The Australian has reported representatives from FIFA and AFC will fly to Sydney and meet with the FFA and stakeholders with the aim of bringing the constitution of Australia's governing body into line with the rest of the world.
It is believed FIFA has raised issues with aspects of how the game is represented by the FFA. The push of A-League clubs for an independent commission to run the competition is understood to have instigated the AFC and FIFA's intervention.
FIFA and the AFC were also not impressed by the selection of Frank Lowy's son Steven Lowy to the position of FFA Chairman unopposed 12 months ago.
"The objective of the mission is to ensure the full implementation of the decision taken by the FIFA Association Committee, which requires the FFA to align its statutes with the requirements of the FIFA and AFC Statutes, as well as the FIFA Standard Statutes," A FIFA spokeswoman told The Australian.
Stakeholders of the FFA received a letter from the governing body this week which stated that they will argue the current model is best practice for football in Australia and meets FIFA guidelines.
“The existing membership model, which has produced governance stability and underpinned the achievements of the last decade, should be preserved at this critical time in the evolution of the game in Australia,” FFA said in its letter. “The constitutional membership model is, and should continue to be, supplemented by dedicated, binding stakeholder arrangements that deal specifically with those groups,” The letter from the FFA said.
