Wanderers owner Lederer named A-League clubs boss

The A-League could be a step closer to breaking free of the FFA with Western Sydney Wanderers Chairman and part-owner Paul Lederer elected as the new head of the A-League clubs.

Paul Lederer Source: Getty Images

Lederer takes over from Greg Griffin as chairman of the Australian Professional Football Clubs Association (APFCA) and has pledged to build all facets of the game in Australia.

The appointment of Lederer is seen as a major move towards the A-League becoming independent of the FFA in time for the start of the 2019-20 season.

Lederer said he hoped to unify all areas of the game and told The Australian he would be working hard to help the A-League break away from control of the FFA.

 

“The game has been fragmented and I want to see an end to that,” Lederer said. “We have to work in with everyone in the game from the FFA, to the states, to the PFA, to the grassroots, to the women’s game," he said.

 

“It’s time to move forward and to make this game of ours what is should be.”

The push for an independently run A-League will be one of Lederer's first priorities and he has until March to make the goal a reality ahead of next season.

A New Leagues Working Group is set to be formed under terms set by the Congress Review Working Group with the aim to establish the framework for how the A-League should work in the future. The report from the NLWG is due in March.

"I can assure you, we are all committed and are all united … we have never been more united on this subject because the grassroots is the lifeline of our game," Lederer said.

“Everyone is aware of that, we are conscious of that and we know what we have to do.

“We want the W-League, the grassroots, everything to work the way it should."