All is not well with football in Australia. Soon after the joy of qualifying for Russia the Socceroos manager, Ange Postecoglou resigned. That was quickly followed by a major disagreement over the governance structure of Football Federation Australia which has put the whole of football in Australia into a state of turmoil with a real threat that FIfa will step in and take control.
In short, the FFA chairman, Steven Lowy, and the clubs that make up Australia's A-League are at loggerheads over the composition of the FFA Congress, which manages football across the country. The clubs want one more representative on the board but Lowy is worried about rich club owners having a bigger say in how football is run. He argues that grassroots programs will suffer.
Fifa have suggested that the structure proposed by the clubs is more in line with Fifa's methods. Fifa could intervene and disband the FFA and impose a "normalisation committee" which would, in effect, take over the management of football in Australia. To add to the chaos, the Minister for Sport, Greg Hunt, hinted recently that if Fifa does take over then Australia could miss out on hosting the women's World Cup in 2023 which they are currently bidding for. This has been viewed as direct influence of the government into the affairs of the FFA. Fifa has in the past suspended countries where the government has become involved in the affairs of the national football association. The worst outcome of all this would be Australia losing their spot at Russia 2018, although this is not feared to be a real possibility at this point.
In the midst of all this uncertainty the FFA also need to find a new team manager. The expectation is that a high profile foreign candidate will be chosen to lead the team for the short term, from February until the end of the World Cup. A new manager will then be appointed to take over up until at least Qatar 2022. The favourite for this long term position is the Australian Graham Arnold, currently in charge of Sydney FC. The list of international candidates includes Roberto Mancini, Jurgen Klinsmann, Bert van Marwijk, Slaven Bilic and Marcelo Bielsa. The rumours of who is the top choice are varied. One report suggested Mancini has priced himself out of the job and that van Marwijk might have the lowest wage demands.
The Socceroos have friendlies lined up in March against Norway and Colombia. They hope to have a manager by mid-February. With players spread out all over the world it does not leave much time for proper preparations for the World Cup. It would be a huge pity for all Australian fans if their team's chances of a successful participation in Russia are thwarted by all this turmoil.
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