Football Australia is bracing for another massive financial loss, triggering a sweeping internal restructure that will see it shed over 20 per cent of its workforce – and an admission from chief executive Martin Kugeler that the game has failed to harness the rise of the Matildas and the success of a home World Cup in 2023.
Having posted a record $8.5 million deficit in last year’s accounts, worse numbers will be revealed at FA’s annual general meeting next Thursday as Kugeler confronts the organisation’s financial reality.
Kugeler would not speak to specifics of the latest loss, other than to say it was “more significant” than the last.
“We are not where we need to be on the financial side,” Kugeler said on Tuesday. “And that’s what we have to address. We have to live with our means. We have to establish an organisation and a structure that will support taking advantage of the opportunities that we have ahead.”
FA would not confirm its headcount, but sources not authorised to comment publicly due to the sensitivity of the situation, suggest it is fewer than 200 people. Whatever the figure, the prospective loss of at least one in five workers follows a “right-sizing” effort after the 2025 AGM, which suggests the initial cuts did not go far enough.
It comes less than three years after Australia co-hosted the FIFA Women’s World Cup and weeks after the conclusion of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup, two major tournaments that were supposed to usher the sport – and FA – into an era of commercial prosperity.
Instead, despite record participation numbers and the emergence of the Matildas as a premium national sporting brand, both FA and the Australian Professional Leagues, the body which runs the A-Leagues, have been forced into dramatic cost-cutting exercises to stay afloat.
In good news, FA and the APL have reached a settlement over historic debts between the two organisations, relating to product betting fees from gambling companies and refereeing expenses. The last AGM was clouded by confusion over the nature of FA’s $8.5 million loss, with $4.1 million attributed to expected credit losses, which sources at the time said was due to debts from the APL that FA was not anticipating would be paid.
The resolution of those issues at least gives Kugeler a more solid domestic foundation to build upon as he and chief financial officer Adam Santo attempt to restore FA’s cash position.
“Two significant losses, and increasing losses year-on-year, is obviously not a situation that is sustainable or acceptable,” Kugeler said.
Kugeler, who began as FA chief executive in February, said it would be “unfair” to criticise the administrators who came before him, but conceded there had been a collective failure on football’s part to turn those opportunities into financial outcomes.
“Have we capitalised, as Football Australia, the maximum out of that tournament? We’ll probably agree on this call that we haven’t,” he said.
Kugeler declined to answer a question as to whether he was aware of the magnitude of FA’s issues before he took the job.
Workers at FA were being called into meetings on Tuesday to learn their fates. Kugeler said redundancies were a last resort, and a decision that was taken only after reductions in spending on travel, projects and other external costs.
He said the staffing overhaul would reshape FA around “growth and innovation”, with investment planned in digital products, analytics, fan engagement and commercial strategy, even as staffing numbers are slashed.
“It’s not only a reduction, a redundancy. It’s also investing in new roles for our forward strategy,” he said.
“We have got an exciting time ahead of us with the women’s World Cup in Brazil, but then also with the [2028] Olympics … obviously the Socceroos this year, our national teams will have exposure on the global stage, and that’s where we need to capitalise better than in the past.”
Kugeler said the job cuts would not directly impact the Socceroos’ preparations for the World Cup, their search for new heads of men’s and women’s football who would sit underneath Heather Garriock, FA’s deputy chief executive and executive director of football – nor would it hamper their negotiations with Socceroos coach Tony Popovic over a new contract.
Kugeler confirmed publicly for the first time that FA’s preference is to retain Popovic, presumably over the next four-year World Cup cycle.
“The discussions are ongoing with his agent,” he said. “He’s obviously focusing on the preparation of the World Cup. We would like Tony Popovic to continue as Socceroos coach. I’ve got the impression that he would like to continue as Socceroos coach.”
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