FIFA has placed the future of Australian football firmly back in Football Federation Australia's court and issued a subtle reminder it is not a stakeholder in the political reform process.
A fortnight after a visiting FIFA/Asian Football Confederation (AFC) delegation witnessed the chaotic, nasty nature of the game's domestic governance, the world governing body has dispatched its first piece of formal feedback to FFA chairman Steven Lowy.
FIFA secretary general Fatma Samoura described this month's heated meetings in Sydney as "productive and fruitful", implying there are no plans at this stage to disband the FFA board before the November 30 deadline it has imposed.
However, Samoura reiterates the "critical time of the process" in which FFA has been ordered to allow more stakeholders a say in how the game is run.
"While FIFA and AFC remain committed to providing you with our continued and full support, the responsibility - as communicated by the joint FIFA/AFC visit in line with the aforementioned decision of the FIFA Member Associations Committee - to reach agreement on a consensual membership model lies with FFA and the stakeholders (Member federations, A-League clubs and PFA)," the letter reads.
'People want more football'
It's in this context a push for a national second division to operate between the A-League and National Premier Leagues (NPL) takes place.
NPL teams have banded together under the Association of Australian Football Clubs (AAFC), which is devising a plan for a second tier and, importantly, how it would be funded.
"The modelling we're working on at the moment will allow a second tier competition to be self-funding.
In fact, it'll actually put more back into the game, both into the NPL and into grassroots," says AAFC Chairman Rabieh Krayem.
NPL clubs say with governance of the local game at a crossroads, now is the time to strike.
"People want more football. The number of people watching football, the number of people playing football, both men and women, has increased unbelievably and at a rapid rate," says Sam Krslovic, who is football director at former NSL heavyweights Sydney United.
"I think now is the time because we've got more engagement in the general community."
"A second division is really needed for the development of the game, for developing these young players, giving them game exposure, developing new coaches."
Counting against the AAFC is the fact it's a relative newcomer, having only been formed this year.
Although AAFC representatives did meet with FIFA in Sydney, it's unlikely the association will be given a seat at the table when FFA restructures its influential Congress.
As it stands, it's believed the clubs, the players union and some state federations are in support of a revised Congress model, comprising nine votes for the states, five for the clubs, one for the players, and one for the women's game.
-with AAP
