Soccer's wider constituency is pushing at an open door as it presses the game's ruling body, the FFA, to broaden its governing base and widen representation on the organisation's board.
The FFA confirmed on Monday, after meeting with representatives of soccer's State Member Federations, that it was keen to find a way to "adapt as the game evolves in Australia", according to chairman Steven Lowy. It will hold an emergency general meeting by the end of March when it will change its constitution, increase representation of A-League clubs and key groups in the game such as players, women's football, coaches and referees.
![FFA Chairman Steven Lowy confers with CEO David Gallop.](/web/20170221054929im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/u/b/v/z/4/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gubrq4.png/1486969196683.jpg)
But the desire of the A-League clubs to receive a much greater share of the revenues generated by the new TV deal is likely to be resisted strongly, with the FFA arguing that to do so would be to ignore its wider responsibilities for running the game.
Talks between A-League club bosses and the FFA are due to take place on Tuesday, with the two sides seemingly wide apart on the vexed question of financial dividends for the clubs.
Lowy believes that the way forward is for the game to look at new operating and ownership models for the A-League and W-League.
"We need to attract more capital and expertise to our clubs and game. FFA believes part of the answer lies in the way the leagues are structured," he said. "We will begin this conversation with the club chairmen tomorrow.
"This will be an important consideration as FFA moves ahead with plans to expand the number of Hyundai A-League clubs."
That expansion is not, however, likely to come for at least two seasons.
Investors have come and gone in the various clubs that have made up the A-League over the past 11 years, and those now in charge are demanding a greater share of the spoils for those they say put on the main show. The clubs argue that they generate the lion's share of the near $60 million a year revenues that have just been released through the game's new broadcast deal with Fox Sports and deserve a commensurate reward.
Clubs are increasingly coming around to the idea that a clean split might need to be made to act as a circuit breaker for the impasse that is looming.
But at Tuesday's meeting Lowy and his team will hope to walk a tightrope between winning its argument that it has a "whole of game" responsibility and preventing a breakaway push by its biggest critics to set up a stand alone A-League, organised and managed by the clubs themselves.
At present, revenues raised go into the FFA's consolidated revenue pool and capital is allocated by the game's governing body to various arms of the sport – with the clubs receiving about $2.5 million a year as a dividend from the TV rights.
This barely covers the cost of the salary cap and the clubs are demanding more, arguing that the Socceroos and other cash-absorbing arms of the game do not deserve to receive as much while the clubs are bleeding red ink.
The FFA takes the view that it is better for it to manage the league – and with it questions of expansion and the siting of new teams – so that the value of all the franchises grows.
It will argue that building value in the sport as a whole will ensure that when new licenses are created and sold they will bring in a much higher cash windfall, and that existing owners will receive more money should they decide to cash in on their asset and sell to cashed-up new investors, companies or consortia.