Retiring FFA directors responsible for $4m in sponsorship

About $4m of sponsorship money is connected to retiring Football Federation Australia directors, the latest financial accounts reveal.

Outgoing FFA chairman Steven Lowy is responsible for a large chunk of the code’s sponsorship. Picture: Brendan Esposito

About $4 million worth of sponsorship money is connected to retiring Football Federation Australia directors, the sport’s latest financial accounts reveal.

The accounts, lodged with the corporate regulator yesterday, reveal FFA recorded a small $126,000 loss from $132.5m revenue in the year to June 30. Those figures compared with a $335,000 loss from $105m revenue last year.

FFA’s revenue increase would have primarily been as a result of the Socceroos qualifying for the 2018 World Cup in Russia and the first year of a six-year $346m broadcast deal with Fox Sports.

The organisation did not break down its revenue sources in the annual report, but it did reveal its spending on grants and distributions to A-League clubs and other bodies increased about $11.5m to $43.9m, and travel expenses rose about $6m to $16m.

FFA also spent $32m on employee and team benefits, up from $26m in 2017, and $14m on marketing and media expenses, an increase of about $2m. Key management personnel were paid $4.36m, down from $4.71m in 2017.

The accounts also showed information on sponsorship by companies connected to outgoing FFA chairman Steven Lowy, a non-executive director of Scentre Group, and retiring director Simon Hepworth, the chief financial officer of Caltex.

Under related party interests, the accounts said Scentre Group shelled out $1.68m in sponsorship in 2018, down from $2.5m the previous year, and Caltex spent $2.34m, up from $1.84m in the same period.

Caltex signed a four-year deal with FFA to be naming rights sponsor of the Socceroos in 2016, while Scentre Group has already announced its naming rights deal for the FFA Cup will expire after the final as the company prefers to concentrate on women’s football.

Scentre is the naming rights partner for the Matildas women’s national side. Scentre, which owns and operates Westfield shopping malls in Australia and New Zealand, announced a two-year extension to its Matildas deal last July.

Lowy will retire as chairman after a tumultuous three-year term, at the FFA’s annual general meeting in November, while Hepworth is also retiring.

As revealed by The Australian last week, contenders to replace Lowy include PwC managing director Joseph Carrozzi, former Labor senator Stephen Conroy, now the head of gambling lobby group Responsible Wagering Australia, and current FFA director Chris Nikou, a corporate lawyer with K&L Gates.