FIFA pushes to break A-League away from FFA in new report

THE A-League could be independent from Football Federation Australia by the 2019-20 season under a proposal by a FIFA-mandated group assigned with breaking the country’s governance gridlock.

The congress review working group’s (CRWG) report, submitted to FIFA last week and released to the public on Tuesday, also provides strong clues as to why FFA and a quartet of small member federations are against the recommendations being adopted.

The 100-page document addresses a variety of issues underpinning the country’s footballing landscape including elite football, grassroots, gender equality and greater financial transparency than what the FFA Constitution currently requires.

The recommendations also address the crux of the governance crisis that has engulfed Australian football for the best part of three years — the voting make-up of the body responsible for electing FFA’s board.

FFA’s current congress, considered undemocratic by FIFA, is comprised of only 10 seats with nine allotted to the nine state member federations and one for the A-League clubs.

As reported by The Daily Telegraph last week, the CRWG calls for an expansion of the congress from 10 members to 29 across four stakeholder groups, who would share a total 100 votes.

The member federations (nine members — 55 votes) and A-League clubs (nine members — 28 votes) would be joined at the table by the players’ union (one member — seven votes) and a new women’s council (10 members — 10 votes), of which the member federations, clubs and players’ union would each nominate three with the 10th an independent chair.

Crucially, no one stakeholder group would be allocated enough votes to form a bloc and pass constitutional change on its own — a key complaint about the existing model.

It also sets down a pathway for the future inclusion of NPL clubs, represented by the Association of Australian Football Clubs (AAFC), new A-League clubs and other special interest groups.

The CRWG calls it “a broader and more balanced representations of stakeholders in line with FIFA Statutes” and proposes the congress undergo a review every four years.

Until FFA states exactly which “crucial aspects of the report” it opposes, the governing body’s precise objections remain unconfirmed.

But the document does state “it is noted by the CRWG that the FFA Board is not in agreement with the CRWG’s proposed congress model.”

It also notes that “that the FFA Board is not in agreement with the CRWG’s proposed pathway” to an alternative A-League, W-League and Youth League governance model.

That pathway centres around the formation of a new independently chaired leagues working group (NLWG) comprising “a representation of the key football stakeholders in Australia” that would consider, evaluate and make recommendations on a new operating model and its related legal and commercial factors.

It would conclude its work by March 31, 2019 so recommendations can be implemented in time for the 2019-20 season.

The document was signed off by the chairmen of the four biggest state federations, two A-League club representatives, Professional Footballers Australia’s chief executive and FFA director Chris Nikou, along with independent chairperson Judith Griggs.

But while it is set to be approved by FIFA at its next member associations committee this month it is all but certain to be voted down once it returns to Australia for adoption at a special general meeting before September 7.

An amendment to FFA’s constitution is required to pass the changes, with 75 per cent — or eight of the 10 current congress votes — needed for an in-favour vote.

As it stands four appear set to vote it down after the ACT’s Capital Football, Football Federation Northern Territory, Tasmania and Northern NSW — which represent a total 18 per cent of Australia’s total registered players — publicly came out against the proposals in their current form.

In a way, this leaves agitators for change right back where they started, caught in the irony of seeking democratic reforms but unable to have them implemented by the very body deemed undemocratic by FIFA.

In another, such a blatant rejection of a report carrying FIFA’s endorsement, could provoke the world governing body to deliver its harshest response yet.

FIFA’s continued facilitation has so far been futile in reaching an outcome and the threat of intervention has long hung over this process,

Normalisation — sacking Steven Lowy and his board and installing a temporary committee to oversee the reform process — is the most obvious option.

However one person involved throughout the saga has described the CRWG as ‘normalisation-lite’, suggesting that option has already been somewhat exhausted.

The only real alternative, dramatic as it sounds, is suspension.

Such a move could put in doubt the Socceroos’ Asian Cup defence in January and the Matildas’ World Cup campaign next June.