Reformers need to step up as Lowys depart Australian soccer

Australian soccer might well have seen the last of the Lowys, but only time will tell whether the game can move forward without the undoubted influence of one of the most powerful families in the country.

After 15 years at the helm of Football Federation Australia, the game is going to have to fend for itself, to make do without the powerful Lowy influence at both business and government level.

Following almost three years of bitterness and political machinations, the wishes of the majority of fans and his adversaries among the A-League clubs, and some member federations, were finally realised yesterday after FFA chairman Steven Lowy failed in his bid to prevent constitutional reforms going ahead.

The passing of a resolution to approve far reaching changes to FFA’s voting structure at the special meeting in Sydney was a kick in the guts and the final straw for Lowy, who will now follow through with his decision, made in August, to stand down from the chairmanship at an AGM next month.

How times have changed. There would have been a period, especially under Frank Lowy’s leadership, when to even think about opposing the Lowys would have been fraught with fear. Maybe you could think it but none would ever act on those plans.

Obviously the mood has changed. Those who have agitated for a change saw the chance to seize the moment once Frank departed and son Steven had been parachuted into the role three years ago.

Perhaps Steven was seen as an easier target. What we do know now is that it is time for the game to move on. Enough of the infighting that has seen the sport mark time, if not go backwards, while politics and the quest for power raged.

The shift in the balance of power will be seismic.

Now it is up to those who have pushed relentlessly for reform to put up or shut up. They need to take the game forward, to unite it, find new revenue streams and sort out the A-League.

Make no mistake, it will be a massive challenge for the new FFA board and the man, or woman, who assumes the chairmanship.

Importantly, the new regime will need to give an iron-clad guarantee that the grassroots and the national team programs — men’s and women’s — will not simply be sustained but given the resources to grow.

As for the Lowy name, it is awfully harsh to say “good riddance” as some critics have suggested.

Their positive influence on the game in the initial stages of their tenure surely cannot be diminished. Yes, they made mistakes — the handling of the World Cup bid, the disenfranchising of “old soccer”, the lack of transparency regarding FFA’s finances and allowing the A-League to fall into disrepair, the biggest of them.

But the increased revenues, the record television broadcast deal, the introduction of the A-League and admittance into the Asian Football Confederation are among some of the good things they have done for the game.

It’s a shame, however, that in their quest to rule with supreme power they failed to get involved in consensus and to recognise the feelings of the fans. They lost the goodwill of the people who mattered most.

And now they have paid the price.