IT took less than two weeks into Steven Lowys chairmanship for Football Federation Australia to plunge into crisis. The sight of empty terraces at A-League games, with fans protesting against the governing bodys botched handling of the ongoing saga, is a poor look.
Transparency, privacy issues and a haphazard appeals process were at the core of the issue and chief executive David Gallop will meet with representatives from all fan groups on Wednesday in Sydney, with even Wellington Phoenix understood to be attending.
However it has now morphed into a full-blown debate about the FFAs long list of priors, with years of frustration bubbling to the surface.
Having only replaced hid dad on November 17, weve given Steven a chance to get up to speed with the issues bugging football fans.
We didnt have enough room to delve back into the Ben Buckley era which included botched expansion into North Queensland and Gold Coast at a time when the bid to bring the World Cup to Australia failed spectacularly.
But over the past 18 months alone theres been enough head-scratchers to help Lowy recognise the scale of the task in front of him.
Melbourne Victory chairman Anthony Di Pietro told The Herald Sun that recent months have felt like a caretaker period at FFA as the board made the transition from Frank to Steven at the helm.
But theres no excuses any more, Di Pietro said. The old chairman has retired, the new chairman and board is in. They must approach this with new energy, a new set of eyes and ears.
Its time now to deliver.
Gallop last Thursday admitted to failings in head offices response to a story naming 198 fans banned from attending A-League matches.
Upon announcing a review in to FFAs banning process, Gallop also admitted that upcoming meetings with fans could also see raised plenty of other issues that need addressing. Many of those issues are bound to be on our list of 31 own goals the FFA has scored in the past year and a half.
FFA needs to listen to the fans, Gallop said. If it doesnt, the ongoing protests and boycotts might just be the tip of the iceberg in terms of the problems facing the sport.
The fan saga continues FFAs trend of policing but coming up with few ideas, which has left clubs frustrated.
31 OWN GOALS IN 18 MONTHS
1 SPONSOR-LESS SOCCEROOS
FFA continually boasts about participation numbers and the popularity of the Socceroos yet they havent had a major sponsor for 30 months. Theres talk a deal with Caltex is on the horizon, and surely Asian Cup win and likely 2018 World Cup qualification are strong enough selling points.
2 NO SKY BLUE IN YOUR CITY
Melbourne Citys attempts to adopt a Sky Blue home strip were blocked because Sydney FC also wears sky blue. Wasnt that why away strips were introduced? Lazio and Napoli wear light blue in Italy and in England Liverpool and Manchester United wear red, while Aston Villa, West Ham and Burnley have almost identical strips.
3 FRANK LAMPARD? NO THANKS
Rather than encouraging the arrival of global stars, FFA blocked Citys attempts to sign Frank Lampard. The Chelsea legend was set to join David Villa at Melbourne City before the rules were changed Lampard was then loaned from New York City to Manchester City.
4 DID YOU READ ABOUT THE SALARY CAP RORT?
What checks and balances are in place if the Perth Glory salary cap rort only came to light initially after it was revealed in the press? FFA was alerted to the issue after it was broken by a Sydney newspaper.
5 BOTCHED FINALS FIXTURING
There were 33,500 empty seats at Adelaide Oval for the first final of last season when Adelaide United hosted Brisbane Roar. Big venues are fine, but read the market. A packed Coopers Stadium would have been an epic start. Meanwhile the A-League fixturing is full of inconsistencies.
6 DOWNSIZED GRAND FINAL
The AFL played hard ball and held onto its Etihad Stadium booking for May 17, leaving FFA with egg on its face with the most suitable venue unavailable for its showcase. The bungle denied as many as 25,000 Melbourne Victory and Sydney FC fans the chance to attend the grand final.
7 FRANK LOWYS TUMBLE
Thank heavens he was OK, but Frank Lowys fall from the high, sloped dais was replayed all over the world. The embarrassing gaffe just wouldnt happen around the world or in the AFL.
8 CRISIS CLUB I NEWCASTLE JETS
Much of FFAs resources have been tied up by looking after Newcastle Jets after Nathan Tinkler threw his toys out of the pram. They gambled on selling to Dundee United owner Stephen Thompson but theyre back on the market after talks broke down.
9 CRISIS CLUB II BRISBANE ROAR
The Brisbane Roar mess, underlined by unpaid wages and Super, got much of the pre-season attention. Question marks have surrounded the Bakrie Groups commitment for years.
10 THE NEVER-ENDING PAY DISPUTE
The woefully-handled negotiations with the PFA hogged the headlines and, while FFA isnt exclusively to blame, it was a PR disaster. The public trading of barbs was unprofessional and how the Collective Bargaining Agreement took so long to sign remains a mystery.
11 MATILDAS STRIKE
While FFA claimed that the Matildas were used as pawns by the PFA, the women clearly felt aggrieved enough to pull out of their US tour their first games after the World Cup success.
12 AUSTRALIAN YOUTH FIXTURE CLASHES
Tension is simmering between the clubs and FFA with the regular scheduling of Young Socceroos and Olyroos overseas camps. Teams such as Melbourne Victory are losing up to four players due to friendlies, which is hurting the clubs and players.
13 SAY SORRY ANGE. NOW!
David Gallop threw perhaps his biggest ally in Ange Postecoglou under a bus for echoing Australias sentiments in voicing his frustration at protracted CBA negotiations. Postecoglou was forced to issue a public retraction the next day.
14 NO DECENT FTA FOR A-LEAGUE
SBS doesnt want the A-League and at least one other free-to-air network does. So why didnt the switch happen? Whatever the reason, SBS have returned it to the secondary channel where ratings have halved.
15 HAS THE SEASON JUST STARTED?
Starting the season four-five days post AFL and NRL grand finals, without any genuine marquee stars to speak of, is hard enough without then jumping in with a low budget, no sizzle season launch. The lack of marketing was believed to be down to the FFAs resources being tipped into the Jets.
16 BOTCHED MELBOURNE CITY W-LEAGUE ENTRANCE
Melbourne City comes in to the W-League with all guns blazing and theres a mens A-League derby at Etihad Stadium on the W-Leagues opening weekend. So why not play a double header? It wouldve generated huge publicity, but not only that, they scheduled the first W-League derby a week later when City were missing six of their stars because of Matildas games.
17 SUSPENDED FOR BEING INJURED
Corey Gameiro missed his sides first three Cup games through injury, but, when available for the semi, found out he was suspended for one game because he picked up too many yellow cards while at Sydney in 2014. Why wasnt his suspension served in the Round of 32? It should be irrelevant that he was injured.
18 FORCING HUME TO A BIGGER VENUE
Small-time club Hume City was robbed of an epic payday when FFA first blocked its attempts to host Victory at home and then Etihad Stadium, even though the Docklands venue offering a guaranteed six-figure sum. Instead a poor crowd attended AAMI Park.
19 PHOENIX-GATE
Wellington Phoenixs 10-year licence application was rejected. The handling of negotiations and lack of strategy is concerning, as the news was met with widespread condemnation. While Wellington doesnt offer a lot to the A-League in a monetary sense, FFA does the TV deals and stability surely counts for something.
20 BY THE WAY, WELL HAVE A THIRD TEAM IN SYDNEY SOON
Speaking of a lack of strategy, FFA has also managed to disenfranchise many and created uncertainty in a fragile market as news of talks with a third (south) Sydney team slowly crept out in the media.
21 FRANK LOWY SLAMS HIS OWN CLUB
The former FFA chairmans bizarre condemnation of Sydney FC where he remains a minority shareholder and Graham Arnold was unnecessary. Contrary to Lowys quotes in a press release, Arnold is entitled to enter the expansion debate.
22 FFA CUP FINAL SCANDAL I TICKET PRICES
A half-empty stadium for the FFA Cup final was woeful as FFA stuffed up their pricing and didnt consult with Victory, who have a great gauge. The cheapest ticket was $40 for a fledgling competition.
23 FFA CUP FINAL SCANDAL II DROPPING PRICES ON EVE OF GAME
As desperation set in, FFA offered a 25 per cent discount to some Victory members on the morning of the game. It was an insult to those fans who already shelled out cash at the full rate.
24 FFA CUP FINAL SCANDAL III THE VALERI BAN
Barring Melbourne Victory captain Carl Valeri from receiving a medal and holding the trophy aloft for his two bookings was unnecessary. FFA then lied by claiming it was a FIFA rule and done in most leagues around the world.
25 THE LEAKED DOCUMENT
The FFA distributed the list of 198 banned fans to A-League venues each week and is ultimately responsible for its confidentiality.
26 GALLOPS BUMBLING REACTION
Not only was David Gallops response eight days too late but it was patronising to the A-League fans looking for their leader to defend the sport. It triggered unparalleled backlash which has led to bigger fan protests and boycotts across the country.
27 INCONSISTENT APPEALS MESSAGES
Tensions were already simmering among fans with the mixed messaging coming from FFA HQ regarding an appeals process before Gallops gaffe. The review will be telling.
28 THE FOOTAGE WE WERENT MEANT TO SEE
Releasing the cringe-worthy footage of the final days leading up to the ill-fated 2022 World Cup bid from Zurich was ill-advised. With questions still being asked of the $45m taxpayers money spent, the video highlighted how naive we were.
29 THE LACK OF MARQUEES, HALF-HEARTED ATTEMPT TO LAND TIM CAHILL
The lack of marquees has contributed to the drop in crowds/TV ratings, yet the attempts to lure Tim Cahill back have been half-hearted at best. Another league wouldve gone hammer and tongs to sign their local pin-up boy, yet FFA are just thwarting clubs as evidenced by the Lampard rule.
30. 11TH HOUR MARQUEE CHANGE
Literally weeks before this season was due to start, with most rosters almost done, the FFA changed the marquee player rule allowing the second one to be a foreigner. Previously one marquee had to be an Aussie.
31. POOR REFEREEING
The standard of officiating continues to dip and whistle-happy referees are affecting the flow and quality of the game. Players and coaches are becoming frustrated.
