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Keifer Dotti |
A SIDELINE GLANCE: Keifer Dotti - an Indigenous lad on the move
Issue 121 - 25 Jan 2007
By Ken Rowsthorne Esq.
Issue 121, January 25, 2007: I have been keeping my eye on a young lad over the last two years, he just keeps excelling in his chosen sport. His name is Keifer Dotti, a young Indigenous soccer player. He hails from WattleGrove in Sydney and has captured the imagination of the soccer world. He is a very smart soccer player and improving.
Keifer is now 13 years old. His family originated from Kempsey and Bowraville on the North Coast of NSW. Under the watchful eye of keen soccer officials, he just keeps on producing the goods.
The quietly spoken boy, who is just as happy to play with a computer and backyard sports, has been selected in the Johnny Warren Football Foundation Squad for 2007. The squad is the first step for selection for the State Team to participate in the National Championships in 2007, an enormous milestone for 2006 and a bigger start for 2007.
The Johnny Warren Football Foundation recognises the best youth players in NSW. On his behalf it's a remarkable achievement. In December Keifer attended the Foundation's Technical and Development Training Program at Parklea, Soccer NSW Headquarters.
Soccer, now nationally and globally recognised, has seen many changes made over the last few years. Keifer's combined training schedule sees him six days a week on the training paddock, very challenging for the sport that can offer so much to a young Indigenous player.
Some of young Keifer's credits in 2006 were:
o Metro U 12's Rep Soccer
o Promoting Indigenous Soccer on SBS TV's Stars of tomorrow, with ex Socceroo Harry Williams
o Selected to tour Asia with 1st Academy Coaching
o Captained Southern Spirit Invitational Team to win the inaugural Harry Williams Cup
o The Indigenous face promoting Rale Rasic's (ex socceroo coach) International Coaching Academy in Liverpool, NSW
o Privately Sponsored by businessman and developer Edmond Parlio
o Invited to accept a scholarship at Saint Ignatius Sports School for 2007.
Outstanding achievements for a young enthusiastic athlete. Make no mistake about it - he is a real credit to the Indigenous youth and his family, who inspire him to play the world game.
Keifer's proudest achievement was in July 2006, when SoccerNSW launched the inaugural Harry Williams Cup, in honour of the first Aboriginal to play for Australia. In this tournament young Keifer captained an invitational sponsored team, Southern Spirit, to win the Under 12's age group. Playing in his familiar role of attacking mid fielder he displayed the assets of what a young Indigenous footballer needs to achieve on the field - discipline and professional attitude, remarkable and outstanding for one so young.
In 2007 Keifer will play in the SoccerNSW under 13's Premier Youth League for Bankstown City Lions, a great achievement to participate in an elite competition.
Keeping a watchful eye and guiding this young lad are his parents. To improve his game he doesn't look for short cuts. He's a boy on the move who has been helped along the way - especially by his parents.
Times they are a changing
It wasn't that long ago - 1969 to be precise - that a world champion boxing contest for the bantam weight champion of the world took place in Melbourne at the Keooyong Tennis Centre. It was up to that time the most rewarding contest ever held in Australia.
Promoted by Reg Ansett, it featured our own Indigenous world boxing champion Lionel Rose up against Alan Rudkin from England. Forty dollar ringside seats, a record outdoor contest at the time. Drawing some $300,000, $250,000 came from ticket sales, the rest from the media. The crowd was some 14,500.
The big winners on the night were not the fighters but Reg Ansett. As promoter he gained access from all revenue from the media and half the financial return from the venue.
Still in the 60's the indoor record for a world title fight in Australia up to that time (in 1969) was $83,000, which was paid to watch fighting Harada, super feather weight who fought Johnny Famechon for the world title.
The contest was held at the old Sydney boxing stadium on July 8, 1969. Attendance was 7000. The seats were 50,000 short of a sell out. Scalpers lost heavily and were left with thousands of tickets. The promoters again pocketed most of the money.
In the joint promotional venture Stadiums Ltd, Mick Duffy, and Mick Barrett were the promoters, and Harada's purse was paid by Fuju Television (some $7500). The promoters received big rewards from TV and radio. Melbourne television rights were reported at $25,000. Fuju Television paid $40,000 for direct telecast to Japan to the promoters. Famechon received half the income from the house which was $43,000. The promoters received the rest plus all the TV and radio rights which added up to a magnificent figure.
Glen Kelly the great Australian Indigenous talented boxer who fought Roy Jones Jr for the world light heavy weight title, was guaranteed one million dollars for the fight. He was entitled to more. But once again the promoters were on top financially.
Now in this present day and age we are seeing a changing of the guard. For instance for the recent Anthony Mundine /Danny Green fight held at the Sydney football stadium the financial return for both boxers (especially Anthony) were extraordinary. Far in excess of any other fight held in Australia financially. And it wasn't even a title fight.
And the main arbitrator in this successful scenario was Khoder Nasser, Mundine's manager. He set a precedent in earlier negotiations that had the financial returns for such fights, throwing in the main to the fighters involved. Yes the outdoor fight with Mundine and Green held at the Aussie stadium broke the financial sound barrier. And when you think about it you realise the great value Khoder Nasser has as manager/promoter. So much different to the earlier fighters that related to highway robbery. And if the cards are played right than the benefits from all avenues of revenue from the fight throw into the coffers of the boxers.
I'm not going into detail but look around you at most of the topline boxers. You can see without blinking your eyes that many of them are tied up so tight with contract agreements that they simply lose out on the financial returns. This is not the case as far as Mundine is concerned - no way.
So is without fear or favour that this must be said. Khoder Nasser's understanding of human nature is a breath of fresh air. For before there was once a polluted part of boxing and the bloke who can take a bow in helping to change this is Khoder Nasser.
I'll relate to one more instance in relation to boxer's exploitation. Ron Richards was truly one of Australia's greatest fighters in the 1930's. Stadiums Ltd made an absolutely motza from this Indigenous great fighter. Stadiums Ltd was very pleased with Ron Richards who filled the stadiums every time he fought. He received 25 percent of the gate, 50 percent of the house went to Stadiums Ltd.
Ron Richards was exploited to the maximum. He died in 1976 a broken man and all the hangers-on were nowhere to be found including Stadiums Ltd. He had no money, he had nothing.
How times have changed for the better in this day and age of pay TV and the great benefits that great boxers can receive from meeting this new set-up.
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