Craig Foster withdraws FFA board bid

Football politics has claimed another victim with former Socceroo withdrawing his nomination for an FFA board spot.

Australian football politics has claimed another victim with former Socceroo Craig Foster withdrawing his nomination for a spot on the revamped board of Football Federation Australia.

In a shock for the rank and file of the sport, Foster announced the decision via his Twitter account, apologising at the same time for letting them down.

“My deepest apologies to our players, fans, community and media who have given me such incredible support over the past few weeks,” he said in his statement. “You performed with great passion and bravery.

“If you all wore the green and gold I’d be proud to play alongside of you. It is your spirit the game needs to succeed. I gave you my very best but, this time, I was not able to deliver.”

Foster’s decision came less than 24 hours after The Australian revealed exclusively that he was facing an uphill battle to win a spot on the board.

Meetings and discussions had been taking place among the Football Federation Australia membership over the past 48 hours or so trying to come to a consensus about the four nominations who should fill the four vacant spots on the board.

Foster, who is also a football analyst on SBS TV, was frozen out of the discussions, and that heightened speculation he did not have the numbers to succeed at the election, which will be held at FFA’s Annual General Meeting on Monday.

As revealed by The Australian, the discussions, which are still ongoing, are aimed at getting a ticket of Joseph Carrozzi, Remo Nogarotto, Stephen Conroy and Chris Nikou on the board. Nikou is looming as the favourite to succeed outgoing chairman Steve Lowy, who has resigned.

Foster’s decision will not go down well among the fans who I have been his strongest supporters.

In making his decision, Foster said it was clear he did not have the support of most of the stakeholders.

“Despite the amazing support of our football community around the country, it has become clear I do not have the necessary stakeholder support to succeed in my candidacy for the board and as chairman of FFA,” he said. “Accordingly I have notified FFA of the withdrawal of my nomination.

“I ran a transparent andf public campaign not just for this board but for the chairmanship for a number of reasons.

“Without strong, independent leadership I believe the game is in peril of making decisions that fail to protect every aspect of our community.”

Despite his exit from the race, Foster called on the football community to continue to fight for the sport.

“Don’t let this fade, let’s feed on it and, together we can shape not just the game but the country.

“You must all play a more direct role in the future of the game and I am committed to supporting you to achieve this end.

As any football lover knows, one game does not make a season.

“I intend to continue to campaign on bringing our community together, healing our past and shaping our game through democracy and will be ready to stand again at the right time, in the right environment, with the right team and mandate.”