselves as good as we can be without worrying too much about what other leagues are doing and not doing,” he said.
“Last year was healthy for us.
“Whether it was East or someone else, a new club winning the premiership was healthy for all six teams.
“I think the best we can have is an even competition and that generates interest within itself.”
