Schwab makes last pitch for FFA top job

Brendan Schwab has jetted to Australia for a final charm offensive and face-to-face interview with the FFA board in a bid to pip rival James Johnson in the race to replace David Gallop as CEO.

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With a final decision due later this week, Switzerland-based Schwab will meet with the eight-strong board this week - including newly elected members Carla Wilshire and Robyn Fitzroy.

Schwab is thought to have the backing of several board figures, including Joseph Carrozzi and possibly Wilshire.

But it’s likely to be a close call between him and former Australian youth international Johnson, who held senior positions at the AFC and FIFA before taking up an executive gig for at the City Football Group 11 months ago.

With his professional life spent almost entirely as a union chief advocating on behalf of athletes across the globe, Schwab has close ties with the PFA, which he co-founded with Victorian state federation chief Kimon Taliadoros.

In recent years he’s been at the apex of professional footballers union FIFPro before taking up his current role as executive director of the World Players' Association, which represents 85,000 athletes across 100 player associations in 60 countries.

He’s been a staunch human rights advocate, evidenced by his participation in the successful Craig Foster-led free Hakeem al-Araibi case.

There are questions though among some stakeholders over his close ties to the PFA, and whether that might colour his decision making at FFA where the aspirations of the governing body and players union are not always in alignment.

Johnson’s contacts within the AFC, where he spent two years in charge of international relations, and FIFA, where he served for five years as head of professional football, could give him an edge with some board members in terms of building relationships beyond Australia’s frontiers.

His playing background is also seen as a plus, plugging him into Australia’s grassroots in a been-there done-that way which may offer unique insights in producing better pathways for Australia’s future stars.

Currently based in Manchester as the CFG’s head of external affairs, it’s understood Manchester-based Johnson will also have further discussions with the board this week before a decision is made over which of the two is viewed as best placed to unite the often conflicted interests of Australian football.