A-League’s independence day nears following release of congress review report

A-League clubs will be able to break away from FFA if sweeping recommendations are accepted at an extraordinary meeting.

FFA Chairman Steven Lowy. Picture: Getty Images

A-League clubs will be able to break away from Football Federation Australia if sweeping recommendations to the governance of football in Australia are accepted at an extraordinary meeting next month.

After almost three years of rancour, claims, counter claims and backflips, the game moved a step closer to sorting out its ongoing issues with the release today of a 100-page Congress Review Working Group (CRWG) report.

The report detailed a number of recommendations including changes including:

• Taking the A-League from FFA and running it independently by the 2019-20 season.

• A new FFA voting congress that will see it grow from its present 10 members to 29 members.

• Provision for the inclusion of special interests groups by 2019.

• Another review of the governance in four years time.

Under the new congress, member federations retain their nine members and would have 55 per cent of the vote; the A-League clubs would have nine members and 28 per cent of the vote; the Women’s Council would have 10 members and 10 per cent of the vote and Professional Footballers Australia would have one member and seven per cent of the vote.

The current congress is made up of nine member federations (one vote each) and the A-League clubs, which get a single combined vote. The congress is the election arm of the game and has the power to vote for members of FFA’s independent board.

Still, there is no guarantee the recommendations will get through.

They have to be given the all-clear by a meeting of world governing body FIFA member associations on August 20 before they are put to the FFA EGM.

However, the CRWG report noted the opposition to the recommendations by FFA.

As revealed by The Australian last week, FFA have the support of at least four member federations — the ACT, Northern Territory, Tasmania and Northern NSW. Those four states are unhappy with some aspects of the CRWG report amid allegations they have been influenced by FFA chairman Steven Lowy.

If the recommendations are torpedoed on September 7 it would leave FFA open to disciplinarian action from FIFA, who could choose to disband the FFA board and bring in a normalisation committee or suspend FFA. That would prevent the Socceroos, Matildas and all the junior national representative teams from competing in any tournament including World Cups and World Cup qualification games.