Lowy to jet out as FFA reform D-Day looms
Sep 25, 2017 - 9:05 AM Steven Lowy has declared Friday is boom or bust for Australian football, admitting a FIFA takeover is likely if a new congress deal isn't done before he leaves Australia this weekend.It has emerged the Football Federation Australia chairman and Westfield co-chief executive will fly overseas at the climax of the game's protracted governance saga, which could end with his removal if a broadened, more democratic congress is not in place by FIFA's November 30 deadline
Lowy sought to "underscore the urgency of the situation" on Monday by writing to stakeholders and stressing that, in order to implement reform in time for FFA's annual general meeting on November 15, an extraordinary general meeting must be held by October 23.
Notice for that EGM must be issued 21 days prior, or by October 2.
"I will be travelling overseas on business from next weekend and this ... means that for all practical purposes we will need to finalise matters by this Friday, 29 September," Lowy wrote in the letter obtained by AAP.
"Failure to achieve this means we will likely miss the deadline to resolve the new Congress by the November AGM and in doing so risk the FIFA members' Association Committee recommending the installation of a normalisation committee - the last thing our game needs at this point."
Lowy attached FIFA's latest written correspondence in which secretary general Fatma Samoura reiterated that responsibility to resolve the bitter impasse lies with FFA and its stakeholders - the A-League clubs, state federations and Professional Footballers Australia.
In the September 22 letter from Zurich headquarters, Samoura "encourage(d) the FFA and all stakeholders to make a dedicated effort in bridging the remaining gaps", a gulf which remained even after last month's emergency FIFA/AFC intervention.
Some stakeholder representatives are believed to be questioning Lowy's decision to leave the country at such a critical time for both the game and his future in it.
Failure to meet the deadline will, in all probability, spell the end of his two-year tenure since the 54-year-old controversially took the baton from his father Frank Lowy.
It's understood all three stakeholder parties will meet privately later this week in an attempt to reach agreement before Friday.
The FFA and nine state federations are in favour of a 9-4-1-1 split of votes which would see the states retain nine votes, four for the clubs, one for PFA and one for women's football.
The A-League clubs and PFA support a 9-5-1-1 model, so there will need to be compromise from either side for there to be progress.
The clubs and PFA have rejected the FFA-backed framework on the grounds the states would still hold the power to elect FFA board members on their own.
As reported by AAP this month, FIFA has already starting planning for a normalisation committee, identifying and approaching at least one prospective member for the temporary panel that could replace Lowy and his board.
Source: AAP
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