Five Things the FFA Needs to Fix

There are many things within Football that require attention, Phill Chadwick points out five of these that require it now before its too late.

There is a lot to like about the A-League in its second season.

The improvement in Melbourne's on field performances, the general improvement in crowd numbers, the greater and greater awareness of the competition throughout the media and the general community, and so on.

But it is far from perfect. There are some serious problems that need to be addressed.

These problems have come about mainly from understandable pragmatic responses to the teething troubles of an infant competition. They may have been the only way to go in the short term. But they cannot be allowed to continue long term, or they may turn into cancers on the game.

Pragmatism should not override principle.

If the FFA does not have plans to fix these issues, they should have.

So, what are these five issues? In no particular order, they are:

The abject failure of the New Zealand Knights.

Frank Lowy's conflicts of interest.

Ownership of Perth Glory.

The FFA's stake in Melbourne Victory.

And the lack of free-to-air television coverage.

New Zealand Knights are in big trouble. Despite significant changes in their playing personnel over the winter break, they are still unable to perform where it matters. Crowd numbers have continued to decline and there does not appear to be any way of rescuing that club from competitive and financial oblivion. The New Zealand community has failed to attach themselves to the club. How long can its backers continue to support them?

The FFA should make plans to remove them from the competition as soon as possible and relace them with a well resourced Australian club. Either Canberra or Tasmania seems the most likely. I believe that it is still important to maintain the one-team-one-town approach at this stage.

Frank Lowy is the saviour of the Australian game. But his personal interests are not more important than the game itself. He should decide whether he wants to be a club owner or Chairman of the FFA. He cannot, in good conscience, be both. The conflicts of interest are so clear that no-one can pretend they are not there. Expediency is not an excuse for lack of principle in matters like this.

If Sydney FC needs his money, that is fine, but he should resign from the FFA. If the FFA needs his guidance, by all means stay on as Chairman, but get out of Sydney FC.

Lowy does not seem to be a "hands-off" investor and his leading role at the FFA is incompatible with a controlling role at the club.

In a similar vein, how can it be good for the game for Perth Glory to be effectively owned and controlled by the competition's governing body?

The FFA must find a new owner as soon as possible and end this ridiculous arrangement. The conflicts of interest are, again, obvious. You can be at "arm's length" as far as you like, but that arm is still a part of the body.

Melbourne's situation is just a watered down version of Perth's, and the same principle applies. Although the FFA only has a small part of Melbourne, they still have a direct financial interest in that club. At the risk of nagging, I say again: that sort conflict of interest cannot be tolerated.

The FFA must be completely impartial with respect to the clubs. In the cases of Sydney, Melbourne and Perth, it cannot possibly be impartial. Those charged with the heavy responsibility of overseeing the competition must be scrupulously fair in all aspects.

No-one would accuse the FFA of deliberate bias. But while the clubs remain unequal in their relationship to the FFA, there will always be a hint of partiality.

Imagine a hypothetical scenario in which Asian Champions League qualification is not clear cut. The FFA must decide between two clubs with equal claims. One club is totally independent of the FFA, the other has a substantial financial investment from the FFA. Which would the FFA choose to enter the lucrative Asian competition?

While Foxtel do a fine job in broadcasting A-League football, it still only reaches a minority of Australian households. Free to air coverage is very limited and needs to improve. At the very least, one of the major commercial channels should be broadcasting extended highlights, or at least a match of the week. For this sport to reach the broader community, this should be a priority. The FFA must address this issue. How else will the millions of AFL and NRL lovers latch on to Football as their summer sport?

So, FFA, what are your plans?

What are you doing about the ownership of Perth?

When will you divest your share in Melbourne?

Will Frank Lowy's conflicts of interest between Sydney and the FFA ever be resolved?

And how long will you give New Zealand to shape up before accepting their inevitable demise?

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