A-League plan to go independent by 2019

THE A-League would be spun off from Football Federation Australia (FFA) and run independently in time for the 2019-20 season under a proposal by a FIFAbacked working group.

The 100-page report from the congress review working group (CRWG) was made public yesterday after its submission to FIFA last week.

It is expected to be rubber- stamped at a meeting of FIFA’s member associations committee on August 20 and then put to a vote at an FFA extraordinary general meeting in midSeptember. If the vote fails, FIFA could suspend Australia’s membership, potentially putting the Socceroos’ defence of their Asian Cup crown at risk and throwing the domestic competition into turmoil.

The report notes opposition from the FFA board to its two key recommendations — the structure of an expanded congress and the mooted pathway for the A-League to become independent. However, it was signed off by all eight CRWG members — including FFA board member Chris Nikou — as well as independent chairwoman Judith Griggs.

The CRWG has proposed for the new congress to grow from 10 to 29 members — the nine state federations, nine Australian A-League clubs, Professional Footballers Aus- tralia plus and a new “women’s council”. The women’s council would comprise 10 members, with three each nominated by the other stakeholders in the congress, plus an independent chair selected by FFA’s nominations committee.

The allocation of votes in the congress is designed to take away the ability for any one group to elect or remove directors or pass constitutional change without support from another.

It also commits to a review of FFA’s governance structures every four years. The report suggests a collaborative New Leagues Working Group be formed to establish the framework for a new operating model for the A-League.

The working group would consist of representatives from the state federations, clubs and PFA, plus FFA board members and management, who would submit their plan by the end of March next year.