May 4 – Australian A-League club owners have rejected the annual A$3.25 million per club financial offer from the Football Federation Australia (FFA) saying that they should receive more money from the new A$56 million per season broadcast deal agreed with Fox Sports.
The FFA was already in dispute with clubs over representation on their board. Currently only 10 voters – the lowest of the 211 FIFA member nations – elect the FFA board. The clubs want more representation and FIFA has issued deadlines for the FFA to reform but they have been extended as no real common ground can be reached.
The dispute over the TV money saw all 100 club owners walk out of a meeting with the FFA in Sydney. The clubs argue they should receive more money from the new six-year deal that was a 40% increase on the previous agreement. The increase in the offer to clubs is 24%, up from the previous A$2.6 million per season.
The clubs argue that they are all loss-making, but now that they are generating money for the league, that should be reflected in the income distribution.
Adelaide United chairman Greg Griffin said: “We have worked in good faith for the last eighteen months to achieve a distribution that will deliver a sustainable future for the League. With this proposal the FFA has shown its disregard for the A-League and those who have invested in it. The clubs are no longer prepared to fund the FFA through annual club losses…This is yet another example of the need for reform of the governance and management of our game and things must change now.”
The FFA responded in a statement on its website that it is making significant cuts to its own costs in order to make greater distributions to stakeholders.
“It was hardly surprising that the owners of the clubs want more money,” said FFA Chief Executive David Gallop, “and we are providing them with more money after reducing FFA’s own costs significantly.
“But the FFA Board also has a responsibility to the 1.1 million participants in community football and our national teams program.
“The only way we can provide the clubs with more money is to cut more funding to the grassroots and junior and senior national teams and we do not believe that is in the interests of football in this country.”
He continued: “The suggestion by the clubs that FFA will return less than 50 percent of the revenue generated by the clubs in the coming year is totally incorrect. The reality is that FFA spending on the Hyundai A-League in 2017-18 closely matches revenue generated by the League when cash distributions and league operating costs such as team travel, player insurance and match officials which are paid for centrally are taken into account.”
Australian reform
The issue of FFA reform is similarly unresolved despite pressure from FIFA and the AFC to bring change. Deadlines set for the end of March passed with the FFA issuing a statement from Chairman Steven Lowy (pictured) that all stakeholders need more time to consider proposals and for discussion.
“We will continue to facilitate the dialogue to push for a resolution of these discussions but all stakeholders recognise that the issues require careful examination on a number of levels. Our next Annual Congress meeting is due in November 2017 and we have agreed with FIFA and AFC to find a resolution with our stakeholders and to ensure there is an expanded FFA Congress at our AGM in November 2017,” said Lowy. The FFA Congress comprises one representative from each of the nine member federations who represent the game in their region and a Hyundai A-League representative for the 10 clubs. The Congress elects the FFA’s independent Board and makes constitution changes.
Australian football has long been seen as the fiefdom of the Lowy family who have undoubtedly invested heavily in supporting the game. Frank Lowy handed over the chairmanship and power to his son Steven in 2015.
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