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The FFA must feel like they’ve dodged a bullet with the World Cup just around the corner, since FIFA seems to have forgotten about our deadlocked Congress.
Let’s call a spade a spade here: the fact that FIFA have visited Australia but done nothing to resolve the crippling Congress impasse highlights how little desire there is for the decision-makers in Zürich to get involved in the Australian game.
And judging by Brisbane Strikers’ decision not to submit an Expression of Interest to be part of an expanded A-League – citing a lack of clarity around the expansion process – the deadlock is having a tangible impact on the A-League as we speak.
“(M)any important financial aspects of the expansion process, and the expectations around ongoing criteria, are neither clear nor specific and do not allow for appropriate financial and strategic planning in many areas for the ongoing entity,” said the Strikers in a statement yesterday.
They went so far as to state that the group of investors willing to fund the bid had seen their confidence in the A-League’s financial sustainability “significantly eroded”.
Far from acting “for the good of the game,” Football Federation Australia’s unwillingness to resolve the deadlock is costing the A-League potential new teams.
And with the World Cup now just 25 days away, they no doubt hope no one will notice.
While much of the detail around the Strikers’ expansion bid went undisclosed, what was revealed was that it was underpinned by a desire to turn their Perry Park home at Bowen Hills into a 15,000-capacity boutique stadium.
Gutted the @BneStrikers have withdrawn their @ALeague bid. Here’s the vision for Brisbane football we won’t see. At least for now.
Perry Park boutique stadium. Close to transport, close to the action.
Capacity: 15,630 (more with safe standing)
Design: Cox Architcture. pic.twitter.com/7MKf4rBVNo— Cameron Atfield (@CameronAtfield) May 20, 2018
It would have been a game-changer in a city in desperate need of a smaller rectangular stadium – not least with Australia eager to host the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup – and it would have helped create a viable Brisbane derby.
That opportunity will now surely be passed on to Brisbane City – although there’s no guarantee the Newmarket-based club will be handed an expansion licence, even if they partner with Queensland Rugby to redevelop Ballymore.
And a Brisbane Strikers that will celebrate their 25th anniversary next season is left to wonder what role they’re supposed to play in the Australian game.
It’s a shame football has such a propensity to shoot itself in the foot in Australia, because a stronger governing body would surely do more to celebrate its wins.
We were reminded of that by the embarrassing turn-out for the Gold Coast Suns’ clash with Port Adelaide at Jiangwan Stadium in Shanghai on Saturday, where despite the AFL’s insistence that Chinese fans would care about a sport they’ve never heard of, the two teams were greeted by row upon row of empty seats.
Like a giddy George Costanza declaring “up was down, black was white,” the AFL are fond of saying the opposite of what they mean – so chief executive Gil McLachlan was happy to label the game a success.
“It feels like it’s consolidated this year, we sold it out well and there’s a lot of trade and other stuff here, we’ve got great government representation… so I actually think it’s got real legs this year,” McLachlan apparently said on Fox Footy.
But as any football fan knows – and the huge crowds that turn out for AFC Champions League games in Shanghai and Beijing against A-League teams attest – the most obvious way to open diplomatic and commercial ties with China is through football.
It’s the height of lunacy, then, that so many Australian politicians refuse to acknowledge this.
And if you ever want an example of how provincial Australian politics remains, look no further than Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk spruiking for a new statue of a rugby league player outside Suncorp Stadium.
Palaszczuk will never speak up for football for the same reason Tourism and Events Queensland botched their most recent attempt to bring the Socceroos back to Brisbane – because they don’t understand the game.
The FFA should be leading the conversation. Sadly for us, they’re stuck in neutral.
UPDATE – FFA have responded to this column with the following statement
FIFA has taken responsibility for the Congress Review process and communications around it. The aim is to have a recommendation to put to an Extraordinary General Meeting of the current Congress in September in order to expand the Congress for the AGM in November where a number of the board positions will be up for election.