72-721: Football Australia is the governing body of soccer , futsal , and beach soccer within Australia, headquartered in Sydney . Although the first governing body of the sport was founded in 1911, Football Australia in its current form was only established in 1961 as the Australian Soccer Federation . It was later reconstituted in 2003 as the Australian Soccer Association before adopting the name of Football Federation Australia in 2005. In contemporary identification,
144-599: A bid for the 2022 tournament. FFA failed in its $ 45.6 million bid for the 2022 World Cup having received only one vote from the FIFA Executive. In 2013, Australia was admitted as a full member to the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF), after they formally joined as an invite affiliation to the regional body in 2006. On 29 January 2015, after the defeat of Iraq and the United Arab Emirates during
216-419: A breach of FIFA Statutes. The findings of the report were critically analysed by the board of Soccer Australia who believed that the recommendations contained therein were not capable of being implemented. The report recommended, among other things, the reconstitution of the governing body with an interim board headed by prominent businessman Frank Lowy . Some three months after Lowy's appointment Soccer Australia
288-559: A certain group, such as the Catholic or Jewish sports groups. General sports organizations and multi-sport events also exist for other groups such as the Invictus Games for military veterans. Professional sports leagues are usually the highest level of play in sport, specifically if they consist of the best players around the world in a certain sport. Because of this, they usually work with national or international federations, but there
360-499: A congress or general assembly of the international federation and is responsible for defining its sports policies. It consists of all of the national federations, each of which receives one vote. On the other hand, the executive branch, which is often referred to as the council or executive committee, consists of elected members by the legislative branch and is responsible for directing, managing, and representing their federation. Trusts are organizations or groups that have control over
432-452: A corporate decision was undertaken to institute that name to deliver a "more united football" in a deliberation from the current CEO, James Johnson. The name was changed to Football Australia in December 2020. Football Australia oversees the men's , women's , youth, Paralympic , beach and futsal national teams in Australia, the national coaching programs and the state governing bodies for
504-424: A different governing body that can define the way that the sport operates through its affiliated clubs and societies. This is because sports have different levels of difficulty and skill, so they can try to organize the people playing their sport by ability and by age. The different types of sport governing bodies are all shown below: International sports federations are non-governmental non-profit organizations for
576-547: A given sport (or a group of similar sport disciplines, such as aquatics or skiing ) and administers its sport at the highest level. These federations work to create a common set of rules, promote their sport, and organize international competitions. International sports federations represent their sport at the Olympic level where applicable. About 30 international sport federations are located in Switzerland , with about 20 or so in
648-461: A goal, but were still competitive in all three of their matches. New Zealand's national team the All Whites played in their first World Cup eight years later. At the 1982 tournament they suffered heavier defeats than Australia previously had. From the 1960s to the early 1980s, OFC countries competed alongside AFC nations in various different mixed World Cup qualifying tournaments. It was not until
720-471: A national team at all. France's eastern Pacific territory of Clipperton Island does not currently have a human population or any infrastructure. The Galápagos Islands in the eastern Pacific are designated as a special province of Ecuador , and have a small human population, however, they are not represented in Ecuador's national leagues . The sport is not known to be played on the U.S. outlying islands in
792-560: A particular sport, as evident in the example of the Northern Ireland Federation of Sub-Aqua Clubs . Multi-sport event organizers are responsible for the organization of an event that includes more than one sport. The best-known example is the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the organizer of the modern Olympic Games . General sports organizations are responsible for sports-related topics, usually for
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#1733093013670864-449: A playoff with a team from outside these two confederations. When the OFC was given a separate qualification process for the 1986 World Cup, their teams lost five consecutive inter-confederation playoffs (usually against South American nations), with Australia being involved in four of the five losses. Another reason cited for Australia's move was their dominance against the smaller OFC teams, which
936-563: A range of sport at an internationally acceptable level, such as the International Olympic Committee and the International Paralympic Committee , or only a single sport at a national level, such as the Rugby Football League . National bodies will largely have to be affiliated with international bodies for the same sport. The first international federations were formed at the end of the 19th century. Every sport has
1008-459: A seat on the FIFA executive. In 1998 the OFC unveiled a new logo and an official magazine, entitled The Wave . Australia's national team were long considered the biggest challenge in the confederation. There were many highly uncompetitive matches involving them, particularly in the 1990s and 2000s. Their June 1997 second round qualification games for the 1998 FIFA World Cup included a 13–0 defeat of
1080-594: A second time to join the Asian Football Confederation , leaving New Zealand as the largest federation within the OFC. The President of OFC is Lambert Maltock since April 2018. The Vice Presidents are Thierry Ariiotima, Kapi Natto John and Lord Ve'ehala while Franck Castillo is the General Secretary. The confederation is headquartered in Auckland , New Zealand . The confederation formed in 1966 with
1152-623: A spot in the FIFA World Cup . Beginning in 2026, the OFC will have a guaranteed spot in the FIFA World Cup for the first time in history, result of the competition's expansion from 32 to 48 teams. 1966 FIFA World Cup qualification (Africa, Asia and Oceania) 1970 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC and OFC) 1974 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC and OFC) 1982 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC and OFC) 1986 UEFA–OFC play-off 1990 CONMEBOL–OFC play-off Israel played in
1224-445: A sudden-death play-off against a desperate, battle-hardened opponent given a second, or even third, life." A major reason for Australia's 2006 switch to the AFC was the unpredictable nature of the mandatory inter-confederation playoffs. Australia and New Zealand's 1974 and 1982 qualifications both came in qualifying tournaments where OFC teams were competing alongside AFC teams, and didn't have
1296-574: A team in the minor leagues . This enables them to shuffle players who are not doing well to the minor leagues, which will inspire them to contribute more to the team by playing better. A 2014 study by the Institute for Human Rights and Business (IHRB) criticized major international sports governing bodies including the International Olympic Committee and FIFA for not having sufficient provisions for human and labor rights. Oceania Football Confederation The Oceania Football Confederation ( OFC )
1368-516: A type of national federation, as they are responsible for a country's participation in the Olympic Games and in the Paralympic Games respectively. However, a national governing body (NGB) can be different from a national federation due to government recognition requirements. Also, national governing bodies can be a supraorganization representing a range of unrelated organizations operating in
1440-463: Is a region-wide league currently being planned for an inaugural season in 2025 with support from FIFA . Men's Women's Clubs For each tournament, the flag of the host country and the number of teams in each finals tournament (in brackets) are shown. Oceania has sent representatives to the FIFA World Cup four times: Australia in 1974 and 2006, and New Zealand in 1982 and 2010. Of these, only Australia in 2006 progressed beyond
1512-542: Is an advisory body for Football Australia, comprising 9 members of First Nations communities. The inaugural members of the group are drawn from all levels of football as well as media, academia, and government: Frank Farina OAM, Karen Menzies (the first Indigenous Matilda), Tanya Oxtoby , Kyah Simon , Jade North (former Socceroos defender), Courtney Hagan, Kenny Bedford, Selina Holtze, Professor John Maynard, Narelda Jacobs , and Football Australia's Head of Women's Football, Sarah Walsh . North and Walsh are co-chairs of
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#17330930136701584-522: Is currently the last OFC president to have been based in either New Zealand or Australia, with all subsequent presidents having emerged from other countries in the Pacific. Australia's men's national team (nicknamed the Socceroos ) became the first representatives from the area to play at a FIFA World Cup in 1974 , being drawn in the same group as Chile , East Germany and West Germany . They failed to score
1656-451: Is generated by the OFC nations. The OFC has little influence in the wider football world, either in terms of international competition or as a source of players for high-profile club competitions. OFC is the only confederation to have not had at least one international title, the best result being Australia making the final of the 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup . In 2006, the OFC's then largest and most successful nation, Australia , left for
1728-534: Is made up of 11 full member associations and 2 associate members. Those two are associate members of the OFC, but are not FIFA members. Several other sovereign states, associated states, dependencies, and territories in Oceania , including members of the United Nations , have no affiliations to confederations. Some play infrequently while others have been inactive for several years. There are also some which do not have
1800-403: Is one national governing body, nine state and territory member federations and over 100 district, regional and local zones and associations. In November 2021, Football Australia created the inaugural National Indigenous Advisory Group (NIAG), an advisory body aimed at helping to foster engagement with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and increase their participation in the game. NIAG
1872-470: Is one of the six continental confederations of international association football . The OFC has 13 members, 11 of which are full members and two which are associate members not affiliated with FIFA . It promotes the game in Oceania and allows the member nations to qualify for the FIFA World Cup . OFC is predominantly made up of island nations where association football is not the most popular sport, with low GDP and low population meaning very little money
1944-494: Is usually a separation between the different federations. Most North American professional leagues usually do not have amateur divisions, as the amateur divisions are mostly run in separate leagues. Also, most professional leagues are related to other leagues, as players usually attempt to play in the league with the highest level of play. Because of this, promotion and relegation can occur; or, in league systems without promotion and relegation, clubs in professional leagues can have
2016-444: The 1986 qualifiers that the OFC had their own distinct qualifying tournament. Chinese Taipei was an OFC member from 1975 to 1989. The island state is geographically situated in the north Pacific, off the coast of China , but was a member for political reasons, later joining the AFC. Israel (who were never a member) competed in the 1986 and 1990 OFC World Cup qualifiers for similar political reasons, despite not being located in
2088-651: The 2002 FIFA World Cup , allegations of fraud and mismanagement were levelled at Soccer Australia by elements within the Australian Press including the ABC. Soccer Australia commissioned an independent inquiry known as the Crawford Report as a result of the Australian Government's threat to withdraw funding to the sport. The Australian Government could not interfere as any political interference would have constituted
2160-448: The 2015 AFC Asian Cup , West Asian Football Federation members reportedly sought to remove Australia from the AFC primarily due to "Australia benefiting hugely from Asian involvement without giving much in return". In November 2018 with numerous board positions coming to the end of their 3-year term, the bulk of the board of directors were replaced at an annual general meeting , as well as
2232-555: The 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup together, despite being members of two separate confederations at the time. In 2008, an associate member, the Northern Mariana Islands Football Association , also left the OFC and in 2009 joined the AFC as an associate member. In late 2009, the Palau Football Association , geographically a part of Oceania but with no official ties to the OFC, also applied for
Football Australia - Misplaced Pages Continue
2304-623: The A-League , W-League and Y-League would no longer be under the jurisdiction of Football Australia in an 'unbundling' process. The newly formed Australian Professional Leagues would take over the running of top-level football. As part of the unbundling, the Australian Professional Leagues would also obtain the exclusive right to use the intellectual property rights associated with the A-League brand. These competitions are now known as
2376-545: The A-League Men , A-League Women and A-League Youth . Soccer in Australia has used a federated model of national, states and territories governing bodies since the first state body was established in New South Wales in 1882. Local associations and regional zones were set up within the states and territories as soccer expanded and from time to time informal groups of clubs have augmented the formal structures. Today, there
2448-613: The Asian Football Confederation in 1960, and in 1974 but were denied in all requests. Australia with New Zealand eventually formed the Oceania Football Federation (now Oceania Football Confederation ) in 1966. Australia resigned as an OFC member in 1972 to pursue membership with the AFC , but they rejoined in 1978. In 1995, the Australian Soccer Federation formally changed its name to Soccer Australia. In 2003, following Australia's failure to qualify for
2520-598: The Lausanne area, where the International Olympic Committee is located. International federations for sports that do not participate in the Olympic Games are managed by equivalent organizations to the International Olympic Committee , such as the SportAccord . International federations are typically organized with legislative and executive branches at the top. The legislative body is usually referred to as
2592-590: The Solomon Islands . The following year they defeated the Cook Islands 16–0 at the 1998 OFC Nations Cup , while at the 2000 OFC Nations Cup they defeated them 17–0. Australia's dominance extended to women's competitions as well. For example, at the 1998 OFC Women's Championship , their women's team The Matildas defeated Fiji 17-0 and American Samoa 21-0. The uncompetitive results escalated in April 2001, during
2664-522: The first round of OFC qualifiers for the 2002 FIFA World Cup . Australia beat Tonga 22–0 , following this result up with a 31–0 win over American Samoa and an 11–0 win over Samoa. The American Samoa game became the largest international victory in the history of the sport (breaking the previous record set in the Tonga game), while Archie Thompson also broke the record for most goals in an international match, scoring 13. Australia's record-breaking form in
2736-459: The 1966 OFC founding, but New Caledonia could only be a provisional member, as the territory did not have sporting autonomy from France at that time. Australia resigned as an OFC member in 1972 to again pursue membership with the AFC, but rejoined the OFC in 1978, and were never official members of the AFC during the 1970s. After the 1972 departure from the OFC, Lou Gautier of Australian publication Soccer World said, "[we] have contended from
2808-598: The AFC's rejections. After initial discussions were held in Tokyo in 1964, Scottish -born Charles Dempsey was approached by the NZFA to work with Bayutti in putting together the bid to create the Oceania Football Confederation. The two garnered enough support for their bid to be approved by FIFA's congress in 1966. The founding OFC members were the following: Representatives from New Caledonia were also involved in
2880-545: The AFC, in order to form an Asia-Pacific Football Confederation. The calls grew louder in 2003 when FIFA reversed a decision to grant Oceania an automatic spot at the World Cup. Australia's lack of World Cup participation prior to 2006 has been blamed by many on the OFC qualification process, with football writer Matthew Hall stating in 2003, "For World Cup qualification, the Socceroos will win games by cricket scores and then face
2952-533: The Australian defeats in the inter-confederation playoffs came against Iran in 1997. Australia were leading 3-1 on aggregate late during the second leg in Melbourne , but their momentum was interrupted when serial pitch invader Peter Hore entered the ground. They went on to concede two goals in quick succession, failing to qualify on the away goals rule . FIFA confirmed OFC as a full confederation in 1996, and granted it
Football Australia - Misplaced Pages Continue
3024-466: The Australian players were spat on, punched and abused by a mob of Uruguayan fans. On 24 May 2004, New Caledonia became the 12th member of the OFC. Australia reached another inter-confederation playoff against Uruguay in late 2005. As well as in 2001, both sides won a game each over the two legs, which led to Australia finally ending their World Cup drought through a dramatic penalty shootout in Sydney . The Socceroos were granted increased security for
3096-480: The FFA Annual General Meeting (AGM) was held. The FFA voted to rename itself to Football Australia. Football Australia Chief Executive, James Johnson, told the media the rebranding would not cost the organisation any money as they already owned the domain and company names. The name change was seen as a way to unify the branding with the state member federations. On 31 December 2020, it was announced that
3168-551: The OFC again that same year and joined the Asian Football Confederation. The AFC deal had been struck in June 2005, before Australia beat Uruguay to qualify for the 2006 World Cup. The deal came into effect on January 1st, 2006, although Australia were still officially representing the OFC at that year's World Cup. Once Australia joined the AFC in 2006, they began an unsuccessful bid for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups , and
3240-463: The OFC nor FIFA as they do not meet membership requirements: The Juan Fernández Islands in the eastern Pacific are a special territory of Chile and members of Conselho Sul-Americano de Novas Federações de Futebol , which is for teams that are not recognized by CONMEBOL . They also have played games against Chile's other special territory of Easter Island, since they are their nearest island group. Men's Women's The OFC Professional League
3312-412: The OFC, there was an unsuccessful proposal to merge the AFC and the OFC. The plan was to divide Asia into two distinct confederations. A new Asia-Pacific confederation would have encompassed the OFC nations (including Australia) and AFC nations to the east of India and Bangladesh , or alternatively, to the east of Cambodia , Laos and Vietnam . The Japanese Football Association was said to be keen on
3384-482: The Pacific Basin. Australia lost several inter-confederation World Cup playoffs throughout the 1980s and 1990s; first to Scotland in 1985 , then Argentina in 1993 and then Iran in 1997 . The only time Australia didn't reach the inter-confederation playoff during this period was in 1989 , when Israel qualified ahead of Australia in the second round of OFC qualifiers , eventually losing to Colombia . The closest of
3456-488: The central Pacific, such as Midway Island and Wake Island , which have primarily served as military bases throughout their history. It has occasionally been played on some of Alaska 's Aleutian Islands in the far north Pacific, but there has never been an outdoor league, due to the cold weather. Israel entered the FIFA World Cup OFC qualifying tournaments in 1986 and 1990 due to political reasons, though it
3528-521: The departure of Steven Lowy as chair of the board, which he did in protest at major changes to the governance and voting structure in the overarching Football Australia Congress that elects the Board. His position was filled by Chris Nikou . Other board members to be elected were Heather Reid , Joseph Carrozzi and Remo Nogarotto . On 25 June 2020, Australia won the rights to co-host the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup alongside New Zealand. On 25 November 2020,
3600-457: The early stages of qualifying ultimately couldn't be replicated in their inter-confederation playoff against Uruguay later that year. For the first leg, the Socceroos managed to defeat the South Americans 1–0 in front of a Melbourne crowd of 84,656, but they were overwhelmed 3–0 in the away leg. The away leg was marred by an incident at Montevideo 's airport prior to the game itself, where
3672-538: The fact that the south Pacific area had never hosted the World Cup was one of the bid's selling points. Australian football chief John O'Neill said in July 2006, "the one part of the world that's never hosted the World Cup, after South Africa has hosted in 2010 , is the Pacific Basin. We belong to Asia now but we're also part of the Pacific, and I think the equity issue about the Pacific region not having hosted should be in our favor." Australia and New Zealand would later co-host
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#17330930136703744-505: The first away leg, as a response to the 2001 airport incident, and in the second leg the Uruguayan team were heavily booed while their national anthem played. In the 2006 FIFA World Cup , Australia were eliminated by eventual champions Italy during the Round of 16. Their 3–1 group stage victory against Japan remains the only time a team representing OFC has won at the tournament. Australia left
3816-549: The first round. The OFC was previously the only FIFA confederation that did not have a guaranteed spot in the World Cup finals. Between 1966 and 1982, OFC teams joined the Asian zone qualification tournament, while from 1986 onwards, the winners of the Oceanian zone qualification tournament had to enter the intercontinental play-offs against teams from other confederations in order to gain
3888-616: The formation of the "Commonwealth Football Association". This body was then superseded by the Australian Soccer Football Association, which was formed in 1921, with its headquarters in Sydney. The Australian Soccer Football Association operated for forty years, was given FIFA provisional membership in November 1954 and this was confirmed in June 1956, however in 1960, the association disbanded after being suspended from FIFA for
3960-410: The group stage. With Australia's absence, New Zealand began having a regular presence in World Cup inter-confederation playoffs. They were convincingly defeated by Mexico over two legs in 2013 , and narrowly missed out to Peru in 2017 and Costa Rica in 2022. Throughout its history, there have been numerous calls to either merge the OFC and AFC, or dissolve the OFC and have its members join
4032-444: The group. The initial focus of NIAG is on supporting and retaining First Nations players and other staff involved in the game, reviewing pathways and programs to football that impact social outcomes, fostering strategic partnerships, as well as developing employment strategies and the organisation's reconciliation action plan (RAP). Football Australia organises several national competitions, with state-based competitions organised by
4104-510: The idea of splitting the AFC, but there was resistance from the Middle Eastern countries. The mandatory inter-confederation playoff for the best performed OFC team was finally abolished with the 2026 World Cup and beyond. Beginning with the qualification for the expanded 2026 tournament, the best performed OFC team is granted an automatic World Cup spot, with the second best being given an inter-confederation playoff spot. Source: OFC
4176-469: The money that will be used to help someone else, such as the Youth Sport Trust . National governing bodies have the same objectives as those of an international federation, but within the scope of one country, or even part of a country, as the name implies. They support local clubs and are often responsible for national teams . National Olympic Committees and National Paralympic Committees are both
4248-530: The move on 29 June, noting that "as all of the parties involved ... had agreed to the move, the case did not need to be discussed by the FIFA Congress", and was unanimously ratified by the AFC on 10 September. Football Australia hoped that the move would give Australia a fairer chance of qualifying for the FIFA World Cup and allow A-League clubs to compete in the AFC Champions League , thereby improving
4320-514: The next ten years, and he was eventually elected president in 1982. Previous presidents included New Zealanders William Walkley and Jack Cowie , and Australians Vic Tuting and Arthur George . Dempsey served as president until 2000, and he convinced smaller Pacific states to join the confederation, including Samoa (in 1986), Vanuatu (in 1988), Tahiti (in 1990), Tonga and the Cook Islands (both in 1994) and American Samoa (in 1998). Dempsey
4392-412: The poaching of players from overseas. In 1961 the Australian Soccer Federation was formed as a potential successor to the former governing body for the sport. However, this association was refused re-admittance to FIFA until outstanding fines had been paid, which was later done in 1963, seeing the new national body admitted to FIFA. Isolated from international football, Australia repeatedly applied to join
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#17330930136704464-531: The purpose of representing countries in the Pacific, following Australia and New Zealand's failed attempts to join the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The idea of forming a Pacific confederation was first raised in 1964. This proposal was pushed by Sid Guppy of the New Zealand Football Association (NZFA), Jim Bayutti of the Australian Soccer Federation and then- FIFA president Stanley Rous , with Guppy and Bayutti both being spurred on by
4536-443: The respective state governing soccer bodies. Sports governing body A sports governing body is a sports organization that has a regulatory or sanctioning function. Sports governing bodies come in various forms and have a variety of regulatory functions, including disciplinary action for rule infractions and deciding on rule changes in the sport that they govern. Governing bodies have different scopes. They may cover
4608-472: The same status with the AFC as the Northern Mariana Islands association but was not successful. New Zealand ended their own World Cup drought in 2009 when they defeated Bahrain to qualify for the 2010 FIFA World Cup . The tournament coincidentally also featured Australia, who were now representing the AFC. New Zealand were the only unbeaten team at the tournament, despite failing to advance past
4680-486: The sport. It sanctions professional, semi-professional and amateur soccer in Australia. Football Australia made the decision to leave the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC), for which it was a founding member, and become a member of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) on 1 January 2006 and ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) on 27 August 2013. Football Australia's origins lie as far back as 1911, with
4752-478: The standard of Australian football at both international and club levels with improved competition in the region. In February 2008, the Football Federation Australia formally announced their intention to bid for the 2018 FIFA World Cup , 2022 FIFA World Cup and the 2015 AFC Asian Cup . In 2010, the decision was made by Football Australia to withdraw its World Cup bid for 2018, instead focusing on
4824-466: The very start that the conception of an Oceania Confederation was a pipe dream, with no tangible advantages for Australian soccer." Bayutti resigned from the OFC in 1970, in preparation for Australia's planned move to the AFC, with Charles Dempsey being appointed OFC acting secretary as a result. Dempsey also served as the head of the New Zealand national body. Dempsey remained the OFC acting secretary for
4896-546: The word " football ", in preference to "soccer", and to also distance itself from the failings of the old Soccer Australia. It coined the phrase "old soccer, new football" to emphasise this. On 1 January 2006, Football Federation Australia moved from the OFC to the AFC . The move was unanimously endorsed by the AFC Executive Committee on 23 March 2005, and assented by the OFC on 17 April. The FIFA Executive Committee approved
4968-490: Was causing political tension within the confederation. When announcing Australia's move in June 2005, then-FIFA president Sepp Blatter remarked, "the Oceania delegates have thought for many years that Australia was too powerful and blocked the way of the other 11 countries. Now New Zealand, and the Pacific islands at least have a chance. They can go it alone, I am sure it will be a success." In 2005, shortly before Australia left
5040-505: Was in the OFC throughout the 1970s and 1980s, as a result of Chinese political tensions. It had been affiliated with the AFC prior to the OFC move, and eventually rejoined it. In international cricket , Indonesia, Japan and the Philippines compete in a division with the countries of Oceania, while Chinese Taipei compete in the same division as mainland Asia. Three CONIFA members are geographically in Oceania but not affiliated with
5112-459: Was never an OFC member. Three associations are geographically in Oceania but not affiliated with the OFC but are instead members of the Asian Football Confederation : Most of the island states off the Pacific coast of Asia (including Indonesia , Japan , and the Philippines ) had already joined the AFC prior to the formation of the OFC. The island state of Chinese Taipei (also known as Taiwan)
5184-591: Was placed into liquidation and Australia Soccer Association (ASA) was created without encompassing the Crawford Report recommendations and effectively disenfranchising all parties who had an interest in Soccer Australia. The Australian Government provided approximately $ 15 million to the ASA. On 1 January 2005, ASA renamed itself to Football Federation Australia (FFA), aligning with the general international usage of
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