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The A-League clubs have made a decisive move on the morning of a crucial meeting that will shape the future of Australian football, detailing a list of 13 potential conflicts of interest involving Football Federation Australia board members. The Australian Professional Football Clubs Association (AFPCA), the lobby group formed by the 10 clubs, wrote to FFA chairman Steven Lowy on Thursday morning to outline their concerns about the independence of his board. It comes ahead of FFA's annual general meeting on Thursday afternoon in Sydney, where it's expected Lowy's latest proposal for a new FFA Congress structure will be voted down -- putting the sport at risk of possible FIFA intervention. The letter, dated Nov. 30, is another clear attempt by the clubs to persuade FIFA to opt for the "nuclear option" of dumping the current FFA board and installing a normalisation committee to run the sport on a temporary basis. It appears to be an act of retaliation after Lowy claimed that giving the A-League clubs more power in a restructured congress would come at the detriment of the grassroots and the Socceroos. "They are putting their interests ahead of the overall interests of the game in this country," Lowy told The Australian. AFPCA chairman Greg Griffin said the letter was in response to previous correspondence from Lowy to FIFA member associations chief Joyce Cook back in July, which challenged the clubs to either stop making conflict of interest allegations or provide evidence. "In line with your request that we provide particularised details of our concerns, please find enclosed an initial document for your review," Griffin wrote to Lowy. "I look forward to your response in order that we might then determine subsequent actions." The document, which has been seen by AAP, was also sent to FFA staff members, directors, state federation officials, representatives from FIFA and AFC, the A-League clubs and Professional Footballers Australia. It provides an overview of previous affiliations between FFA board members or their companies with the Westfield Group or the Lowy family, with a source or reference attributed to every claim. Lowy is set to take questions at a press conference following the AGM later on Thursday, while FIFA is expected to determine its own course of action next week.
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