A-League club owners are "set to table a proposal for a historic new governance structure to Football Federation Australia that would provide the clubs with a greater influence over the game's administration and a significant increase in funding," according to Dominic Bossi of the SYDNEY MORNING HERALD. A united proposition from all 10 clubs "will demand the FFA increase their stake at the organisation's membership level and provide owners with a significantly improved share of revenue." A private meeting of all club owners or their representatives "will take place in Melbourne on Tuesday before the Socceroos' World Cup qualifier against Japan." Despite some owners calling for an independent commission to break away from FFA to manage the A-League, the proposal "will not seek for the A-League to sever ties with the governing body in the near future." Instead, the draft that has circulated "demands the clubs have an improved representation at the membership tier of the FFA." At the heart of the proposition is "a disagreement over the existing share of revenue provided to the clubs and ambiguity over the valuation of the A-League." There is no independent profit-and-loss statement available for the entire A-League "as finances are pooled into the broader game." The owners are also calling for an end to the centralized revenue pool for merchandise "which sees some clubs receive as little as" A$6 ($4.50) for the sale of a A$120 ($91) replica jersey. Sources suggest FFA Chair Steven Lowy is "open to negotiating a new governance structure with the 10 A-League owners including providing them more influence and additional member status" (SMH, 10/10).
