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Frustrated A-League clubs say it would be unacceptable if Football Federation Australia persuades FIFA to delay “long-overdue reform” to its contentious voting structure.
Chairman Steven Lowy and chief executive David Gallop will meet with FIFA president Gianni Infantino in Zurich on Wednesday, at their own request.
The duo will reportedly ask for an extension to the March deadline for local reform, imposed by the world governing body to address concerns about the lack of democratic process in FFA board elections.
Both parties confirmed the talks, which come four months after FIFA delegates flew to Australia to discuss their concerns.
FFA drew criticism over the process that led former chairman Frank Lowy to hand the reigns to his son Steven unopposed in November 2015.
As it stands, only 10 voters elect board members, the lowest electorate of any FIFA member nation.
The 10 A-League clubs have one vote, while A-League, W-League and Matildas players have no influence.
FFA said the meeting was planned after the postponement of Infantino’s scheduled trip to Australia last month, and would cover a range of issues including “the process of reviewing the statutes, and in particular the membership structure of Australian football”.
Lowy and Gallop said they would report to the board later in February as well as update other stakeholders.
But the news elicited a fiery response from the clubs’ umbrella organisation, the Australian Professional Football Clubs Association (APFCA), who said they were disappointed and frustrated to learn of the visit through the media.
In a statement issued on Monday, the APFCA called for Lowy to reaffirm his September commitment to include a broader representation of stakeholders in its congress.
It claimed it had not yet had any meaningful engagement with FFA on the issue.
“We would find it unacceptable if the visit by the FFA chairman Steven Lowy and FFA CEO David Gallop to the FIFA President either delays the long-overdue reform of the FFA General Assembly, or creates a circumvention of the committed process of engagement with stakeholders of the Australian game,” the statement read.
“It is the APFCA’s position that the Professional Game can no longer be expected to be the major financial provider to Football Federation Australia without fair democratic representation in the FFA General Assembly.”
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