FFA board member Heather Reid set to stand down
The ructions at the head of the FFA are continuing, with newly elected board member and deputy chair Heather Reid stepping down indefinitely to undergo chemotherapy.
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The ructions at the head of Football Federation Australia are continuing, with newly elected board member and deputy chair Heather Reid stepping down indefinitely to undergo chemotherapy.
With the shockwaves over the sacking of Matildas coach Alen Stajcic still reverberating, Reid’s exit – which for now is only an interim measure – adds to the furore surrounding the game’s new leadership, little more than two months after it was elected.
Reid has been in the spotlight over Stajcic’s dismissal, angrily denying claims that she had orchestrated it, but her decision to stand down from the board follows a diagnosis that she needed urgent medical treatment.
“In the circumstances, Heather has requested that the members of FFA and the football community understand her decision to step aside and respect her and her family’s privacy at this challenging time,” FFA said in a statement.
FFA Chairman Chris Nikou added: “Our thoughts are with Heather and her family and we wish her a full and speedy recovery.”
A self-declared pioneer of women’s football, Reid ran Capital Football for years and was one of those elected to the FFA board in November in the wake of governance reforms that saw Steven Lowy quit the game.
There has been a significant backlash against Stajcic’s exit, which FFA has refused to discuss in detail other than to cite an “unsatisfactory environment”.
Reid though gave an incendiary interview, claiming that “people would be shocked” if they knew the reasons for the coach’s exit.
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