New FFA boss James Johnson a ‘circuit breaker’

Incoming FFA chief executive James Johnson wants to be seen as a “circuit breaker” in a sport wracked by internal conflict.

New FFA chief executive James Johnson.

Incoming Football Federation Australia chief executive James Johnson wants to be seen as a “circuit breaker” in a sport wracked by internal conflict for the best part of four years.

He is also fully aware of what he is in for.

When asked on Friday what was more difficult, currently dealing with European governing body UEFA regarding Manchester City’s possible ban from the Champions League for breaking financial rules, previous negotiations to restart Indonesian football that included talks with president Joko Widodo or uniting Australian soccer, Johnson plumped for the latter.

“There’s one common denominator across all those,” he said. “You need to have honest and open communication and build trust with your stakeholders. I’ll have a strong emphasis on communicating with people in the sport.”

Soccer in Australia is once again crying out for a saviour and the sport hopes they have found one of their own. Johnson was officially appointed on Friday to succeed David Gallop, who left FFA last week after seven years in the role having had long his cards marked as a “non-football” person following the departure of former chairman Steven Lowy late last year.

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Johnson has a decade of football administration across Australia and the world, having worked for the players’ union locally before moving to the Asian Football Confederation, world governing body FIFA and lastly this year City Football Group, the owners of Manchester City and Melbourne City, as its senior vice-president of external affairs.

Johnson’s CFG employment is also a common denominator in Australian football, with CFG director Simon Pearce, Melbourne City’s vice-chairman and a special adviser to the executive authority running Abu Dhabi, an immensely influential powerbroker in A-League circles as the competition looks to complete its separation from FFA within months.

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CFG has variously supplied or organised consultants to the league, and digital and advertising advice, but Johnson played down his links on Friday.

“We need to look at the facts. I won’t be a CFG person any more, I’ll be a FFA person and CEO. The facts are I grew up in the football community and developed (as a player) in the Australian pathway, worked the players, in Asian football and in the last 11 months for CFG. But my employment for them will cease. Those are the facts.”

Johnson’s football background will earn him kudos from the football community — FFA chairman Chris Nikou said on Friday that “football is in James’ soul” — but he faces a big challenge trying to unite a fractured sport.

There has been fighting between the states and the clubs on the terms of the A-League separation, concerns about governance at FFA board level and worries about sponsors walking away, but Johnson stressed the need for unity.

“If stakeholders are fighting then you are unable to communicate and you can’t move the game forward,” Johnson said.

He said it was important for FFA to have a strong relationship with the professional side of the sport, even if it will be diminished in a fiscal sense once separation from the A-League is completed.

Johnson will also investigate ways to improve junior development, work on the Australian bid for the 2023 Women’s World Cup and potentially introduce a second division underneath the A-League. One mooted model for the latter is 24 teams across two conferences comprising current state league clubs and A-League youth teams, though much negotiating is still ahead. There are also state federation and player relationships to juggle.

Johnson insisted he was undaunted by the challenge, and will officially start in the role in mid-January after moving from his current home in Manchester.

“I’m very excited to be coming home, excited about the opportunity … and truly believe the future is bright. We have great participation levels, one of the best women’s national teams in the world in the Matildas, and a good Socceroos teams that has qualified for the last four World Cups.

“There is a lot of hard work ahead, but I can’t wait to get stuck into it.”