FFA Governance

Lowy was the one that needed to go, and he left. Gallop was apparently fine with the idea of us, just needed to hit those "metrics"

" Reply to @ nomates

lol, maybe this is why so many people want Nix out, you (and Nix) are so detatched from Australia you don’t actually know what the fudge you’re talking about and therefore can’t contribute meaningfully to an adult conversation?

A day after besieged FFA chairman Steven Lowy announced he would not be seeking re-election in November, the man dubbed "Lowy’s lackey", Capital Football chief Mark O’Neill, finds himself under pressure from a growing number of disgruntled ACT constituents.

Although we view this entirely from the view of the Phoenix, and therefore focus completely on an independent A League, SOME (not all) of what Lowy has said does ring true to me.  

Australian Football of course wants to be very careful about handing over control, and revenue, to the club owners who have very little skin in the game for making Aussie football work.  I'm not saying I agree with his tactics or approach, but if you were running Australian football I think you would also have similar concerns.  This isn't just about the A-League

My impression was/is the A-league is to be run by the clubs with a percentage return to FFA. The problem will be how do you value that percentage. 

At the moment from all the conjecture and rumour on TV deal dollars. The FFA believes it retains the right amount, the clubs believe it is to much.

Mr Lowy said yesterday the soccer directors would think seriously about their futures if mooted governance changes to the congress that elects the FFA board, that he believes would threaten its independence, were adopted later this year.

D-Day- Bonita Mersiades take on it

Ghana Government and FIFA agree on Normalisation Committee. to be setup to take over Football in the country. 

Former Leader - We can be kicked out of Asia.

RUMOUR:  Lowy was advised last week FIFA would sign off without change the CRWG recommendation.

                   Word over night that it happened - Watch this space

Watching, watching, watching... ;)

The FFA fax machine is Out of Order so it has been sent to NZF HQ!

Back to football politics, I understand the FIFA Associations C’tee has endorsed the CRWG report and will be asking the FFA Congress to vote on it at the EGM on 7 September.

— Bonita Mersiades (@bonitamersiades) August 21, 2018

Who is stalling the Press Release

We have all egines go but will we get lift off as FIFA flick the switch

The overhaul of the governance of Australian soccer has moved a step closer with world governing body FIFA reported to have ­rubber-stamped the Congress Review Working Group recommendations.

It is understood the CRWG report was passed following a meeting of FIFA member associations in Zurich on Monday, clearing the way for its recommendations to be put to a Football Federation Australia extraordinary general meeting in Sydney on September 7.

“Having considered all relevant factors, the Committee welcomed with great appreciation the efforts of the CRWG and the report it produced,” FIFA said in a release dated 22 August and signed by FIFA secretary general Fatma Samoura.

“It further confirmed that the proposed recommendations are fully in line with FIFA’s requirements, in particular Art. 15 of the FIFA Statutes.

“…the Committee moved that the recommendations of the CRWG be submitted to an extraordinary meeting of the FFA to be convened as soon as possible in accordance to the regulatory framework of the FFA.

“Finally, the Committee instructed the FIFA administration to provide it with an update on the matter at its upcoming meeting on 26 September 2018.”

“The Committee was also apprised of the reservations and objections expressed by the FFA Board as well as four of the nine Member Federations, namely Capital Football, Northern Territory, Tasmania and Northern NSW, regarding certain aspects of the CRWG’s recommendations,” the letter read

“In this context, the Committee also took note of the response by the CRWG to these comments.”

Sauce not Fax

Another Report on Green Light for reform

BY Email - Got to love new technologies!

Lowy rang FIFA heavy waits prior to stand down Presser

Despite deep concerns about the CRWG’s certain key recommendations, the FFA Board will work with the Members of FFA to call an extraordinary general meeting for September.

“The fact remains that under the proposed CRWG model, the independence of the Board will be compromised.

“FFA has championed efforts to expand the Congress and expand the A-League under a new operating model. The CRWG’s recommendations on these issues are not the only way forward – there are of course other options that will address stakeholder concern and satisfy FIFA’s requirements, including Article 15 of the FIFA Statutes. What is required now is a conciliatory approach to reach the right outcomes to continue to push this great game forward,” he said.

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Have not seen any PR on the new model. Other than the congress number that kept their ability us minor Feds to bloc progress 

FFA press Release on FIFA decision

Step Back from The Brink or Football will be controlled by a minority.

It will not be his minority is his main concern.

@Gazprom,Gyfox

55 votes for 9 federations
28 votes for 9 HAL clubs
7 votes for 1 PFA
10 votes for 10 women
X votes for new members down the track.

So 9 federations have a majority and can do what they like.
PFA. HAL clubs & women is 45 votes.That's 20 members.Still cant pass anything.

Assuming federations are getting equal votes( we dont know that). They get 6.111111 each.Why no whole number ,i dont know.

Anyway HAL clubs,PFA and 2 states .(12 members)gets 35+ 12.2= 47.2---- cant pass anything.

Basicall basing anything on member numbers is meaningless.State federation and territories rule with only 9 members.The vast minority!
You can play around with all sorts of combinations,but if no federations flip,noone else can pass anything. 

Important note of clarification on the CRWG situation. FFA's EGM won't happen on September 7, despite what FIFA had stipulated. 21 days notice need to be given for an EGM under Australian law. So the earliest it could possibly be is 21 days from today - September 13.

— Vince Rugari (@VinceRugari) August 23, 2018

The Australian understands this was not the letter Lowy expected to receive from FIFA as he had hoped FIFA would allow him to find some sort of compromise with the federations, the A-League clubs and the players’ union.

Two member associations, Capital Football and Northern Territory, are siding with Lowy to vote against the recommendations but FFA still needs another vote to see them torpedoed.
Northern NSW and Tasmania have indicated support for Lowy but the latest FIFA development is expected to test their resolve.

It now appears FFA has no more room to manoeuvre.
If the recommendations are passed, the changes will go through.
If they are vetoed, FIFA will likely act by ­either suspending FFA or sacking the board and bringing in a normalisation committee.

In any case, the situation has created all sorts of issues, notably the situation regarding expansion of the A-League from 2019-20.
There are nine bids for two spots for a 12-team league.
The FFA board was due to decide the winners by the end of October, but it will likely not be in power.
It is unlikely a temporary board would have the power or the inclination to decide on expansion given a new board would have to be voted in at the November AGM.

Fears of a backlash should they vote down sweeping changes, and put Australia at risk of being suspended from world football by FIFA, are beginning to crystalise ahead of a crucial extraordinary general meeting sometime in September to ratify, or otherwise, the proposals of the FIFA-instructed Congress Review Working Group (CRWG).

Lambs to the slaughter

this is all good news for the nix right?

I thought Bin Harmin was our problem and he's long been found out for corruption.

Still no confirmation of a call for EGM

The FFA Board's objections boil down to one simple question: what does football need now to take the game forward?

With the ACT and NT (representing 5% of registered players) falling firmly behind the FFA Board, and NSW, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia and the A-League clubs in agreement with the CRWG recommendations, the question for the two 'swing' MFs of Northern NSW and Tasmania is this: is more delay, more of the same leadership, and more standing still, in the long-term best interests of football?

FFA seem very reluctant to call the EGM early

Is the FFA email and fax going overtime trying to sway FIFA

FFA slowing a process down to suit themselves?

No. Fricken. Way!

Side issue for FFA:

Charlestown City Blues and members of the Italian community are confident they can win a legal battle to have the Azzurri name returned to the Northern NSW NPL club in what could be a landmark case for Australian soccer.

Charlestown club secretary Roger Steel lodged a racial discrimination complaint, signed by 107 people, on behalf of the Italian community to the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) in a bid to have Azzurri, which is Italian for blue, reinstated.

The move came after unsuccessful submissions were made to Northern NSW Football and Football Federation Australia.

Three weeks ago, Steel and long-time club supporters Anthony Di Nardo and Roby Valentinis held a conciliation meeting with NNSWF and FFA representatives at the AHRC in Sydney.

Steel said no resolution was secured but the federations were asked to respond to the group’s submission by close of business on Wednesday. He was still awaiting a reply last night.

The group is challenging FFA’s 2014 National Club Identity Policy (NCIP), which bans ethnic, national, political, racial or religious connotations in club names, logos or emblems.

Azzurri were cut in a revamp of the NNSW State League at the end of 2008 and later merged with the Charlestown junior club. Under pressure, they removed Azzurri from their name. The creation of the NCIP in 2014 effectively blocked attempts to reinstate Azzurri.

However, Di Nardo, whose father Don helped form Azzurri in 1963, believed the club had been unfairly targetted given others in the region such as Hamilton Olympic, Broadmeadow Magic, Hamilton Azzurri and Hunter Simba have retained obvious links to their ethnic foundations.

He said the group was determined to take its case to the Supreme Court.

“I believe that if it’s not resolved now, we will more than likely commence legal action and within 60 days have them before the courts and let the court make the decision,” Di Nardo said.

“And I’m more than confident too. There’s plenty of precedents there.”

Steel said that in his original submission he outlined 150 Australian soccer clubs which use ethnic symbols on their emblems and at least 70 that have non-English names in their title.

“To single us out, but to leave other clubs and allow them to keep using their names, contrary to the policy at the time, is pretty clearly discriminatory,” Steel said.

“In recent years various people at the club would listen to the old supporters who would still turn up to the club each week, like Don Di Nardo, who were involved in forming the club back in 1963, and you could tell they were feeling genuine pain.

“We’d play games against Hamilton Olympic and very clearly they were celebrating their ethnic background, and the same at Magic, and it was hurting us.

“We thought we had to do something about this because it’s wrong. Enough is enough.

“It’s had a dramatic effect on our club. We had sponsors who said once the Azzurri name went, they lost interest. It’s much harder to get volunteers and sponsors, and it’s hurting people.”

Di Nardo believed success in the legal battle “would set the precedent for other clubs to challenge” the NCIP.

NNSWF chief David Eland said he was bound by confidentiality and unable to comment on the meeting. He said FFA was responding in its capacity as first respondent. NNSWF was second respondent.

Charlestown returned to the top division in 2014, the first year of the NNSW NPL.

Football facilities fund

In an exclusive for Ray Gatt, he reports that FFA will recommend the establishment of a $100 million "fighting fund" ($) to help improve grassroots facilities, with concerns about the number of children, particularly girls, being turned away from playing as well as the quality of facilities.

A report to be released by FFA says that Victoria needs an additional 420 pitches to meet forecast demand by 2026, and that in one region in Sydney, around 2,500 players are turned away each year.

FFA proposes a $50 million federal government contribution, a $50 million co-contribution from state and local governments and focusing on, and improving, small or under-utilised developments. Gatt adds that the FFA 'white paper' "revealed that a survey of more than 8,500 people found 92% of respondents were likely to support a government that improved local facilities."

That's not really a surprising result!

In 2008, the Rudd Government provided FFA with $8 million for a grassroots facilities fund.

Sauce - Our Arse is in a sling let buy our way back, Stevie to Gollop

I really hope this gets pushed through for Azzurri. great club with loads of history.

If this is upheld then the FFA must force Brisbane Roar to change their Orange strip to another colour!

Why?

It's a throwback to when the club was predominently Dutch

Wikipedia

The club was formed in 1957 as Hollandia-Inala, and became Brisbane Lions, before it transitioned into Queensland Roar, playing under that name from the inaugural 2005–06 season of the A-League until the 2008–09 season.