April 6 – FIFA has set up a Congress Review Working Group (CRWG) for Football Federation Australia (FFA) with the aim to “propose a new composition of the FFA Congress to ensure a broader and more balanced representation of stakeholders in line with the requirements of the FIFA Statutes, in particular art. 15 (j).”
The establishment of the eight-member panel has been expected and follows the recommendation made by the FIFA Member Associations Committee on 4 December 2017 and the recent visit to Sydney by a joint FIFA-AFC delegation.
The CRWG will be chaired by an independent person and comprise representatives of the Football Federation Australia Board, the member federations, the Australian Professional Football Clubs Association (APFCA) and Professional Footballers Australia (PFA). The CRWG will be based on terms of reference elaborated by FIFA and shall seek input from relevant stakeholders.
The CRWG will conclude its mandate and submit its proposal to FIFA and the AFC by 31 July 2018. The proposal will be subsequently submitted for adoption to an FFA Special General Meeting by no later than 7 September 2018.
It remains to be seen who will chair the panel, as the person will need to be decided by a unanimous vote of the members and have a strong background in mediation and negotiation. If the members can’t agree on a candidate, then FIFA will reportedly impose its own choice.
The A-League clubs, FFA, state federations and the PFA have been involved in a protracted dispute over how football in Australia should be run, with FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation having to step in to try and impose some order.
FFA chairman Steven Lowy commented that: “FFA supports expansion of the congress to reflect the evolution of football in Australia and balance the interests of each part of the game. This should include significant movement towards gender equality at all levels of governance.”
“FFA also welcomes the reference to governance of the A-League because we want to work with the clubs and other stakeholders on a new ownership and operating model for the league that will benefit the whole of the game.”
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