FFA has congress reform voted down, FIFA intervention looms

I see what you are saying....I guess we are just coming to this question from different starting points. I don't have a problem with centralised power.....and yes, it certainly looks inelegant form a PR perspective to have your son take over your job..but I don't have a problem with what SL is doing. Rather I was highly impressed by the measure and clarity of his press conference yesterday. My only criticism would be that he probably needs to do that more often....but from what Im told he is someone that values authentic action over media spin...I actually think thats a virtue in a leader.

Because plainly, it's in the interests of the current Lowy oligarchy to keep the voting numbers as small as possible so that they continue controlling some 60% of the vote, and vice versa for the clubs/PA/big state fed cabal. It's possible that the normalisation committee might blow up the current dichotomy (and one way might be to move away from state federations having a vote, and giving a vote to every football league in Australia, for example) - but in all seriousness, there is no way known you will ever get the 10 current voters to agree to that, with nine of the 10 votes controlled by those same same federations. Just for starters, look at the comparative power wielded by pissant voters such as the ACT, NT, Tassie and Nth NSW, that's four of 10 votes right there easily bought and controlled by the oligarchy (but representing less than 10% of the population). Looking back, it's pure genius what Lowy snr managed to put in place 13 years ago, very few were able to foresee the long term ramifications of what he set up, but such was the discretion he was given at the time (with minimal scrutiny).

It's possible he has a genuine philosophical belief in favour of the independence of boards, and no problem with that, most would support such a concept, but the truth is that the manner in which he succeeded his father as Chair was not really a process which you would describe as representing the epitome of independence.

“What Steven Lowy wanted, Steven Lowy did not get” Agreed. And for the first time. But say Frank had allocated 10 votes to Canberra when he was in charge then Steven would have got what he wanted. So back to the starting point of our discussion; to prevent such shenanigans FIFA dictates that everyone at the table has an equal voice, one vote and not a half-vote or two votes, which makes sense when you think about it but it leads to a situation where NSWs with 300,000 registered players has the same vote as NT with 10,000-ish. Steven can not escape the reality that although he won 7 votes, he lost the entire professional game, the biggest state, and the third biggest state in the process. That is significant, Marcel tried to lecture me on democracy above and yet in our democratic system Darwin doesn’t get the same number of parliamentary seats as Sydney; yet that is the reality with the FFAs congress which is structured to allow one man to wield power. So in “defeat” yesterday Lowy would do well to acknowledge who is against him - the majority of football! The solution is the bigger states need to divide down in to smaller representatives - it might be as simple as say QLD breaking down in to Brisbane (35k players) and regional (40k) with a vote each. Few would argue the needs of regional football differ from a City. And there in lies another problem. This dispute is about one more vote; Steven doesn’t want it, his opponents do. But even one more vote is not enough - our congress should probably have 50+ votes and there in lies a big part of the problem, we are on a football journey but the Lowy’s will only tell us the origin was horrid and we can’t go back, but they won’t tell us the what the destination is. #LowyOut ... it’s time!

It is important to note that whilst the proposed Congress from the opposition camp is a step towards an improved governance model, it is still woefully short of good governance. Too much of this debate has been about where the power lies amongst the powerful and too little about identifying who are the actual stakeholders and how are they best represented in a Congress to ensure that Board members address their concerns in order to be elected. Good governance matters; it always has.

Thanks marcel. Half-way through now... ...one answer already is Lowy's take on 'Machester City's' interest in revenue and an independent FFA board distributing funds to the whole game. The next four days are going to be interesting...

and we've got Star Wars round in the A-League next week....It's all happening

Yes, the owners have been losing money since day zero so why wouldn’t they be getting restless? Frank Lowy built the A-league on the back of owners who were prepared to lose money but with the potential/promise of one day seeing at least a break even situation. They have been fobbed off by FFA HQ and told to keep pouring in money (indefinitely) - but something had to give and here we stand today. Blame for this situation rests with Lowy and his hand picked crew and many of the compliant federations.

Cheers Griffo...the press conference with Q+A is well worth worth watching in full if you get the chance.

And there is this article on why FFA are not expanding next season Mid. Lowy says things like 'separately operated A-League' to attract 'more capital into the game' which will 'immediately help expand the A-League' because the A-League needs expansion', which the reasons why not due to A-League clubs wanting more money. Who's right and who's wrong? Often things are not that black and white.

I have a comment in moderation for a while now Stevo that touches on this. Agree if there had been better leadership and some risk taking - expansion for this season with the new media deal was all that was required imo to freshen the league - then FFA could have avoided this altogether and even had an A-League sub-committee to grow the competition with A-League clubs having a big say without the apparent money/power struggles that seem all to close to the surface to dismiss. As Craig says in 2014 "Had the owners been together enough to take a majority stake in the competition, since it is their investment that has funded it, they would now be sharing in the value created." I take it to mean both FFA and A-League club stakeholders would have been sharing the benefits more. I think FFA may have been able to fob off Aussie owners 'for the good of the game' but this was not going to occur indefinitely with the likes of CFG on board, and have payed the price for ignoring a growing and restless stakeholder once too often, with a vocal Greg Griffin only too happy to tell it like it is...

Agree stevo....

Grob...I thought the presser gave some useful insight into what we were discussing....What were your thoughts?

From the article: "It’s almost like the governing body can see some sort of light at the end of the tunnel and are wading through a sea of national disparage with the hope of continuing their tenure." It could be Lowy and Gallop see that FIFA may reassure them of a final chance at reform this close after achieving World Cup qualification, that they are the legitimate governing body, so will be given every chance of trying again. Even if FIFA gave them until end January (my date) there is no guarantee of offering a 9-5-1-1 or greater model for a vote. Not taking into account the nearly five months there has been to negotiate and realise a 9-4-1-1 wasn't preferred, especially when FFV turned their vote to the negative.

The current 'problem' is one of the FFA' s own making. Were it not for the pig headed intransigence being displayed, the passing of the baton from Senior to Junior creating a fiefdom like organisation, the lack of progress on expansion, and the lack of progress on on a second tier comp, and so on, then FFA could have been in a stronger position with significant influence. The sharks only circle when they know the prey has had its day. Again, this is a 'problem' of the FFA's own making.

Great pick up Griffo

I remember Craig Foster lamenting at the cons of foreign ownership in A-League clubs back in around 2014 and potential flow on affects potentially for the game and governance here - notwithstanding his involvement in Southern Expansion bid in 2017 - and this quote from an SBS blog from 2014:

"The sale (of then Melbourne Heart to City Football Group) is not without concerns, though, particularly the trend of selling off A-League clubs in total, or at least majority ownership and control, overseas. My view is that majority ownership should always rest in this country, as a matter of policy. This can be problematic. Not immediately, but later when our football interests require a whole of game view rather than just A-League, and international investors have an eye only for a return on investment with little regard for our international prospects. The A-League exists to create a vehicle for football to succeed in Australia. The EPL is an example of where the clubs take precedence entirely over English national teams. In our favor, is the rule limiting the number of foreign players allowable in the A-League, since this precludes the parking of large numbers of players in a domestic club and ensures local products are given a platform to develop. The danger for FFA is that the more clubs are wholly owned offshore, the more pressure can be applied on this type of rule, which exists to benefit the broader game. Ownership of the league is interesting at present. Had the owners been together enough to take a majority stake in the competition, since it is their investment that has funded it, they would now be sharing in the value created. It will be interesting to see the influence of Manchester City on this aspect, and the changing dynamics of owner power. More broadly, the influence of Abu Dhabi money on football continues to grow, which will impact Australia’s international position, since money invested brings proximity, and proximity leads to leverage. "Craig Foster, 'Fantastic news now proceed with caution', The World Game Blog, SBS website, 24 January 2014.

Brilliant article on today.. NEW BOARD MUST LEARN FROM IGNORANT FFA https://www.fourfourtwo.com.au/analysis/new-board-must-learn-from-ignorant-ffa-478870

WHat this is about is letting the professional footballers and the A-league clubs take the kids money. Its already bad enough the second tier is a complete joke with no revenue apart from exploiting kids. Almost all the sponsors at those clubs are the parents of kids at the clubs. FIFA is a disgrace, whose interests are they serving in this case, certain A-league owners.

What i'm saying is "The only people with power to change the voting structure are 10 Members of the FFA." Steven Lowy cannot give more votes or fewer votes to any one, or more Members; nor can he appoint new Members. The only people who can make changes to the Membership structure are 8 of the 10 Members of the FFA. That's the reason we're having this discussion today. Lowy wanted a certain new structure for FFA. But, only 7 Members of the 10 voted for Lowy's structure. Hence, the structure was not approved. What Steven Lowy wanted, Steven Lowy did not get.