Undercurrent of intrigue as control ofgame up for grabs at FFA election

After the Socceroos produced a get-out-of-jail draw against South Korea, Australian soccer will be hanging on another result today.

Outgoing FFA chairman Steven Lowy. Picture: Tim Hunter.

Less than two days after the Socceroos produced a get-out-of-jail draw against South Korea, Australian soccer will be hanging on ­another result today.

It will have nothing to do with on-field performances, but some argue this outcome will have a profound effect on the future of the sport in this country.

Football Federation Australia will hold its annual general meeting in Sydney this afternoon amid an undercurrent of intrigue, fear, politicking and everything else that has sometimes defined a game that has promised so much but has constantly shot itself in the foot for too long.

With chairman Steven Lowy and several of his supporters stepping down, four new directors will be elected to fill the vacancies. As many as three more can be co-opted on to the board.

Just who will fill the positions remains to be seen.

It goes without saying that the past few months have brought out the worst in the sport as the jockeying for positions and the horse-trading between the contenders and the voters have reached fever pitch.

The F F A soccer panel

You scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours appears to have been a common theme.

As a result, it is no surprise that there have been casualties along the way. Judith Griggs, who chaired the Congress Review Working Group that oversaw changes to FFA’s voting congress, was the first to opt out earlier this month.

A serious contender for the chairmanship, Griggs withdrew her nomination saying she had “come to the view that my international commitments could conflict with the needs of the board going forward”.

However, there are suggestions there were other things at play in her decision.

Former Socceroo Craig Foster, who had become the people’s champion, was another unfortunate victim, having fallen prey to the wheeling and dealing.

He withdrew on Friday after it was revealed that some member federations, along with the A-League clubs, had been working on reaching a consensus as to the four who should be voted on the board. Foster was frozen out of that consensus decision.

It is clear that some of the voters were of the view that Foster would be too much of a renegade, that he would not toe the company line and that his call for radical changes threatened the power base of some. While Foster can be a polarising figure, it is a sad indictment on the sport that someone with so much passion and love for the game can be ignored.

So where does that leave Australian soccer ahead of today’s elections? Make no mistake, what happens at the AGM is going to be crucial for the sport moving forward. It is incumbent on all those who vote to make the right decisions for the right reasons. For once, it is hoped, they look beyond protecting their positions. The message should be clear: examine your hearts and think about the best interests of the game.

When the changes to the FFA Congress were approved and Lowy announced he would be standing down, there was widespread applause. The Lowy dynasty had been the catalyst for significant change in the game over the past 15 years or so but they had become too autocratic.

It did not sit well with the A-League clubs and the rank and file.

There was no doubt the game needed change at the top and it needed to be more inclusive. Let’s hope the old saying “be careful what you wish for” does not come back to haunt Australian soccer.