Football Federation Australia (FFA) has released a timeline for when it will meet key stakeholders to discuss constitutional reform.
FFA chairman Steven Lowy and CEO David Gallop met with FIFA officials, including president Gianni Infantino, in Switzerland last week to discuss the expansion of Australia's voting congress that decides, who sits on FFA's board.
Australia has the smallest number of voters of any FIFA member with 10, with the nine state federations each holding one vote, while the A-League clubs have one vote between them.
FFA committed to reform says Lowy
It was widely reported Lowy and Gallop attempted to halt reform - something FFA denies - but a statement on Monday indicates the governing body is moving quickly to meet FIFA's deadline of March 31.
FIFA wants FFA to incorporate a broader range of stakeholders in its voting congress, with A-League clubs and Professional Footballers Australia (PFA) - the players' union - expected to be the main beneficiaries.
FFA will meet with the state federations on February 13 and A-League club chairmen on February 14, while a meeting with PFA representatives is expected to be scheduled in the same week.
"Football Federation Australia will continue consultations with key stakeholders next week regarding the process to expand the membership of its congress which would allow broader representation in the governance of the sport," said an FFA spokesperson.
A-League clubs warn against FFA reform delay
"Last week FFA Chairman Steven Lowy AM and CEO David Gallop AM met with FIFA President Gianni Infantino, FIFA Secretary General Fatma Samba Diouf Samoura and senior FIFA officials in Zurich to confirm that FFA intended to expand the congress. FIFA expressed complete satisfaction with all aspects of the status of the process and FFA's intention to have membership changes implemented through an Extraordinary General Meeting at the end of March.
"An EGM is necessary so that the existing Members – the nine member federations and one representative of the clubs - can consider a special resolution to amend the constitution of FFA based on the outcome of the stakeholders consultation process."
