A former president of the Georgian Football Federation could decide the fate of the Football Federation Australia board when he leads FIFA's mission to Australia to help break the political deadlock.
Nodar Akhalkatsi jnr is understood to be the head of FIFA's three-person delegation to Sydney this week that will oversee the crucial talks with stakeholders for an expanded FFA congress before Australian football faces the prospect of FIFA temporarily taking charge of the game's administration.
The acting head of FIFA's governance services, Akhalkatsi jnr will be joined by Asian Football Confederation's Ravi Kumar and a FIFA lawyer for three days of talks with FFA, A-League clubs, state federations, the players' union and even National Premier League clubs to help Australian football governance grow to become more democratic and inclusive to meet FIFA's strict requirements.
The meetings are set to commence in Sydney on Wednesday in what will likely be the last chance for the warring tribes to end the bitter dispute of an expanded FFA Congress that has threatened to bring Australian football administration to a standstill. FIFA have ordered FFA to accept a more representative and larger membership tier to provide clubs and players a greater representation and influence. The upcoming mission was accepted by FFA to help the transition, which must be completed before November 30, or else FIFA will recommend putting in place a normalising committee. In the past, normalising committees have removed a football association's boards and replaced it with temporary and independent FIFA administrators.
It is understood several stakeholders have requested private bilateral meetings with Akhalkatsi jnr this week, independent from FFA board members.
Akhalkatsi jnr spent four years as president of the GFF during two stints between 2005 and 2009. His father, Nodar Akhalkatsi, was a former coach of Dinamo Tbilisi before becoming the first president of the GFF, serving between 1990 and 1998.
Sources close to FFA suggested it expected FIFA's head members association officer Joyce Cook to be leading the delegation rather than Akhalkatsi jnr.
The FIFA delegation will meet with an association representing Australia's National Premier League clubs, which are in the process of bidding to establish a national second division to sit below the A-League. The Association of Australian Football Clubs confirmed it will meet in Sydney in hope of being part of the expanded FFA congress, having been encouraged by Zurich.
"The central message from AAFC will be that the second-tier clubs that form the national premier league competition are not structurally represented in football," AAFC chairman Rabieh Krayem said. "Yet we are an important component of the national football ecosystem. Importantly, we believe we are a bridge between old and new football."
The group has galvanised support within Australia from clubs in the three tiers of state-run football competitions. However, its bid to become a member of FFA is unlikely to gain the support from the state federations and the A-League clubs.
