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The family and the people's game: FFA's Lowy dynasty

What will Steven Lowy's FFA legacy be? (AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts)
Expert
7th October, 2015
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It was not an upset victory, nor a big-name player signing, but Football Federation Australia’s announcement that chairman Frank Lowy will be succeeded by his son Steven could be the most significant moment in Australian football over the next year.

The chairman-elect has chosen his words carefully in the media over recent days, but when he told a press conference that his style of leadership will be democratic, a few ears pricked up.

“I intend to be a very consultative chairman, working with the new board … [seeking] to leverage off the unbelievably good work that’s taken place in the last decade … [to] take that to another level,” Lowy Jr said.

“Consultative” he may be, but the manner in which Lowy Jr received the role throws up questions about the way football is governed in Australia. Indeed, Adelaide United chairman Greg Griffin has already expressed his disappointment that the nominations for four replacements on the FFA board were pushed through via an autocratic process.

In essence, the system was designed for the outcome. And it succeeded.

This move, which will influence everything from the financial viability of the sport to the structure of the A-League, raises two key questions: why was there so little resistance, and will it actually benefit the game in the long run?

A-League clubs put in an eleventh-hour bid to nominate Mal Hemmerling, the man who ran the Sydney Olympics. This was quashed by the state federations, who did not second the nomination.

Instead, the process, which was supposed to have taken into consideration some 70 candidates, resulted in putting forward men with close ties to the four outgoing board members. Uncanny.

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But with this situation having dragged on for some time, and with some clubs evidently unhappy with the outcome, it does raise the question why nothing was done sooner, or in a stronger manner.

Clearly none of the FFA members – comprised the A-League clubs and state federations – felt they could realistically instigate change, not without losing their own power. It’s a sobering thought, and one which reveals the amount of control those at the top actually possess.

As candidates were thinned to only those selected by members of the existing board – which, incidentally appears to be in contrast with the process laid out in the FFA constitution – incumbent chairman Frank Lowy started to show signs it was time to move on.

His legacy to the game, particularly over the past 12 years, is arguably without peer. With the A-League launched, the Socceroos finally looking like they belong on the world stage, and lucrative commercial deals in place, so much has been achieved since Lowy seized the helm. If his son can take that momentum and inject some vitality to push the game further still, the end may have justified the means in some eyes.

However, for as long as an autocratic process is upheld, and a family dynasty allowed to rule over the people’s game, there will be doubts as to how far football really has evolved in Australia.

Are the key stakeholders across the country so untrustworthy that their preference for leaders cannot be upheld?

Critically, what should the football-loving families – who pay a premium for registrations to play for their local club – think about all this?

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Steven Lowy may go on to achieve noteworthy things. His father Frank will no doubt go down in the annals of Australian football history. But, upon deeper consideration, surely this still reflects poorly on all concerned.

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