Just how close is Australia to being suspended by Fifa?

It is a doomsday scenario but faced with another FFA failure to pass reform the stakes are rising fast

by Jonathan Howcroft

“Welcome to day one of the 20-day PR war.” That was the foreboding message I received last Wednesday by someone close to the latest chapter in Australian football’s governance crisis.

Wednesday was 1 August, the day after the Congress Review Working Group submitted its report to Fifa. As predicted, it was a day full of media releases, a day awash with spin but bereft of substance, and the start of a run of up to 20 days of filibustering.

Why 20 days? Fifa’s Member Associations Committee meets on 20 August to consider the 100-page CRWG document. A Fifa statement approving or rejecting the proposal is expected on the 21st. That in turn will spark another skirmish, likely to last until the FFA special meeting, scheduled to take place in mid-September, when the CRWG proposal will be put to a vote of FFA’s 10 congress members.

Amongst the spin, what can we confirm? And what can we expect to happen from here?

As a starting point we know the CRWG has submitted a proposal to Fifa in accordance with its terms of reference. We know the CRWG document was signed off by an independent chair (Judith Griggs), and all working group members, including FFA director Chris Nikou. We know during its lifespan the CRWG received submissions from a variety of special interest groups. What we don’t know yet is the content of the report, which is not currently in the public domain, although there are suggestions it could be distributed as soon as next week.

We also know for certain that the board of Football Federation Australia is unhappy with elements of the proposal. Until the report is published, along with FFA’s concerns, we can only speculate as to what these crucial aspects are. It is believed to come down to the specifics around the process for establishing a new A-League operating model, and bloc voting thresholds, the sticking point that has proven insurmountable throughout the months-long melee.

Disagreement with the CRWG findings is shared by Australian football’s four smallest member federations (none of whom had a seat on the CRWG but did contribute to the selection of the four delegates representing the member federations as a stakeholder bloc). Both FFA and the four-member federation alliance dispute suggestions there is anything untoward in this similarity of opposition to the CRWG proposal, an eventuality that could be viewed as serendipitous.

Despite the concerns raised by the FFA board and the four member federations it is hard to establish what mechanisms, if any, remain at their disposal to influence the proposal now that it has been submitted to Fifa. One person close to the process described Fifa’s position as “binary”.

Why the member federation opposition to the recommendations is important has not been broached publicly by participants but is understood clearly behind the scenes. The four member federations each have a vote at the FFA special meeting that will determine the success of the CRWG proposal (if, as expected, it is approved by Fifa). Should three or more of these member federations vote against the recommendations the proposal will fail and the congress expansion process will once again require rebooting.

As a side note, it is relevant here to point out that during this entire congress reorganisation failure two processes have been operating in tandem: one involves FFA discharging its responsibilities in accordance with Australian corporate law, the other FFA attempting to comply with its obligations as a member of Fifa. The space between the two is at the heart of the latest impasse.

FFA’s governance arrangements satisfy Australian corporate law but they are considered unsuitable by Fifa. However, any changes requested by Fifa have to be enacted in accordance with Australian corporate law. Consequently, to FFA as a legal entity, the CRWG recommendations are only that – recommendations – to be put to the 10 voting members of an Australian corporation. What happens at the vote is the purview of the 10 voting members.

Throughout this process FFA has been consistent in acting in accordance with Australian corporate law. However, the nature of the existing congress has made passing reform within this framework extremely challenging. Consensus has proven elusive for over two years, for example when FFA’s proposed solution was put to congress late last year it was voted down.

Back to Fifa. Every time there has been a blockage in the reform process Fifa has been invited to intervene. However, their influence extends only so far. It cannot compel FFA to do anything to change its constitution under Australian corporate law, it can only offer incentives to reform (continued membership of Fifa) and disincentives for recidivism (threats of, and eventually suspension from, Fifa).

To date Fifa has done all it can to facilitate Australia’s stakeholders into reaching an outcome on their own that doesn’t require a drastic intervention but they are running out of options. If the CRWG they mandated fails at September’s meeting then the issue will be returned to their Member Association Committee for further consideration. Their next decision will likely prove the most crucial of all in this omnishambles.

Faced with yet another failure on the part of FFA to pass reform, especially with the latest incidence a public rejection of a proposal with Fifa’s imprimatur, the Member Association Committee will be left with little room to manoeuvre. The imposition of a normalisation committee remains an option but it has been suggested the CRWG was already considered “normalisation-lite” by the world governing body. Consequently suspension now appears a likelier outcome.

This is the doomsday scenario and could jeopardise Australian participation in all major events, including the Socceroos’ bid to defend the Asian Cup and the Matildas’ quest for a World Cup in 2019. Fifa have form in this regard too. In 2015 they prevented Indonesia from competing in qualifiers for Russia 2018 and UAE 2019.

We may be a few days into a 20 day PR war right now, but the stakes are rising, fast.

https://amp.theguardian.com/sport/2018/aug/04/just-how-close-is-australia-to-being-suspended-by-fifa?__twitter_impression=true

“The imposition of a normalisation committee remains an option but it has been suggested the CRWG was already considered “normalisation-lite” by the world governing body. Consequently suspension now appears a likelier outcome“

Good. I’d prefer suspension from FIFA than continuing with this shit-fest

Agreed

Lesson learnt, keep AFL / NRL administrators the hell away from our game and focus on building a proper professional and competitive league that meets our needs

Democracy or death. 

Agreed Waz. All this stalling for nothing really. I wouldn’t mind suffering the embarrassment of being kicked out of FIFA in the short term only to have genuine reform come.

You're fucking insane if you think that a suspension from FIFA is what Australian football needs right now. Utterly fucking insane and an enemy of the game - more cancerous than any AFL shill could ever be. 

Of course we don’t need it or want it.

I’d rather the governance issue be resolved so we can move on but if the process is being strung out then you would rather rip the bandaid off

I'd rather play at the Asian Cup and the WC qualifiers. It would be an unmitigated disaster if we were to be kicked out. 

Nobody wants it. But the “unmitigated disaster“ is being played out right now, there’s a cancer in the game that will do more damage long term than being suspended will ever do.

Suspension is just one option. Accepting and implementing the CRWG recommendations is another and by far the most preferable.

The Lowy madness is the cancer and that cannot be allowed to continue, that’s not an option

Unless it was a suspension of a only few weeks pending a new ruling body being formed, a long suspension would mean nearly every single overseas player would leave immediately.
Most would not stay and risk their international standing by playing in a non FIFA sanctioned league.
Most good Australian players would try and head overseas to play in "real" leagues .
Your local A-League owners would have to decide whether they cut and run or stay and wait out the suspension .
Fox would officially owe no more money to the FFA so that money would cease immediately.
...and unlike the old NSL days there are few ethnics with lots of money willing to to throw it at clubs for little return.
There would be no money in the game.
Junior academies like the excellent free Roar one would cease to exist overnight .
We would... at best....have an all Aussie part time league basically ....NPL players ...and no.... that would not be good .
It would be a worse standard than the NSL was.

I see no upside to a suspension ...it would put us back 30 years .
Footballs apocalypse !

I’m pretty sure Australia has been suspended before by FIFA.

It would only a temporary gun to the head but a necessary one. Without it, Lowy and co. Will just sit on their hands.

@ miron Mercedes

I don’t think you get suspension of “just a few weeks”

The main takeaway from this article for me is the statement that FIFA may well consider this to be “normalisation-lite” and the next step is change or suspension.

Rather than have this discussion in these pages I’d rather the Dick heads with the power were discussing why they would oppose changes and why suspension is an acceptable alternative to them. That might bring a little focus to their discussions and thinking and shake them out of their complacency.

They were suspended in the early 1960's and it was a totally different situation. We have far more to lose now than then .

So you're saying that football being run by a self interested dictatorship is better than suspension?

Australia under the FFA dont deserve all of the benefits you mentioned. Being part of the world FIFA empire where nations have the opportunity to contest for millions in prize dollars, hold prestige events, and open themselves up to wealthy investors isnt a right. This is something we can only earn by doing the right thing by the sport

The way forward isnt to run an organisation in opposition to football and plead not to get suspended because it will be bad. The way forward is for the FFA to pull their finger out and start doing right by the game. If they cant do that, then we need to reap what they sew

I sure hope so . My reasoning behind mentioning a suspension of a few weeks relates to the possibility of FFA being suspended then FIFA admitting a newly formed organisation  (sans Lowys etc) in their place a after a few weeks ...so suspension may be an incorrect term ...probably "fucking the FFA off completely " is  a more correct business term .

Not before Sep 8

Well FFA have flagged to FIFA what they might do.So it's up to FIFA to prepare for that.
1.First step is to talk to all the proposed new stakeholders to see who is in support of the new congress.
2.If all but the four minions oppose it.Then its time to test their resolve to set up a New FFA.
3. Get a MOU signed by new stakeholders and reserve a new name and set up a holding company.
4.Prepare all their law suits.

4.Go to FFA with a big stick and issue an ultimatum.Pass the changes or be exiled and face a new FFA and resignation of all stakeholders ,except the minions and a multitude of law suits.
You can also add to that a FIFA ban on transfers of any Australian players who register with FFA.

Have to agree with this.

Who gives a shit, the sports fucked here anyway.

This.

We are so far behind other countries its embarrassing.

The sports fucked? Get a grip 😂

agree. imo we've already lost years of growth. a couple more is going to happen with the ffa or with suspension. 

When your league gets to the point where a team wants to sign "Bolt" as a professional player, id say that is pretty fucked up :laugh:

The FFAs last line of defence - it can’t get any worse :p

Maybe we should start an email and phone campaign 

Capital Football 
Contact details https://capitalfootball.com.au/about-us/contact-us/
Board "- https://capitalfootball.com.au/about-us/board-committees/

Northern NSW
Contact Page :- http://northernnswfootball.com.au/about-us/contacts/
Board:- http://northernnswfootball.com.au/about-us/board/

Tasmania Football Federation
Contact Page:- full of contacts and direct names and titles :  https://footballfedtas.com.au/board-management/

Yep and at the moment the only thing thats holding us up is the againg rotation circis that is the aleague. 

when it comes to how things are run, im gonna agree with them

I'm not going to resort to personal emails. I'm content in knowing that in the fullness of a time, a committed writer or journalist is going to write a well researched and insightful history of who was doing what to get us in this mess and it will form the accepted historical record.

Lord Texts Alot from Canberra, for instance, will occupy some uncomfortable pages in that record.

Agree with most of you.

FFA need to be booted out and the game needs to start from scratch again.

If that means losing access to the Asian Cup while we fix our game, then so be it.

we do what must be done to fix the game in this country. we need some short term pain for long term gain