Former Georgian Football Federation President Nodar Akhalkatsi Jr. "could decide the fate of the Football Federation Australia board when he leads FIFA's mission to Australia to help break the political deadlock," according to Dominic Bossi of the SYDNEY MORNING HERALD. Akhalkatsi is understood to be the head of FIFA's three-person delegation to Sydney this week that will "oversee the crucial talks" with stakeholders for an expanded FFA congress before Australian football "faces the prospect of FIFA temporarily taking charge of the game's administration." FIFA acting Head of Governance Services Akhalkatsi will be joined by the Asian Football Confederation's Ravi Kumar and a FIFA lawyer for three days of talks with FFA, A-League clubs, state federations, the players' union and National Premier Leagues clubs to "help Australian football governance grow to become more democratic and inclusive to meet FIFA's strict requirements." The meetings are set to commence in Sydney on Wednesday in what will "likely be the last chance for the warring tribes to end the bitter dispute of an expanded FFA Congress that has threatened to bring Australian football administration to a standstill" (SMH, 8/7).
COMMENTARY: In Sydney, Ray Gatt observed it "could well shape the future" of Australian football -- whether it is "for the better or the worse remains to be seen." It "says everything about the state of the game in Australia when the world governing body is forced to intervene and butt a few heads as it tries to find consensus in regards to the fight over the make-up of FFA's voting congress." But the "simple truth of the matter is that it should not have been allowed to reach this point." Those "involved in this mess should have been locked in a room for however long it took to resolve the situation." What we have is a "battle for power where neither FFA nor the A-League clubs have been prepared to give even a hair's width, let alone an inch" (THE AUSTRALIAN, 8/8).
