Australian football in chaos as FFA chairman Steven Lowy fails to win support for voting reform
FOOTBALL Federation Australia chairman Steven Lowy has refused to confirm he will abide by FIFA’s ruling in the bitter power struggle that has brought Australian football to a standstill.
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UPDATE: FOOTBALL Federation Australia chairman Steven Lowy has refused to confirm he will abide by FIFA’s ruling in the bitter power struggle that has brought Australian football to a standstill.
After his controversial voting reforms failed to be passed on Thursday, with a growing likelihood that FIFA will sack Lowy and his FFA board and appoint their own governing committee, Lowy confirmed he had taken legal advice over his position – though he insisted that was “the normal course” of action.
Firing an angry broadside at the A-League clubs, Lowy said the future of the game had come down to “money and control” in a “fight about who runs the game in Australia”.
Having been told more than a year ago by FIFA to make the annual FFA Congress more democratic, Lowy’s proposed model was voted down on Thursday afternoon – the deadline set by FIFA to achieve reform.
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The vote brought to a head months of increasingly acrimonious negotiations between FFA, the nine states and the A-League clubs, with Lowy refusing to give way on granting the clubs the number of votes in the Congress they had sought.
After seeing NSW and Victoria vote with the A-League clubs to leave his reforms short of the 75% majority needed at Thursday’s AGM, Lowy accused the clubs of wanting to line their own pockets at the expense of the grassroots and the Socceroos.
He will now seek advice from FIFA about the next steps for the game, with the world governing body having threatened to appoint a so-called “normalisation committee” as early as next week.
Asked if he would accept that, Lowy declined to say. “We have to make that determination at the time and we’re a long way from that,” he said. “FIFA has not made that decision.
“You have to appreciate that FIFA has been working with us every step of the way. FIFA has a clear understanding of the politics and dynamics in Australia, and the intention of the board to remain independent. They understand the importance of that in an Australian context.”
Asked if he taken legal advice, Lowy added: “We have an understanding of our legal position, yes. But whether we would choose to enact that position depends on the circumstances. We are a duly elected, independent board, recognised by FIFA. We are the governing body in Australia.”
Lowy singled out the City Football Group as representing a club ethos that wanted to soak up the game’s resources.
“Five of the professional clubs are controlled by foreign interest,” he said. “One is controlled by Manchester City. It’s not in their interest that there’s an independent board that’s allocating funds for the whole of the game.”
He accused the clubs of wanting a return to the “bad old days” of the NSL.
“Today’s vote was all about money and control,” he said. “This has been a fight about who runs the game in Australia. The independent board was put in place some 13 years ago because the game was a basket case. Those who voted against progress today are those who want to take the game back to the bad old days.”
Asked if there was a loss of faith in his leadership, Lowy made clear he would not resign.
“My resolve has has never been stronger than it is today to fight for the independence of the game in Australia,” he said. “The fact that the A-League club owners together with a few of the bigger states have voted against change doesn’t deter me one bit.”
“It’s obvious that Steven Lowy has lost the locker room,” said Adelaide United chairman Greg Griffin, speaking on behalf of the A-League clubs. “The professional game voted against it, the two major states voted against it. I think it has to go to FIFA. It’s regrettable, but that’s what it is.”
Asked what that meant for Lowy’s position as chairman, Griffin added: “I would’ve thought, once you lose the locker room in sport, it’s very difficult to get it back.”
All along, today has loomed as the deadline set by FIFA to achieve reform rooted in consensus among the stakeholders in the game — the clubs, the players and the states — with the threat of FIFA appointing a so-called normalisation committee to run the game here if that fails.
Next week, FIFA’s powerful associations committee will rule on what is to happen next in Australia.
Lowy had tried to force through a model bitterly opposed by the A-League clubs, the players union and also resisted by the two biggest states, NSW and Victoria.
The Daily Telegraph understands that extensive talks have been held among various parties towards the clubs, players and some states now approaching FIFA with their own model of reform.
They would, in effect, be asking FIFA to sideline Lowy and allow the actual stakeholders to agree reform themselves.