Promotion and relegation in Australia unlikely until 2034, says Football Federation Australia chairman Chris Nikou

FFA chairman Chris Nikou says the prospect of promotion and relegation is constrained by the nine licences of the Australian-based A-League franchises, which don’t expire until 2034.

Football Federation Australia’s board members are publicly bickering over chairman Chris Nikou’s revelatory remarks that promotion and relegation is unlikely until 2034.

FFA has gone into damage control over the comments made at Sunday’s inaugural Football Writers’ Festival, where Nikou said the prospect of introducing promotion and relegation is constrained by the nine licences of the Australian-based A-League franchises, which were extended by 20 years in 2014 and effectively guarantee them a spot in the league for the next 15 years.

“They’ve got an entitlement until 2034, so if I was at a club I’d say ‘you can’t do it because I’ve got a contractual right to be in this competition’,” Nikou told the audience in Jamberoo.

“I think you need a second division, you need to have that established. Most clubs need to be able to step up into that space when it comes. If the gap is too big they won’t be able to do it.

“So there’s quite a few building blocks to put in place before you get to a proper discussion about promotion and relegation.”

Nikou stressed caution in the creation of a national second division, arguing it must be built on solid commercial foundations that would boost the local game’s growth and widen development pathways.

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FFA chairman Chris Nikou spoke in depth at the Football Writers’ Festival.

While emphasising he was voicing his opinion from where he currently stands, fans erupted on social media and board members made it known their views differed from those of their chairman.

The governing body then issued a “clarification” on Sunday night.

“Got no idea where that number comes from,” board member Remo Nogarotto tweeted.

“Sounds pretty arbitrary. Must be a private view and certainly one that is not shared by me. Would have preferred a proper board discussion before publicly ventilating but there’s Oz football for you.

I have no idea if Chris has been misquoted or if his comments were taken out of context but i can assure you that to the best of my knowledge, and unless it predates my election, it does not represent any board resolution, so can only be a private view.”

Nikou’s comments will come as a blow to the Association of Australian Football Clubs (AAFC), which represents the country’s NPL clubs and had hoped to have a second tier up and running by 2020.

A second division working group has begun thrashing out the detail under the umbrella of the new leagues working group.

That group includes FFA, the clubs, state federations and players’ union and is due to make recommendations on a new A-League ownership model by March 31.

“I’m not sure about the timing of the second division,” Nikou said.

“The AAFC has come out and said 2020, but this working group has got to come up with what it looks like, because if it’s half-baked no one’s going to thank us for putting it up.

“That’s the reality. But do we want to get it up? Of course we do, that’s important. So I’m not going to rush it.”

FFA, in its statement, said it wished “to clarify comments made earlier today by FFA Chairman Chris Nikou in relation to the timing of the introduction of promotion and relegation to and from the Hyundai A-League”.

“Under the terms of the existing Club Participation Agreement (CPA), existing and incoming Australian Hyundai A-League Clubs are entitled to participate in the Hyundai A-League until the year 2034,” it read.

“Whilst the CPA also provides for the introduction of promotion and relegation during that period at its discretion, FFA notes that the New Leagues Working Group and the Second Division Working Group are currently considering the future structure of the top two tiers of Australian club football, including what provisions for promotion and relegation should be established.

“These provisions are expected to include the specific timing of the establishment of a Second Division, targeted commencement of promotion and relegation to and from the Hyundai A-League, and the prioritisation of Second Division Clubs as part of expansion of the Hyundai A-League beyond 12 teams.”

Nikou also defended FFA’s decision to support incumbent AFC president Sheikh Salman for a third term in next month’s elections, a decision condemned by Bahraini refugee and new Australian citizen Hakeem al-Araibi and those who helped secure his release including Craig Foster and Professional Footballers Australia.

Amnesty International Australia has alleged FIFA vice-president Salman, a member of the Bahraini royal family, failed to seek the release of al-Araibi when he was detained in Thailand and at risk of being extradited to his homeland.

“We had to make a decision as to what was in Australia’s best interests,” said Nikou, who himself is running for a position on the AFC executive committee.

“Australia needs to be a much more integrated member of the AFC so its words can be heard, and that’s part of the battle we’ve got going forward.”

He denied FFA had the option of abstaining from the upcoming vote.

“Because being a member of the AFC has the obligation to cast a vote and abstaining just simply wasn’t an option,” he said.

“It would have been an easy option. We had to make a call.

“Our relationship with the other ASEAN countries is important and solidarity with them was a factor.”