Claim against Football Australia
By Prof Dr Ian Blackshaw
It has been reported that the Australian national football teams, the Socceroos and Matildas, are taking legal action against their own governing body, Football Australia (FA), in a multi-million-dollar dispute regarding their share of partnership revenue.
The teams are represented by the Professional Footballers Australia (PFA), and the dispute has been submitted to the National Dispute Resolution Chamber, which is an independent domestic arbitration body.
In parallel proceedings, the PFA have applied to the Supreme Court of New South Wales for a subpoena to access information required for proving the players’ case.
Under the collective bargaining agreement (CBA), which was signed between the players and FA in 2023 and expires next year, the players are entitled to a share of the FA national team revenues generated from broadcasting, sponsorship, ticketing and merchandise.
According to Beau Busch, the co-chief executive of PFA:
“The current CBA was negotiated and agreed with FA and has been designed to accommodate the commercial realities and ensure that players were partners in the pursuit of growth.”
And he added that:
“Like many within the sport, the players have had to resort to legal action against FA to enforce an agreement.”
Prof Dr Ian Blackshaw may be contacted by e-mail at ‘
