Australian soccer's reform process hangs in the balance with Frank Lowy effectively giving the game's stakeholders an ultimatum - accept my new board in total or I'll walk away.

The game's key powerbrokers - the state federations and the national soccer league clubs - gather with Soccer Australia board members for an extraordinary general meeting on Saturday to decide what elements of the government review into the sport are accepted.

The key issue is the make-up of the board.

Chairman in waiting Lowy, the man earmarked as the code's white knight when the Crawford Report recommended a radical overhaul of the game's governance last month, has made it clear he won't budge on how the board is composed.

He wants corporate chief Brian Schwartz, former SOCOG general counsel Suzanne Williams and ex-Northern Spirit identity Phillip Wolanski to join himself, Ron Walker and John Singleton as directors.

What the stakeholders want is another matter.

Some are willing to accept Lowy's edict, others are angry there is no room for nominations from within the code on the board.

If the board does not resign beforehand, it requires 75 per cent of the 61 stakeholders vote in favour of Lowy's brave new team.

And that's a big call.

Current board member Paul Afkos suggested the actions of the Australian Sports Commission in withholding funds from SA last year and the process of dictating a board may prove costly in the wash-up.

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