Source :- THE AGE NEWS
Football Australia has less than two months to pass a key governance reform or risk losing recognition as a national sporting body by the Australian Sports Commission – and the millions in high-performance funding that comes with it.
FA has been given until June 30 to amend its constitution to fall in line with ASC requirements, which stipulate that national sporting organisations must have at least 40 per cent of their boards comprised of directors who are appointed by the board, as opposed to those elected by its members.
But a push to make that change to the governing body’s constitution – by growing the size of the board from a maximum of nine directors to 10, with the cap of appointed directors lifted from the limit of three to four – was withdrawn before an extraordinary general meeting of FA on Thursday, when it became clear that the proposed resolution would not have enough support.
The ASC provides FA with roughly $5 million in funding and other grants per year – money that underpins the organisation of camps and matches for the Socceroos, Matildas and in particular, all junior national teams for both genders. Recurrent funding from the ASC would be halved if FA falls short, while the organisation would become ineligible for other sources of funding. National sporting bodies were notified by the ASC in mid-2024 that the 40 per cent “rule” for board-appointed directors would be coming into place, which is designed to ensure a more balanced mix of elected and appointed directors and thus a greater diversity of views and expertise.
“The required governance standards are intended to ensure all sporting organisations have the right mix of skills, diversity and experience around the boardroom table to effectively lead their organisation,” an ASC spokesperson said.
Though there is high confidence across FA and its stakeholders that the reform will be passed before the deadline, regardless of last week’s events – in fact, even those who opposed the resolution are privately saying they are not against it in principle – the situation is an example of how political posturing in Australian soccer continues to inhibit even the most necessary, government-mandated forms of progress.
It also foreshadows the level of discontent felt by some members about the state and direction of FA as it prepares to hold its annual general meeting by the end of May.
This masthead has seen a letter to FA’s board from Gino Marra, the chairman of Macarthur FC, in which he describes the proposed resolution as “constitutionally and democratically significant” because it reduces the proportion of directors elected by the congress, or FA’s members, which comprises the nine state federations, the Australian Professional Leagues, the players’ union and the women’s football council.
Marra argued that a larger board of 10 or more directors could also satisfy the ASC’s requirements and also protect the “relative influence” of the congress, while his other major objection is the mechanism which allows elected directors who step down before the end of their terms to be replaced by a director who is proposed by the FA board. That, he wrote, effectively takes away an elected position from the congress, for which he said there was “no legitimate governance rationale”.
However, sources in favour of the resolution, who were granted anonymity to speak freely given the political sensitivities of the situation, strongly disagree with Marra’s position because previous reforms ensured appointed directors must also be approved by a simple majority of FA’s members – meaning they still have a material say as to who gets on the board. All directors must also be endorsed by FA’s nominations standing committee, on which Marra sits.
Only elected directors are eligible to become FA’s chair or deputy chair.
FA posted a loss of $8.5 million at last year’s AGM. This year’s AGM, at which three elected director vacancies will be filled, will be the first under new chief executive Martin Kugeler and Adam Santo, the former Sydney FC chief who became FA’s chief financial officer late last year.
Two new directors, Rachel Wiseman and Angela Mentis, joined FA’s board at last week’s EGM, bringing the make-up of FA’s board to eight. There will be vacancies for a further three elected directors at the upcoming AGM, for which six candidates have put their hands up – one of whom is Socceroos legend Mark Schwarzer, a long-time FA critic.
FA’s board has not had any directors with specific football experience since Heather Garriock stepped down last year to become interim chief executive.
Schwarzer, who serves on FA’s football development committee, is hoping not only to provide that missing perspective, but to act as a unifying force – even though he will be counting on the support of state federations, having once called for their abolition.
“I’ve felt that over the years there’s a real divide within football in Australia, and we all know that,” Schwarzer told this masthead.
“I was pretty quick to point the fingers at people, but I also understand now through a bit more informing myself, but also maybe a bit more maturity, that there’s obviously always two sides to things. Communication and unity within our game has been at times either nonexistent or poor and the only way that we can move forward is by being unified.
“We can’t continuously blame one another within our own game. We need to find common ground.”
The other five candidates are former racing executive Paul Bittar, ex-Stadiums Queensland chair Cathy McGuane, financial services experts Jon Sutton and Mark Goodrick, and Christine Holman, an appointed FA director who is seeking to become an elected director.
