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 โ 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 yearโs accounts, worse numbers will be revealed at FAโs annual general meeting next Thursday as Kugeler confronts the organisationโs financial reality.
Kugeler would not speak to specifics of the latest loss, other than to say it was โmore significantโ than the last.
โWe are not where we need to be on the financial side,โ Kugeler said on Tuesday. โAnd thatโs 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.โ
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 โright-sizingโ 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 Womenโs World Cup and weeks after the conclusion of the AFC Womenโs Asian Cup, two major tournaments that were supposed to usher the sport โ and FA โ 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 FAโs $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 FAโs cash position.
โTwo significant losses, and increasing losses year-on-year, is obviously not a situation that is sustainable or acceptable,โ Kugeler said.
Kugeler, who began as FA chief executive in February, said it would be โunfairโ to criticise the administrators who came before him, but conceded there had been a collective failure on footballโs part to turn those opportunities into financial outcomes.
โHave we capitalised, as Football Australia, the maximum out of that tournament? Weโll probably agree on this call that we havenโt,โ he said.
Kugeler declined to answer a question as to whether he was aware of the magnitude of FAโs 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 โgrowth and innovationโ, with investment planned in digital products, analytics, fan engagement and commercial strategy, even as staffing numbers are slashed.
โItโs not only a reduction, a redundancy. Itโs also investing in new roles for our forward strategy,โ he said.
โWe have got an exciting time ahead of us with the womenโs World Cup in Brazil, but then also with the [2028] Olympics โฆ obviously the Socceroos this year, our national teams will have exposure on the global stage, and thatโs where we need to capitalise better than in the past.โ
Kugeler said the job cuts would not directly impact the Socceroosโ preparations for the World Cup, their search for new heads of menโs and womenโs football who would sit underneath Heather Garriock, FAโs deputy chief executive and executive director of football โ nor would it hamper their negotiations with Socceroos coach Tony Popovic over a new contract.
Kugeler confirmed publicly for the first time that FAโs preference is to retain Popovic, presumably over the next four-year World Cup cycle.
โThe discussions are ongoing with his agent,โ he said. โHeโs obviously focusing on the preparation of the World Cup. We would like Tony Popovic to continue as Socceroos coach. Iโve got the impression that he would like to continue as Socceroos coach.โ
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