Galatas spoke to The World Game on the TWG Live Show in the wake of the AAFC releasing their progress report on ‘Reshaping the second tier of football in Australia’, saying their model is financially viable with many clubs ready to go.
"This is ‘let’s get it started’," Galatas said. "It's sustainable, it's doable, it's doable now and its financially viable and responsible.
"We can progress from here on to what we hope will be – in our progressive phased approach that we’ve identified and outlined in the report – within a few years a very mature and strong national second tier, capable of being linked with our A-League.
"We’re saying: here is something that can be done. It's viable, it's financial, it can start now.
"We’ve got clubs that want to do it, they can do it, it’s a clear improvement on what we’ve got, and it’s got embedded within it development potential.
Galatas says the AAFC see themselves as the key stakeholders but will continue to seek input from all others.
"Given it’s the clubs that are going to run this, the clubs will bear the burden, the financial risk – lets see what they can do and what they want", he said.
"This is the starting point. Lets talk to everybody else from here and see what improvements can be made to it.
This is the model we think is best. We’ve got to look at all issues and we’re trying to balance them.
"Whats best for the players and coaches, and other things in governance, producing strong clubs … build very strong, capable clubs and better footballers, as well as maximising revenue opportunities.
"These are the considerations – that’s why it’s a 60-page report."
