Australian football "is on tenterhooks ahead of a FIFA meeting" in Zurich "that will shape the future of the sport," according to Vince Rugari of the AAP. FIFA's member associations committee met on Monday to determine whether the global governing body "should take control of Football Federation Australia." By Tuesday, FFA Chair Steven Lowy "could well know his fate." It is expected the 19-person panel -- comprised of members from countries "as diverse as Aruba, Andorra, American Samoa and Niger" -- will vote for the FFA board "to be overthrown and for a normalisation committee to be formed to take its place." The member associations committee will then pass on its recommendation to the "Bureau of the Council," a seven-person panel headed by FIFA President Gianni Infantino "which has the legislative power to make it happen." Although there is no set timeline, the "Bureau of the Council" could convene "as early as this week in Abu Dhabi," where football's chief decision-makers are gathered ahead of the Club World Cup. Lowy's "seemingly last hope of retaining power is his personal relationship with Infantino," whom he has visited several times this year to keep him abreast of local developments (SMH, 12/4).
