‘No magic wand’ solutions - Gibraltar FA General Secretary explains

In an extensive interview in which he sets out his views on the future path for the Gibraltar FA the newly appointed General Secretary of the Gibraltar FA Ivan Robba highlighted that there was no ‘magic wand’ solutions and that it would be ‘a slow progression’ towards achieving his goals for the association.
Mr Robba in his first official interview saw his role as the person who would now be supervising things in order to make things function, working with his team so that the restructure would provide changes which “would filter down at a wider scale” and bring about changes within the next “six months to a year.” Although timescales and a deadline were not things which he wished to define as he explained it would be a “slow progression” forward.
During his interview, the newly appointed General Secretary emphasised that there was “No magic wand” which would see immediate changes taking place. Instead, as he admitted, he was a hands on type of person, and was already looking at discussing with the association’s stakeholders the areas they should be focusing on and looking to address.
The interview with Mr Robba, which appears in this weekend’s Red & White supplement of the Gibraltar Chronicle, and can also be viewed online in full saw the newly appointed General Secretary also comment that he was aware that there was a need to address public perception of what the Gibraltar FA was and how it functioned, something he explained he wished to address. As he admitted the Gibraltar FA was in a unique position working within a “rapidly evolving sport” in which they were operating within the framework of the international governing bodies and organisations that provided them to work with the multi-million pound budgets. Something he indicated was only allowed to happen because of the fact they met the conditions imposed upon then as members of the organisations.
Mr Robba was very aware that the association needed to address public perception of the association because it was constantly in the public eye, unlike other businesses. So any internal restructures would raise questions.
He, however, did not believe that there was a clear understanding of how the association operated and to what extent its involvement within UEFA and FIFA required them to meet the high demands set by the international governing bodies.
As he explained he did not believe that there was a clear understanding of what it was like working within a business sector generating millions of pounds such as was the Nations League and Champions league. This demands that they meet the standards set upon them or face sanctions. However, Mr Robba, admitted that whilst it was “difficult to gauge” what people generally understood to be the role of the Gibraltar FA within the community, he was willing to admit that as an association they “could maybe do a lot more,” by “engaging more with the community and letting open the doors” in order to allow people in to get to understand better the association’s role and functions
In his interview he explained some of the issues he would be addressing, including increasing communication between the association and league clubs.
To read full story click here Full video of interview can be watched online.