Interview with Jonathan Barbara

by Jonathan Spiteri - 11th January 2013

For this week's interview, we decided to interview the Nursery's administrator, Jonathan Barbara.

In a few words, can you tell us who is Jonathan Barbara?

Jonathan is a dedicated, passionate individual who take responsibility very seriously and wakes up every day looking to make Birkirkara FC Youth Nursery a better one; maybe one day with the support of everyone involved, the best one on the island! I have had to learn and grow in the role of Nursery's administrator and I believe that I will continue to learn and improve every single day of the season. I also think that my leadership during my time here has been crucial to get the nursery on its feet.

For how long have you been serving the Birkirkara Nursery, and what roles did you cover?

I initially became involved in the late 1990's coaching for two consecutive years the Under 7s and then the Under 8's. Unfortunately I had to quit football due to my studies, as by that time I felt that I haven't got enough time to commit myself to offer the highest standard possible of coaching and be of help to these children. In October 2010 I returned with this nursery to coach the Under 9s and the year after the Under 10's. During this time I was happy to help on a smaller scale to begin with and not be involved officially. I think one thing definitely led to other. Eventually I was asked to become a secretary and administrator as somebody recognised that I could be able to help the club administratively. For me Birkirkara Nursey is an institution. It is a community. From what became a temporary role has become more of a daily basis now. I do enjoy it but there are always problems that you have to deal with.

Every beginning is difficult, but what were the main challenges you faced at first?

It's been a harder time than I imagined, both from an administrative point of view and a football point of view. The entire experience has been challenging and stressful, but it has only served to make me hungrier and more determined to be successful. This really is a special football nursery and it deserves much more than what it has been achieved in the past. Last season was very tough for our nursery and I think it left a scar that will take a while to heal completely. My aim is to bring sustainable and long lasting success. I can't hide from the fact there have been times during last season that have been as tough as anything I have experienced in my life, however, I see signs for great optimism going forward.

I've learned quickly about the mechanisms of the nursery and youth football in general and looked to immerse myself in the culture of it; on and off the field. My contacts and network in the game is certainly better and I've looked to grow that for the benefit of doing this job better for the nursery.

What are the functions of a key person like you in a Nursery?

Well, that quite a long list! I am wholly responsible for the Nursery's ‘Football Administration'. I manage and facilitate the registration, transfer and re-engagement of players. I am also responsible for the management of all fixtures, maintain the efficiency of all football administration matters and ensure compliance for the nursery with all governing body rules and regulations. I must ensure that the coaching staff and committee members are in accordance with the Nursery's policy. It is also my duty to make sure that parents and players are behaving well! I enjoy the fact that there is never a quiet moment; the position is constantly busy even in summer. On the other hand I enjoy least the too many forms to fill in!! - particularly in relation to registrations and UEFA License.

The Nursery has gone through some re-shuffles in the past year or two. Do you see these changes as positive ones? And has the Nursery reaped any dividends from them so far?

Last season's change of management at the nursery was the first difficult situation in my tenure. Former chairman Henry Bray has been a tremendous servant to the nursery and I wish him well. The engagement of the new chairman Mannie Galea was very positive. I believe every chairman, be it at a football club or football nursery should be given time to prove himself where he gets the opportunity to put his own mark on his staff. He also has the hunger to succeed. It was a necessary decision regarding Mannie and we work out together very well. Whoever is in charge is not bigger than the club. My outlook is to make sure that the Nursery remains safe and to move it forward.”
What is the relationship of the Nursery and the senior club?

Throughout the last year the senior club committee was a helping hand to the nursery's administration. The engagement of new secretary Jason Deguara was even a boost for me. He is very interested in how we are doing and pops up to our offices and facilities frequently. So does President Joe Zammit, while vice Dr Adrian Delia and treasurer Ivan Mizzi are always available when needed. This is very motivating for us to look forward.

I understand that they have their own problems to administer within the senior club but it's good for them to recognize that nowadays more than ever before nurseries are becoming increasingly important. The implementation of UEFA's Financial Fair Play(FFP) rules, means that soon clubs are to live within their own means. That means that an efficient and productive youth nursery is a necessity and therefore more attention is to be given to youth development and what goes around.

The nursery's administration is making its utmost to restructure our nursery in order to adopt the right vision for the future of the Birkirkara club. However, such restructuring costs money which is my biggest headache, along with man power.

Unfortunately, short-term vision is the norm in our country! Clubs are under pressure to produce results on the field. However, it is through a long-term vision where the club and the nursery administrations should have a long-term vision where a collective duty to work together and share best practice for the greater good of the Club. In a few words, investing in an efficient youth nursery saves the club money by not paying transfers and inflated salaries, increases identification of player with the club and supporters and could be also a source of income.

I end with a final comment by Liam Brady, who is Arsenal's Youth Academy Director, which says that, ‘the club that take the development of young players seriously can be the club to benefit more.'

Where do you see the nursery in, lets say, 5 years time? And what do you think are the ingredients that are necessary to achieve this?

For me achievement number one is positive image for our Nursery, the Birkirkara football school. It is important to have confidence in place. We need to strengthen the committee with the right people who have an understanding of how a football nursery operates efficiently. The appointment of Marko Glumac as Director of Youth Coaching has also been crucial. He has come from an experienced background and his vision, experience and contacts are really important at this stage of our development. We also need to strengthen the coaching staff with a combination of experienced coaches and the new ones who have the drive to learn fast and teach our kids.

We will do things our way and that the club will be strong enough financially to progress but it is the nursery and not individual people that counts. It is a long-term project and I am pretty sure that we can get there. I am ambitious and realistic. We just need to refine a bit with a solid staffing on and off the pitch. It's impossible to do everything myself, the Nursery can only survive with people who are ready and motivated to volunteer. Then we obviously need the parents' trust and backing since we are in this together for the best of their children. I understand that we cannot always agree on everything, but parents need to understand their own boundaries, while we take upon us full responsibility of their children while they are under our guidance.

At the end of the day, the nursery is the stepping stone to the parent club and hence we need to visualize that for example each season two players make it to the first team, two for the premier league, and two for the rest of local football.

I believe this is possible, and why not. If we invest in bettering our training facilities and backroom staff and a progressive culture, the future for our Nursery will surely be great.
With economic prudence weighing heavily on the mind of most clubs, the idea for our parent club of prospering as a result of its football nursery is very attractive. I consider home-grown talent to be something of a bonus for the parent club. The sale of home-grown talent may help the Club financially but the end goal is for the youngsters we develop to stay at the club and help bring success.

Hence, the nursery is very important for its parent club to become a sustainable business. Today we can see a good number of players who emerges from the Nursery and plays for the parent club in the Premier League. These were fed from our youth development and thanks to Senior Coach Paul Zammit who believes in young talent they are also doing great.

Finally, what is the message you would like all those reading this interview keep in their minds?

Throughout the last months, a lot have been done and I am pleased for that. We did and are doing our best, to create first and foremost a positive atmosphere in the nursery. As a matter of fact, much more still remain to be done, but, when we look at a bottle which is half filled with liquor, pessimistic people always say that there is only half liquor left in the bottle, optimistic people say that there is as much as half a bottle of liquor left. I think that we should positively appreciate what has already been achieved through a short time.

I do keep asking parents to please be patient. Getting it right on and off the pitch is important to us and we too are sometimes disappointed if things are not quite going our way but we are working very hard to get it right. Stay with us, it takes time, be proud of what we and others before us have achieved but be realistic in what we can achieve right now. In time we can have sustained success but we have to go about it the right way. If we don't then it might be 30 years of Birkirkara Nursery gone in a flash. With all due respect but you only have to look at some other known nurseries and the problems they have. Something to think about when we sometimes feel a little disappointed.

Away from football, I hope you and your family have a great year and you get everything you hope for in 2013.

I thank all those who are loyal and support us in every way.

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