KEY POINTS:
It is ironic that the very people the bosses of New Zealand Soccer called in to run the game are now poised to decide their fate.
The seven federations are now in the position to lead the charge in calling for heads to roll at the renamed New
Zealand Football.
With massive debt threatening the financial survival of New Zealand's biggest-participant sport, the seven federations must decide the board's future and the direction of the game as a whole.
Established seven years ago to replace the more than 20 various associations which had steered the code for more than a century, the federations, set up and initially kept afloat financially by the national body, have been through some rocky times. They now find themselves all-powerful.
Just how far they are prepared to go in attempting to salvage a sinking ship remains key.
The federations were sent a confidential "discussion document" outlining four options to "reverse the sport's on-going financial challenges". Option four, it seems, is New Zealand Football's preference.
Like so much in sport these days, it did not remain confidential. Alarm bells were quickly ringing. With that paper in the hands of, or at least read by, up to 60-70 people it was no surprise it became open to public scrutiny. No one liked what they saw.
While federations might not call for immediate resignations at the meeting tomorrow week, it remains very much an option, particularly if the national body is short on answers to vital questions.
New Zealand Football are in a hole.
At last year's congress - annual meeting in times past - the rank and file were assured the finances were sound and there was no need for a levy increase. That mid-year meeting is supposedly the only time affiliation fee increases - and then only for the following season - can be flagged.
Suggestions now of a $10 across-the-board levy would embarrass the clubs charged with collecting it as their fee structures for 2008 have been in place for months. It might be deemed that New Zealand Football have a case in pushing for user-pays - right down to five-year-olds - but the federations would need to be convinced.
Such a levy, on the basis of 100,000 playing (paying) members would raise $1 million. While that might assist in the short-term, the federations will want more long-term assurances.
Some of the key issues before them are:
* The burgeoning staff numbers and the associated costs.
* The cost of international programmes.
* The loss of core sponsors and the failure to attract new ones.
* The whittling away of financial resources (including reserves).
* The on-going, and almost total, dependence on grants from Fifa and income from Government agencies, the TAB and charitable trusts.
When Graham Seatter replaced Bill MacGowan as the association's chief executive, the game was promised a new outlook, big-name sponsors and an expanded international programme.
Maybe he was naive - or ill-advised - but it quickly became apparent the previous administration had run a very tight ship, for very good reasons.
There is no fairy godmother. Money has, and continues to be, hard to find. The cloth must be cut accordingly. The failure to do that has raised the ire of the federations.
The board has much to answer for.
They have accepted successive - and substantial - losses with no apparent questions asked or action taken. Just 10 days ago, Seatter said "we're okay" when questioned on the financial position. Clearly they're not.
International games are easy to find. Making them pay, a different story.
Terry Serepisos, a knight in shining armour who demonstrated how to bale out the code in getting the Wellington Phoenix into the A-League, showed what can be done.
Private enterprise succeeded, in bringing the LA Galaxy to Wellington, where the national body failed.
It comes down to the "product".
