New A-League pay deal closer to being signed

Australian football stakeholders are inching closer to agreement on a new A-League pay deal, having thrashed out their differences in a behind-closed-doors meeting on Thursday.

A-League boss Greg O'Rourke. Picture: AAP

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Australian football stakeholders are inching closer to agreement on a new A-League pay deal, having thrashed out their differences in a behind-closed-doors meeting on Thursday.

Twenty-four hours after the players’ union warned the competition could descend into pre-season “chaos” if the current collective bargaining agreement (CBA) is left to expire on June 30, all invested parties agreed in principle on a number of key changes.

Football Federation Australia, the clubs and Professional Footballers Australia (PFA) have all agreed to extend their current deal by a year while the complexities of separating the A-League from FFA control are worked through.

However, PFA chief executive John Didulica on Wednesday expressed fears players and clubs would be left uninsured and in legal limbo on July 1 if several key changes were not given the green light.

A-League boss Greg O'Rourke. Picture: AAP

It’s understood common ground was reached on a number of those sticking points at a meeting in Melbourne, with W-League gender equity principles and greater use of exemption clauses in the salary cap, such as homegrown and long-serving players, among the hot topics discussed.

“We had a constructive conversation today and have agreed on many things,” O’Rourke said.

“We look forward to finalising the CBA for the leagues before the June 30 deadline.”

While verbally given the okay, Didulica, A-League boss Greg O’Rourke, and clubs representative Sydney FC chief executive Danny Townsend must still clear each and every issue with their respective organisations before a rollover deal can be officially struck.

“From the outset we’ve been committed to keeping the structure in place,” Didulica said.

“Based on the discussions we’ve been having, everyone is very positive in terms of what we want to achieve.”

The next 12 months could bring more intense wrangling, with a vast review of the CBA, including the notion of scrapping the salary cap, to be conducted.

The pre-requisite is agreement on a new A-League model, for which the new leagues working group (NLWG) is due to make recommendations by June 30 though there are concerns the already once pushed-back deadline won’t be met.