A-League clubs "have warned of serious consequences for the national competition," claiming they have lost a combined A$300M ($235M) over the past 14 years and "face bankruptcy if a constitutional reform process is not pushed through as soon as possible," according to Ray Gatt of THE AUSTRALIAN. The "dire scenario was a key part of an eight-page submission" from the Australian Professional Football Clubs Association, which represents the 10 A-League franchises, handed to the three-man delegation from FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation during a two-hour meeting in Sydney on Wednesday. It painted a "grim picture," suggesting "the consequences of the continuance of the status quo are dire." The submission said, "All critical commercial metrics associated with the professional game are in decline and our ability to arrest that trend is completely blocked by the congress issue. Professional clubs stand on the brink of joining the nine-club administrations that have already become insolvent in the first 14 years of the A-League. ... There would be no professional game in Australia but for the funding of the sport by the clubs" (THE AUSTRALIAN, 2/22). In Sydney, Tom Smithies reported FIFA "has heard from a wide range of voices" including the nine member associations, Football Federation Australia’s board, fans, coaches and referees, as it seeks to draw up the membership of the Congress Review Working Group which will be tasked with "overhauling the voting structure of FFA’s Congress at the top of the game." But the APFCA urged FIFA to "go further and give the working group a wider mandate to consider a range of issues, including FFA’s financial transparency." In a statement, APFCA Chair Greg Griffin said that its delegation "felt the meeting (with FIFA) was extremely positive and productive and look forward to contributing to the joint stakeholder meeting. ... We remain committed to the successful completion of this process" (DAILY TELEGRAPH, 2/21).
