A-League fury over FFA plans

AUSTRALIAN soccer’s civil war has flared up yet again, with A-League clubs lashing out at Football Federation Australia for releasing expansion plans they say they weren’t consulted about.

FFA called yesterday for formal expressions of interest from potential bidders, who have been asked to provide information about their strategy for a new club and to prove their financial bona fides.

The Geelong and western Victoria consortium, going under the working title Victoria Patriots, is expected to submit a bid.

The governing body aims to announce by the end of October which two new clubs — expected to be from Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane — will be granted entry to the competition for the 2019-20 season.

But in finally starting the formal expansion process, FFA has once more drawn the ire of the existing clubs and their representative, former Adelaide United chairman Greg Griffin.

Griffin wrote to FFA chief executive David Gallop to warn their expansion plans were in “complete conflict” with the ongoing governance reform process being steered by FIFA.

“(This) process has been undertaken without any formal consultation of both the (clubs) and the PFA,” wrote Griffin.

“APFCA puts you on notice that it does not accept the legitimacy of the process.”