Football Federation Australia "will seek an extension from FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation to a deadline for restructuring its membership" after failing to reach an agreement with stakeholders to expand its congress, according to Dominic Bossi of the SYDNEY MORNING HERALD. FFA will reportedly miss the March 31 deadline to expand its membership tier, "opening the door for possible intervention" from FIFA, "which is understood to be unhappy with the stalled developments in Australia." FFA is "under heavy scrutiny from FIFA to expand its congress -- which elects and votes on board members -- to become more democratic and representative of the game" by including more stakeholders rather than the nine-member state federations which have a vote each and the A-League clubs that "collectively hold just one seat." After failing to receive a 75% majority of the votes required from the existing 10 members to expand the congress on FFA's terms, FIFA "could decide to step in and take an active role in the transition and restructure of Australian football's governance, not limited to removing the FFA board" (SMH, 3/30).
'CONSTRAINTS OF THE CAP': The AAP reported Socceroos coach Ange Postecoglou "called for the abolition of the A-League salary cap, saying it is affecting the development of young Australian players" by forcing them to move overseas "too early." Postecoglou also believes the annual wage cap "is hampering the ability of local teams to bring quality players from overseas to the country." Asked about "the one change he would make to the A-League if he was in charge of the competition," he said, "Get rid of the salary cap. I want teams who aspire to be the best. ... I’ve just seen too many of our good young players go overseas at the wrong time because we can’t keep them here and I’ve seen too many good players who want to come here not be able come here because of the constraints of the cap" (AAP, 3/30).
