SYDNEY, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- With pressure mounting on Australian football's national governing body, its members have voted to restructure how the game is run.
At the "extraordinary" annual general meeting held in Sydney on Tuesday, two reforms were passed in order to stave off an intervention from the world governing body FIFA, after they warned Football Federation Australia (FFA) to expand their congress or be disbarred from international competition.
Falling in line with other football governing bodies around the world, the first resolution was to amend the Constitution of the FFA to give more effect to recommendations made by the Congress Review Working Group.
The other resolution, which passed unanimously, proposed a new leagues governance model which is expected to set up an independent body that would oversee Australia's top-tier competition, the A-League.
As a result of today's meeting, it's expected that Steven Lowy, who has been the FFA chairman and in control of the sport for over 15 years, will soon step down from his position.
"We are relieved that this issue has been resolved and a unified decision has been made," Professional Footballers Australia chief executive John Didulica said in a statement.
"The game's fundamentals are so exciting. Driving them forward is energising work and the players are privileged to be able to work with all parts of the sport to realise its potential."
