FFA: Lowy’s last-ditch bid for support from states

The three-year civil war that has engulfed Australian soccer appears set to end tomorrow.

Steven Lowy has made a series of phone calls in a bid to win support from the states

Football Federation Australia chairman Steven Lowy has reportedly made a last-ditch effort to win back support from member state and territory federations as the three-year civil war that has engulfed the sport appears set to end tomorrow.

Lowy, who has indicated he will resign at an AGM in November because of “football politics”, is understood to have made several phone calls in a bid to convince stakeholders to continue to support his call to torpedo the recommendations of a Congress Review Working Group, which had the backing of world governing body FIFA.

Lowy upped the ante following the release of a joint statement yesterday from all 10 FFA members — nine state and territory federations and the A-League clubs combined — detailing a new notice in which a resolution will be put two hours before an FFA emergency meeting tomorrow.

The new notice includes an amendment to one Congress Review Working Group recommendation that will see all the state and territory federations added to a working group that will design a new model for the A-League. As it stands now, the group would only be made up of several nominated state or territory members.

The new agreement was reached after two weeks of intensive discussions. At one stage it appeared negotiations were dead and buried.

All 10 FFA members signed off on the resolution late on Friday, just hours after FFA had sent out a detailed report highlighting its opposition to the CRWG recommendations, which called for a drastic change in the voting structure of FFA and independence for the A-League.

The latest development is a huge hit for Lowy and the FFA board. They have been vehemently opposed to the CRWG recommendations, claiming they will give too much power to the A-League clubs and have serious ramifications for the grassroots of the game.

Lowy initially had the support of at least four member federations — Capital Football, Northern Territory, Northern NSW and Tasmania. He needed just three of their votes to ensure the defeat of the CRWG recommendations.

However, it appears that support has diminished following the release of yesterday’s statement.

One member close to what has happened over the past three years described yesterday’s development as “a massive moment for the game”.

“Everyone has worked around the clock to get this done. It has been several weeks of hard work and discussions,” he said. “It is the most unified the game has been for some time.”

The unification of the members and the likelihood that the CRWG recommendations, and the amendments, will be passed has all but guaranteed that FIFA will not be forced to take action against Australia. FIFA has the power to bring in a normalisation committee or suspend FFA if the recommendations are not given the all clear.