A-League clubs fear another season under FFA control

A-League clubs are concerned they may be stuck under the control of the FFA for another year if a deal is not struck soon.

Wanderers chairman Paul Lederer doesn’t want another A-League season under FFA control

Concerns are mounting that soccer officials will fail to strike a deal to make the A-League independent of governing body Football Federation Australia by a June 30 deadline, with clubs and state federations at loggerheads.

Clubs have warned, if they do not wrest control of the league, it could experience another season of declining popularity and put at risk future sponsorship and commercial deals.

Western Sydney Wanderers chairman Paul Lederer, who is also the chairman of the clubs’ association, said it would be “catastrophic” for the A-League to experience another season under FFA management.

The looming June 30 deadline has galvanised the sport’s state and member federations, who have the majority say in a vote on a deal and are determined to extract financial and corporate governance concessions from the clubs.

Those include possible compensation flowing to the member federations, who are arguing for board representation on an independent league, a certain percentage of the league remaining owned by FFA and even club owners having to pay compensation to states when they sell their clubs.

Other sticking points between the clubs and federations remain the share from the $346 million TV revenue from Fox Sports, which still has four seasons to run on the current deal, commercial rights, ownership of intellectual property, structure of the new competition and the relationship between professional clubs and the game’s grassroots.

The states are also worried they will be left without access to future revenue streams once existing rights and sponsorship agreements expire. They want a portion of revenue to keep flowing to the wider game in the long-term.

The demands have upset club owners, who have incurred $350m in losses since the A-League was established in 2005.

They argue they deserve a bigger say in how the league is operated and that, by using their business acumen, can strike better sponsorship and broadcast deals and run the league more efficiently.

Meetings involving the clubs, FFA, member federations and other stakeholders are set for next week, with the clubs imploring the parties to find common ground.

“We all know it has to happen, so it should happen,” Wanderers chairman Paul Lederer says.

“We need people to put aside ego and power. It is not worth thinking about the consequences if we don’t meet this deadline.”

The clubs have argued they should take control over both their own and the league’s intellectual property for little or no compensation — a major sticking point for the states.

The two sides are said to be a reasonable way off a deal, meaning the June 30 deadline agreed by FFA chairman Chris Nikou could come and go without an agreement being struck, leaving the FFA in charge of the next A-League either for the entire season or at least part of it.

Professional Footballers’ Association chief executive John Didulica says the clubs and federations need to strike a deal: “We’ll never have a better opportunity to strike a deal that can genuinely balance the game’s objectives. Otherwise the losers will be the players and the fans.”

Clubs claim the league cannot go through another season like 2018-19, which was hit by a small fall in attendances but a major drop in broadcast ratings on both Fox Sports and the Ten Network.

Owners have implored the stakeholders to agree to a deal that would see the owners have control of the league and pay a percentage of revenue annually to FFA or the member federations.

The A-League clubs wanted to retain 90 per cent of TV revenue, leaving FFA with 10 per cent. The head body was demanding as much as 18.5 per cent and has the support of a number of member federations who are reliant on financial support from FFA.

The FFA board is believed to have moved closer to the position held by the clubs since former chairman Steven Lowy vacated the role last October.