As followers of football in Australia all know the game elected a new Chairman of the Football Federation of Australia last month, Chris Nikou.
Nikou was nominated by Melbourne Victory and Melbourne City. He was already a member of the FFA Board and was a former Melbourne Victory Board member. He also served as an Asian Cup Board member and as a Director of the Melbourne Renegades T20 side.
Mr Nikou is from a legal background and has been named the Best Lawyers ® 2016 Franchising Law “Lawyer of the Year” in Melbourne.
When the elections were being contested we were advised that Mr Nikou was a “football man.” He had played locally in Victoria and refreshingly had worked at club level serving as a club secretary, before moving on to work for the state body on the appeals board tribunal. When “new Football” came to life he was asked to become involved with Melbourne Victory.
As the A-League evolved he was deeply involved in the negotiations between the clubs and the FFA in relation to their participation agreements.
If fans were looking for a sealer as to how close his involvement in football was, he was apparently groomsman to former Socceroos coach Ange Postecoglou.
Nikou once elected, became the first Chairman of the FFA whose name was not Lowy, and to some that was a breath of fresh air.
What many wanted to see from the new Chair was more transparency than had been evident in the past 15 years. A shift of the focus back onto grassroots, where clubs are struggling to make ends meet. This is crucial as without a strong grassroots the A-League will struggle.
It was suggested by some, and the suggestions received a great deal of support, that one of the first things the new Chairman should do if he was going to carry the game forward, was to clean up the state federations who have in recent times been held to blame for holding up the game. Some clearly were influenced by the former Chairmen, and voted accordingly.
Nikou could have won many over by being open and revealing who voted for whom in the recent FFA election. Why should the stakeholders or the “Football Family” be kept in the dark? If we can find out how our elected politicians vote on issues why can we not find out how those entrusted with running a sport we are constantly told is the most played in Australia, voted?
One of the arguments for the secrecy that has been tabled is that the A-League license holders do not wish for such votes to be revealed. Yet they make up only a small percentage of the game as a whole. Even if this was the case surely their wishes should be dismissed immediately, as after all where do they find their next generation of players? Where do their fans come from? These are the very people they do not want to be open with.
Credit should go to Perth Glory owner Tony Sage who was the only A-League owner to reveal who he voted for when all with votes were asked to disclose who they voted for by Football Today.
As many involved in the game will tell you there is still a great deal of work to be done before we see the game on solid ground. Many were therefore hoping to have a Chairman who was not only visible, accessible, but also open, honest and who offered transparency. What the game needed was a leader.
Is it therefore any wonder that there were almost collective groans when news was released at the weekend that the new Chairman, who has yet to be in the role a month announced that he was running for a position on the Asian Football Confederation Executive Committee.
No one would question that Australia should have representation on such a committee, but surely there are other Board members who are capable of holding such a position? Why would the Chairman want such a role? Surely it would be better to have a representative on the Executive Committee who reports back to the FFA, and then if there are issues of concern the Chairman can step in?
To many this news smacks of a man who has started on the football gravy train and now has ambitions to be sitting at the top table and enjoying all of the kudos and benefits that come with such a role. Hopefully that isn’t the case.
It does seem pertinent to ask why the FFA has opted to nominate its Chairperson rather than anyone else on the Board. After all Heather Reid romped home in the FFA elections and was also a part of Australia’s Asian Cup organising committee. Not only that, but before stepping down as the CEO of Capital Football in March she was the longest serving state federation CEO, having spent nine years at the helm. In that time she has certainly dispelled the jibes that she was only interested in the Women’s game!
Maybe Nikou, having seen the votes won by Reid sees her as a threat, and hence it is vital that he stays in complete control with a place on the Executive Committee of the AFC?
One thing that is clear is Reid would have been a great choice. Apart from her knowledge of the game at all levels when she stepped down as CEO she told “The Womens Game” website, “What I was required to do as the CEO compared to what I might have wanted to do as Heather Reid were different. That personal versus professional is there a lot, but you have to just get on with it.”
A very important lesson for all employed to administer the game or elected at Board level. Hopefully Chris Nikou will remember that, not only during his time as Chair of the FFA, but also if he gets elected to the AFC Executive Committee.
