By Andrew Warshaw
June 2 – Australia’s decision to reject a recommendation from the Asian Football Confederation to support Sepp Blatter in last week’s FIFA presidential election has intensified fears that the country may be sent back to Oceania.
Four months ago, despite staging an almost perfect Asian Cup, Asian Football Confederation president Sheik Salman Bin Ibrahim Al-Khalifa told a Dubai newspaper that he was aware of a movement to throw Australia out of the AFC which it joined in 2006.
Salman was quoted as saying at the time: “Australia joined the AFC before I was elected as the president. At that time, the AFC general assembly made no resolution about re-assessing Australia’s membership to determine whether it will stay or be evicted. There are indications that prove that such desire exists among the confederations of west Asia to evict Australia. But I also know that the Arabs are not the only ones who are not convinced that Australia’s membership in Asia’s football is feasible.”
FFA chief executive David Gallop was completely taken aback by the remarks but there are now growing fears that snubbing Salman’s instructions and breaking ranks by voting for Prince Ali bin al-Hussein may have made Australia’s AFC membership even more precarious, with Gulf states said to be at the forefront of a possible attempt to have the country removed.
Since leaving Oceania, where their development as a footballing nation was restricted, Australia have qualified twice for the World Cup finals but to the detriment of actual Asian nations who are part of the continent geographically. This has caused considerable resentment, the feeling among many AFC members being that Australia’s inclusion has been too one-sided.
In a statement released on the eve of last Friday’s ballot, Football Federation Australia chairman Frank Lowy confirmed how his country would be voting. “FFA believes that profound change within FIFA is needed as soon as possible to address issues of governance and transparency,” he said.
“This belief will be reflected when Australia casts its vote … the board of FFA has reviewed the manifesto for change proposed by Prince Ali bin Al-Hussein and believes it provides the basis for a fresh start for FIFA.”
But by voting for Prince Ali, Australia has opened the door for an Asian backlash which could seriously jeopardise its membership and, by association, represent a serious blow to the country continuing to gain wider competitive experience.
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