Football Australia posts record $8.5 million loss … but CEO says Socceroos, Matildas won’t be impacted
FA projects it will post a smaller deficit in 2025 and then a surplus in 2026.
Asked if FA’s financial position would materially impact any footballing initiatives, Isaac said: “In a nutshell, it won’t. We’re still going to continue serving and supporting all of our national teams in the football community and so forth.”
Former A-Leagues commissioner Nick Garcia (left) and executive chairman Stephen Conroy.Credit: Getty
However, Garriock, who was appointed interim CEO when Johnson resigned earlier this month, mentioned “right-sizing the business” as a way that FA could recover its finances, with the federation’s head count having grown significantly during Johnson’s tenure.
One major incoming staff appointment is the impending announcement of a new Matildas coach. Garriock said this would happen in June; Joe Montemurro is the man expected to take the job.
Meanwhile, Isaac said the search for a long-term replacement for Johnson was already under way, although he declined to give a specific timeframe for the appointment, and nor did Garriock confirm or deny her interest in retaining the role on a permanent basis.
“We will look everywhere. The process has commenced,” Isaac said.
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“We are speaking with a couple of executive search firms, and the board is working on that, on that process now. We will also include stakeholders in that process, and we’ve done that in the past, and we do that for a very significant reason … we want moving forward, that anyone that enters or comes into this business, understands that this company is an extension of our stakeholders. This is very different from what’s happened in the past.”
Johnson has since been appointed to a powerful new role in Canadian soccer as chief executive of Canada Soccer Business, effectively putting him in charge of the sport’s commercial operations in that country ahead of their home World Cup in 2026, to be co-hosted by the United States and Mexico.
There was only one other candidate who was up for election at the AGM: former Football Queensland chair Ben Richardson, who withdrew when it became apparent he would not have enough support from FA’s members. Garriock had also nominated for re-election but withdrew in advance to take up the position of interim CEO.
The AGM was held behind closed doors, with media not permitted to observe, a decision Isaac said was made in consultation with FA’s members.
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