and, more recently, the governance war
that was as long as it was bitter between
the protagonists. It has survived them all,
but to come through this latest challenge
will require unity of purpose – which is
not exactly its strong point.
However, at a moment in time where
the football community is pleading for
a plan to take the game forward, the
enforced break does at least offer a
chance to reset.
Football in Australia must use the time
wisely. Its future depends upon it.Australian states made any continuation
impossible and Johnson confirmed the
inevitable at a press conference in
Sydney the next day.
FFA has been careful in the language
it has used regarding the shutdown,
labelling it a “suspension” with a
reassessment promised on April 22,
but in the current climate it’s difficult
to envisage any sport being ready to
resume by then.
In the interim the federation and the
clubs must deal with the financial fallout
of a massive loss in revenue. With the
independence of the A-League still
not finalised, and TV ratings having
plummeted on the back of a three-
year civil war, coronavirus
could not have arrived at a
worse time.
With the league
technically in breach of its
TV deal, albeit through no
fault of its own, Johnson’s
administrative skills will be
put to the test in keeping
both broadcasters and the football
community fully onside – which will
be no easy task.
The game in Australia is no stranger
to adversity and in the last 50 years it
has come through a three-year FIFA
ban, the collapse of the National Soccer
League (the forerunner of the A-League)Coronavirus in footballThe derby between Western Sydney Wanderers and Sydney FC
was billed as the “biggest game of football in the world tonight”XxxxxxxxGame on...Sydney (in
blue) versus Western
Sydney Wanderers