Independent chairperson to lead FFA reform

An independent chairperson will head an eight-member panel that has been tasked by world football governing body FIFA to fix the governance structures of Football Federation Australia (FFA).

FIFA finally delivered its terms of reference for the 'congress review working group' on Wednesday afternoon, several weeks after its self-imposed deadline.

The group will include four representatives of the state federations, two from the A-League clubs, one from Professional Footballers Australia and one FFA board member.

It will be left among them to decide the identity of the independent chair by a unanimous vote.

FIFA, however, has instructed that the person must have a strong track record in legal and governance issues, preferably in sport, and experience in mediation and negotiation.

If the group cannot settle on a chairperson, FIFA will make the appointment itself.

It will be the chair's responsibility to ensure the working group fulfils its mandate - to determine a new structure for the FFA congress that includes a "broader and more balanced" representation of stakeholders, and bring the governing body in line with FIFA's statutes.

FIFA appears set to take over Australian football after FFA Chairman Steven Lowy failed to force through his controversial congress model, prompting A-league clubs to claim he has "lost the locker room".

The group will take into account other issues, including the governance model of the A-League, with clubs keen to take over the running of the ailing competition from the FFA, as well as the composition and independence of the FFA board.

Throughout, it will seek input from Association of Australian Football Clubs - the newly formed representative body of NPL clubs - and Women's Onside, a lobby group seeking to increase women's involvement in the governance of the sport.

The A-League clubs, the FFA, state federations and the PFA have been locked in a bitter power struggle for the past 18 months over what a reformed congress should look like, prompting the intervention from FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).

The working group has been ordered to deliver its proposal to FIFA and the AFC by 31st July, which must be submitted by 7th September at a special general FFA meeting. 

Image: The 2016 A-League Grand Final at Adelaide Oval.

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