Queensland billionaire Clive Palmer establishes new body for Australian soccer Football Australia

FOR his latest trick, outspoken billionaire Clive Palmer has established a new body for Australian soccer that aims to be a voice for the sport.

Clive Palmer

FOR his latest trick, outspoken billionaire Clive Palmer has established a new body for Australian soccer.

There's a catch: Football Australia does not represent any league or teams but intends to be a voice for the sport.

Mr Palmer yesterday revealed his intention to replace Football Federation Australia with FA, a body to ensure the game was operated with "transparency and fairness" to be headed by former A-League boss Archie Fraser.

"The FFA has lurched from one disaster to another and needs to be replaced," said Mr Palmer, who on Wednesday was stripped of his A-League licence by the FFA for alleged material breaches of the club participation agreement.

Despite sources telling The Courier-Mail Mr Palmer had approached his players to join a rebel league that would not be sanctioned by the world game's governing body FIFA, Mr Fraser rejected suggestions a breakaway league was in Football Australia's plans.

"We haven't talked about running our own competition," Mr Fraser said.

"We think we can play a role within the game. When you get senior identities who own the clubs complaining about a whole range of things, they need a voice."

Mr Fraser also denied Mr Palmer's stated aim that Football Australia replace FFA as the game's national body.

"I would certainly extend my hand to the senior executives and the chairman of the FFA to actually embrace this and get involved, and put behind them the professional issues that they've had and stop playing the man, and start getting on with the job of making this game that we all love the No.1 sport in this country," he said.

However, there is no chance of a working relationship between the two parties, according to FFA chief executive Ben Buckley.

Mr Buckley said Mr Palmer's formation of Football Australia was merely an attempt to deflect attention away from the "real issue".

"Gold Coast United under Clive Palmer has shown that it will not comply with the rules and regulations of the competition in accordance with the agreement they signed," Mr Buckley said in a prepared statement.

Mr Palmer will today go to the Supreme Court to challenge the FFA's decision to strip him of his A-League licence.

If successful, Gold Coast will complete the season under his ownership. If he fails, Gold Coast players are understood to have agreed to finish the season and be paid by FFA.