A- League crunch looming
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 FIFA- backed 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 rubberstamped at a meeting of FIFA’s member associations committee on August 20 then go to a vote at an FFA extraordinary general meeting in mid- September.
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 chair Judith Griggs.
The CRWG has proposed the new congress grow from 10 to 29 members: the nine state federations, nine Australian A-League clubs, Professional Footballers Australia and a new “women’s council”.
The women’s council would have 10 members, three each nominated by the other stakeholders in the congress, plus an independent chair selected by FFA’s nominations committee.