FFA independent review of national teams – what are the implications?

Liam Watson

Football Federation Australia (FFA) have announced they will address the way the Australian national teams are managed, by progressing with an independent review,

The FFA will address the decision-making processes and how items are reported to the FFA board, with the focus being that teams are operating at the highest standards.

It comes as the FFA seeks to learn from their handling of former Matildas coach Alen Stajcic.

The timing of his sacking from the head role raised question marks as he was the one to help guide the Matildas to the 2019 Women’s World Cup.

A situation like that, where legal action was taken by Stajcic, is something that the FFA doesn’t want to happen again.

It’s what has prompted the FFA to act and understand if there’s a better way of handling these issues in the future.

“The decision of the Board to replace Alen Stajcic as the Matildas coach is not under review or subject to review. However, the process raised questions for the Board on the manner in which conduct, performance and information are addressed by FFA as an organisation,” FFA Chairman, Chris Nikou.

The FFA have decided on a three-person panel who will all be involved in the decision-making processes and be part of the review.

The panel will be chaired by Diane Smith-Gander who is a professional non-executive director, alongside Rod McGeoch and Liz Ellis.

McGeoch is another non-executive director while Liz Ellis is a former captain of the Australian Diamonds netball team.

As part of their role, the panel will take part in interviews with FFA senior management and national team staff and need to evaluate documentation, information and correspondence.

A report will be compiled to the FFA board by the end of October 2019, with more details to come when that time comes about releasing information.

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More Than One in Five Football Australia Staff to Lose Jobs Amid Growing Financial Losses

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Image Credit: ESPN

Australian football finds itself in a curious position.

From the outside, the game appears to be riding a wave of momentum. Attendances, visibility and public interest have all experienced significant uplift in recent years, while major international tournaments and growing discussion around football’s future continue to place the sport firmly within the national conversation.

Yet behind that momentum, Football Australia is now confronting a far more challenging internal reality.

 

A compounding deficit

Chief Executive Martin Kugeler has reportedly indicated the governing body’s projected financial losses for 2025 are expected to exceed the organisation’s reported $8.5 million deficit from the previous year. Accompanying the financial outlook are substantial organisational changes, with reporting from Tracey Holmes indicating more than one in five Football Australia employees are expected to lose their positions through restructuring measures.

The figures represent more than a difficult balance sheet. They point toward a significant period of recalibration inside the organisation responsible for overseeing the sport nationally.

 

Losing the wisdom of existing staff members

For governing bodies, restructures are often framed as strategic necessities for future sustainability. However, workforce changes on this scale also raise broader questions around the challenges of such a transition.

People are often the carriers of knowledge, relationships and long-term strategic understanding. When organisations undergo significant structural change, the effects can extend beyond immediate financial outcomes.

 

Contradicting timing

The timing is what makes the developments particularly notable.

Football in Australia has spent recent years discussing expansion, growth and long-term opportunity. The conversation surrounding the game has increasingly centred on future potential. Often headlining stronger pathways, larger audiences, infrastructure development and greater visibility.

Against that backdrop, news of deep financial losses and substantial staffing reductions creates a different conversation: one focused not on where the game wants to go, but on what may be required to sustain that journey. Therefore, this announcement points toward stagnancy, rather than growth.

Further detail surrounding Football Australia’s strategy and long-term direction will likely emerge over coming months. For now, the developments serve as a reminder that growth stories are rarely straightforward.

Often, the periods that appear strongest from the outside can also be the moments organisations face their most significant internal tests.

Heidelberg United denied qualification to AFC UCL 2

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Image credit: Mark Avellino Photography / Australia Cup

In an announcement made yesterday, Football Australia revealed that, in place of Heidelberg United, Melbourne Victory will now take the AFC UCL 2 spot.

A premature ending

In what is sure to be a disappointing verdict for Heidelberg’s fans, staff and supporters, the NPL VIC side will no longer compete in next season’s AFC CL 2.

The decision comes despite Heidelberg meeting the necessary criteria outlined in Football Australia’s National Club Licensing Regulations.

“We understand that this will be a disappointing outcome for everyone connected to Heidelberg United FC,” said FA Executive Director of Football, Heather Garriock, via press release.

“The club earned enormous respect through its performances this season and should be proud of what it achieved both on and off the pitch.”

Indeed, through defeating several A-League outfits en-route to the Australia Cup Final against Newcastle Jets, Heidelberg did earn widespread respect and admiration across the landscape. Football Australia also strongly advocated for the side’s place in the AFC CL 2 following Newcastle’s qualification to the AFC CL Elite.

But despite the determined efforts of the club’s board to meet all necessary criteria, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) ruled the side ineligible to compete.

 

Victory emerge as replacements

Filling the now-vacant position in next season’s competition is Melbourne Victory, who finished 4th in the A-League this year.

As 3rd-place Auckland FC are based in New Zealand, thus falling under the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC), they are also ineligible to compete.

So while the AFC CL 2 will still be arriving in Melbourne next season, fixtures will no longer be built on the underdog success story of Heidelberg’s immense rise from NPL to AFC CL matchdays.

The club, however, will appeal the decision, and has written to Football Australia for further clarity on the Appeals Process.

It remains uncertain whether the appeal will be successful or not, but Heidelberg will undoubtedly enjoy the backing not just of its own staff and supporters, but of the entire Australian grassroots community.

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