Craig Foster’s FFA hopes fade as gang of four moves into pole position

The odds of former Socceroo Craig Foster winning a position on the board of FFA appear to be diminishing.

Craig Foster has won support at grassroots level to join FFA’s board of directors but may be left on the outer. Picture: Zak Simmonds

The odds of former Socceroo and now people’s champion Craig Foster winning a position on the board of Football Federation Australia appear to be diminishing amid revelations an attempt is being made to reach consensus on the make-up of the board.

The Australian understands discussions have been taking place over the past 24 to 48 hours involving FFA’s membership in a bid to find common ground as to who should fill the four elected vacancies on the board.

FFA will hold its annual general meeting in Sydney on Monday, when nominations will go up for election following the recent resignations of chairman Steven Lowy and Joseph Healy and the expiry of the terms of Simon Hepworth and Chris Nikou.

There are 11 nominations to fill the four vacancies: Morry Bailes, Joseph Carrozzi, Stephen Conroy, Craig Foster, Danny Moulis, Chris Nikou, Remo Nogarotto, Linda Norquay, Heather Reid, Mark Randell and Mark Shield.

Foster, who also works for SBS as a football analyst, has thrown his hat into the ring not just to serve on the board but to replace Lowy as chairman.

However, it is believed that he has been frozen out, with those behind the last-minute manoeuvring pushing for a bloc of Carrozzi, Nikou, Nogarotto and Conroy.

web copy for sport FFA graphic

The news regarding Foster’s situation will not go down well with the rank and file of the sport. He has won widespread support from fans around the country because of his relentless advocacy of Australian soccer and the fact he is regarded as “a real” football ­person.

Foster made more ground and received huge praise after he explained his vision and hope for the sport during a forum involving a number of board candidates in Melbourne earlier this week.

If he misses out in the elections it is still possible he could come on board as one of three co-opted directors, with Heather Reid also likely to be co-opted to provide more women on the board. However, the odds of Foster accepting that would be extremely slim. He would be unlikely to want to be involved, anyway, if he did not have the support of the members in the first place.

But it remains to be seen if those behind the last-minute move can pull off a consensus deal given the fragmented nature of the member federations in particular.

That fragmentation was on show 18 months ago when the member federations twice agreed to far-reaching changes to FFA’s constitution only to renege both times when allegedly put under pressure by Lowy. Even if consensus is reached, there is no guarantee it would stick as the sport in this country is known to do last-minute backflips for the sake of political expediency.

If the consensus does go through then the next FFA chairman will come from one of Carrozzi, Conroy, Nogarotto and Nikou. The Australian understands former Soccer Australia chairman Nogarotto is now looming as one of the strong favourites, despite declaring via his Twitter account that he is not interested.

Nogarotto, who was nominated by Northern NSW and seconded by A-League club Melbourne City, reportedly did not cross out the section on his nomination form to say he wasn’t running. However, there seems little doubt that, if asked, he would seriously consider the position.

Carrozzi is another strong contender who came across well during the forum.

Nikou has been mentioned as a serious contender, though those who have been pushing for change at the top view him as part of the Lowy regime.

Rosmarin and Murray still have 12 months left on their terms, but it remains to be seen if they will see it out. Much could depend on the final make-up of the new board.

Meanwhile, Bonita Mersiades, former FFA head of corporate affairs and communication, author and campaigner for reform of FIFA, has been been nominated to chair the Women’s Council as an independent.

Mersiades, who was nominated by Football Federation Victoria, said she she will stand for election because the Women’s Council “has an important role in driving change and advancing the presence and role of women in football in Australia”.

“I am a football person with demonstrable experience in working collaboratively with a wide range of stakeholders, with competing priorities in challenging environments, to reach an outcome that actually makes a difference,” she said in a statement.

Mersiades, who many within the sport believe should have stood for the FFA board elections, said she hoped the decision is “based on merit and merit alone”.