FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation are in Sydney this week and Australian football will "once again hold its collective breath," according to Ray Gatt of THE AUSTRALIAN. It will be the second time in seven months that the two governing bodies have been in the country "in an attempt to broker a resolution to the governance issues that have plunged the sport into an unholy mess and brought discredit to the parties involved, and that includes FIFA." The A-League clubs and Professional Footballers Australia "want a greater say at congress level and a larger slice of the financial pie." Football Federation Australia is "determined to hold on to its power base" because it claims it wants to "protect the game's grassroots as well as the integrity of the national teams," notably the Socceroos and Matildas. A number of attempts and suggested compromises in terms of the voting structure of the congress have been made to "try and solve the impasse." FFA has been "pushing" for a 9-4-1-1 format but the A-League clubs and the PFA, with the help of at least one of the state federations, want a 9-5-1-1 formula, allowing five votes for the clubs and two to the PFA (one for men’s football and one for women’s football). In essence it is "all about one vote," but it is a "very powerful one because it will determine the balance of power" (THE AUSTRALIAN, 2/20).
UNDERWHELMING RESPONSE: In Sydney, Michael Lynch reported FFA might have thought "it would get a PR boost" from its plan to increase the number of A-League clubs to 12, but it has been "met by an underwhelming response from two key club bodies." The Australian Association of Football Clubs was "shocked" by FFA's "failure to mention the prospect of a second division in the announcement that A-League expansion was firmly on its agenda." The Australian Professional Football Clubs Association also "made it clear" it thought FFA and FFA Chair Steven Lowy were "playing politics." APFCA Chair Greg Griffin said, "I think it's a load of nonsense -- it's an attempt to try and show FIFA that they are working with the clubs, but it's just a smokescreen" (SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, 2/19).
