Controversial A-League grand final deal in doubt as major backflip looms
Controversial A-League grand final deal in doubt as major backflip looms
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A-League The A-League Expansion Thread
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Controversial A-League grand final deal in doubt as major backflip looms
Controversial A-League grand final deal in doubt as major backflip looms
Not much more to the story
I don't know why they keep rushing these new clubs in don't they bloody learn from the past expansions? Need to give any new clubs at least 3-5 years to prepare and create a foundation, just shows how amateurish they are.
They're constantly survived by the success of wsw, and ignore every other expansion side bar City.
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The only reason WSW was a success was because they went on a 10 game winning streak and attracted a lot of bandwagoners along the way as well as a lot of thugs within the RBB on the way to winning the Premiers plate in there first season. I would have imagined they would have struggled to plant there feet straight out had they started similar to Melbourne Heart for example in there first few season. Still its Western Sydney football heartland any club would have eventually worked in the area given some effort.
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Yep. Wanderers worked because of the clear geographical divide between Sydney FC (the bling team in the Eastern suburbs) and WSW in the working class heartland of the western suburbs.
The future potential for WSW is huge, they really should be posting crowds of 20k + weekly in the future. Moving to showgrounds temporarily then lockdown wasn't kind to them.
peternorth
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Auckland Football Kingz plz
Only if they go the entire season without a win
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News on the Auckland bid
The new Auckland A-Leagues club could be part of a multi-club ownership strategy driven by an American billionaire who is chair of AFC Bournemouth in the English Premier League and a significant player in the local wine industry.
Bill Foley, 78, is understood to be exploring adding a football club to his existing business interests in New Zealand. He has become Australian Professional Leagues' preferred bidder for the expansion rights within the past fortnight, according to two sources with knowledge of the situation.
Foley is the managing general partner of Black Knight Football and Entertainment, a partnership that bought Bournemouth late last year, took a 33% stake in French Ligue 1 club FC Lorient early in 2023, and has outlined plans to add to its portfolio of clubs. Hollywood actor Michael B Jordan is one of its minority investors.
The consortium led by fellow American Marc Mitchell that was previously in the box seat for the Auckland club, as reported by Stuff earlier this month, is still in contention, though the emergence of the new bid is understood to have surprised those involved, who had been working hard to build relationships in the local football community and thought they were close to being over the line.
It is understood the Foley bid is financially superior to the Mitchell one, with another plus-point being the existing professional football expertise it brings to the table. Foley entered the sports world in 2017 as the founder and majority owner of the Las Vegas Golden Knights ice hockey team, so he is no stranger to starting a team from scratch.
Stuff has attempted to contact Foley for comment through Bournemouth and Cannae Holdings, the investment vehicle he is chair of that owns 50.1% of Black Knight Football & Entertainment, alongside his smaller personal stake. APL declined to comment with the expansion process ongoing.
June was initially set as the target timeframe for finding investors for new A-Leagues clubs in Auckland and Canberra to join A-League Men and Women from the 2024–25 seasons, though APL chief executive Danny Townsend stressed when expansion plans were announced in March that it was not a hard deadline.
The start of the 2023-24 A-League Women season is less than three weeks away, with the 2023-24 A-League Men season due to get going a week later, and it is not clear whether the ownership of the expansion clubs will be finalised before then.
Foley hails from Texas and is a graduate of the West Point military academy who later served in the Air Force. After moving into corporate law, he began accumulating wealth as he revitalised the title insurance company Fidelity National Finance and has gone on to make a wide range of investments, with Forbes placing his net worth in 2023 at US$1.6 billion [NZ$2.7 billion].
In 2020, the San Francisco Chronicle reportedthat Foley donated US$255,600 [NZ$428,000] to controversial former US president Donald Trump during his 2016 and 2020 election campaigns. Last December, NBR reported that Foley had ruled out donating to Trump’s 2024 campaign while speaking to one of its reporters at the Foley Wines AGM in Wellington.
Foley Wines is the oldest of Foley’s business interests in New Zealand, with his involvement in the global industry dating back to 1996, when he established Foley Family Wines, which owns numerous vineyards in California as well as some elsewhere in the US. In New Zealand, its NZX-listed subsidiary owns vineyards in Martinborough, Marlborough and Central Otago and made a $6.3 million profit in its last financial year.
Foley was chair of Foley Wines until earlier this year, when he stood down, citing his new football commitments. His other New Zealand interests include the Foley Hospitality Group of restaurants and bars – formerly the Nourish Group, prior to a 2022 takeover – and the Wharekauhau Country Estate on the Wairarapa Coast, once used by the Prince and Princess of Wales as a hideaway on their 2014 visit.
In his time with the Golden Knights – who earlier this year delivered on his prediction they would claim their first title in their sixth season –and Bournemouth, Foley appears to be generally well-regarded as an owner, though his investment in FC Lorient led to French fans expressing “deep concerns” about potentially becoming a “vulgar satellite club”.
Speaking to BBC Radio Solent shortly after taking charge of Bournemouth, who have played in the EPL for seven of the past nine seasons, Foley said his purchase of the club from Russian Maxim Demin had come after he “looked at several teams over the last two or three years”.
“They all involved minority investment and someone else is already in charge. I don't like that. I'm a dictator.
“When I'm involved, I need to be the captain of the ship. I had to wait for a situation where I could buy the team myself, with my partners of course, and control the destiny of the team.
“I've always said with the Vegas Golden Knights that if there's a mistake made then it's on me. I'll take responsibility and I plan on doing the same thing with AFCB.”
Foley provided an update on his vision for a multi-club strategy with Bournemouth “at the top of the pyramid” on the Men in Blazers podcast this week, saying BKFE’s stake in Lorient was set to rise to 100% “in a few years, because it’s set up on a phased basis”.
He reaffirmed his previously-declared interest in investing in Belgium, but revealed new interest in Scotland, saying BKFE was “working towards [becoming a minority investor] with a particular team”.
An A-Leagues club would sit at the bottom of the pyramid Foley has referenced, but a number of Australian and New Zealand players and coaches have moved to Scotland as their first destination in Europe in recent years, a pathway BKFE could seek to prosper from.
“I believe that if we can end up with four or five economic interests in various clubs, that we will have the system in place for players to advance and to move on to the next club, [then] to move on to the next club,” Foley said.
“We will have similar analytic staff in place and technical directors that will look for the right type of players that they know can play ultimately for AFC Bournemouth.”
www.stuff.co.nz
Billionaire Premier League owner Bill Foley now favoured for Auckland A-Leagues club
Andrew Voerman20:20, Sep 26 2023The new Auckland A-Leagues club could be part of a multi-club ownership strategy driven by an American billionaire who is chair of AFC Bournemouth in the English Premier League and a significant player in the local wine industry.
Bill Foley, 78, is understood to be exploring adding a football club to his existing business interests in New Zealand. He has become Australian Professional Leagues' preferred bidder for the expansion rights within the past fortnight, according to two sources with knowledge of the situation.
Foley is the managing general partner of Black Knight Football and Entertainment, a partnership that bought Bournemouth late last year, took a 33% stake in French Ligue 1 club FC Lorient early in 2023, and has outlined plans to add to its portfolio of clubs. Hollywood actor Michael B Jordan is one of its minority investors.
The consortium led by fellow American Marc Mitchell that was previously in the box seat for the Auckland club, as reported by Stuff earlier this month, is still in contention, though the emergence of the new bid is understood to have surprised those involved, who had been working hard to build relationships in the local football community and thought they were close to being over the line.
It is understood the Foley bid is financially superior to the Mitchell one, with another plus-point being the existing professional football expertise it brings to the table. Foley entered the sports world in 2017 as the founder and majority owner of the Las Vegas Golden Knights ice hockey team, so he is no stranger to starting a team from scratch.
Stuff has attempted to contact Foley for comment through Bournemouth and Cannae Holdings, the investment vehicle he is chair of that owns 50.1% of Black Knight Football & Entertainment, alongside his smaller personal stake. APL declined to comment with the expansion process ongoing.
June was initially set as the target timeframe for finding investors for new A-Leagues clubs in Auckland and Canberra to join A-League Men and Women from the 2024–25 seasons, though APL chief executive Danny Townsend stressed when expansion plans were announced in March that it was not a hard deadline.
The start of the 2023-24 A-League Women season is less than three weeks away, with the 2023-24 A-League Men season due to get going a week later, and it is not clear whether the ownership of the expansion clubs will be finalised before then.
Foley hails from Texas and is a graduate of the West Point military academy who later served in the Air Force. After moving into corporate law, he began accumulating wealth as he revitalised the title insurance company Fidelity National Finance and has gone on to make a wide range of investments, with Forbes placing his net worth in 2023 at US$1.6 billion [NZ$2.7 billion].
In 2020, the San Francisco Chronicle reportedthat Foley donated US$255,600 [NZ$428,000] to controversial former US president Donald Trump during his 2016 and 2020 election campaigns. Last December, NBR reported that Foley had ruled out donating to Trump’s 2024 campaign while speaking to one of its reporters at the Foley Wines AGM in Wellington.
Foley Wines is the oldest of Foley’s business interests in New Zealand, with his involvement in the global industry dating back to 1996, when he established Foley Family Wines, which owns numerous vineyards in California as well as some elsewhere in the US. In New Zealand, its NZX-listed subsidiary owns vineyards in Martinborough, Marlborough and Central Otago and made a $6.3 million profit in its last financial year.
Foley was chair of Foley Wines until earlier this year, when he stood down, citing his new football commitments. His other New Zealand interests include the Foley Hospitality Group of restaurants and bars – formerly the Nourish Group, prior to a 2022 takeover – and the Wharekauhau Country Estate on the Wairarapa Coast, once used by the Prince and Princess of Wales as a hideaway on their 2014 visit.
In his time with the Golden Knights – who earlier this year delivered on his prediction they would claim their first title in their sixth season –and Bournemouth, Foley appears to be generally well-regarded as an owner, though his investment in FC Lorient led to French fans expressing “deep concerns” about potentially becoming a “vulgar satellite club”.
Speaking to BBC Radio Solent shortly after taking charge of Bournemouth, who have played in the EPL for seven of the past nine seasons, Foley said his purchase of the club from Russian Maxim Demin had come after he “looked at several teams over the last two or three years”.
“They all involved minority investment and someone else is already in charge. I don't like that. I'm a dictator.
“When I'm involved, I need to be the captain of the ship. I had to wait for a situation where I could buy the team myself, with my partners of course, and control the destiny of the team.
“I've always said with the Vegas Golden Knights that if there's a mistake made then it's on me. I'll take responsibility and I plan on doing the same thing with AFCB.”
Foley provided an update on his vision for a multi-club strategy with Bournemouth “at the top of the pyramid” on the Men in Blazers podcast this week, saying BKFE’s stake in Lorient was set to rise to 100% “in a few years, because it’s set up on a phased basis”.
He reaffirmed his previously-declared interest in investing in Belgium, but revealed new interest in Scotland, saying BKFE was “working towards [becoming a minority investor] with a particular team”.
An A-Leagues club would sit at the bottom of the pyramid Foley has referenced, but a number of Australian and New Zealand players and coaches have moved to Scotland as their first destination in Europe in recent years, a pathway BKFE could seek to prosper from.
“I believe that if we can end up with four or five economic interests in various clubs, that we will have the system in place for players to advance and to move on to the next club, [then] to move on to the next club,” Foley said.
“We will have similar analytic staff in place and technical directors that will look for the right type of players that they know can play ultimately for AFC Bournemouth.”
Stuff
www.stuff.co.nz
You're better off taking a few million each year and setting it on fire
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The divide in Melbourne didn't work. No one cares about Western United. Sydney siders just had a lot of people who didn't like Sydney FC. Unlike Melbourne where most of them took to Victory.
Auckland expansion team awarded full A-Leagues license
Founder of Black Knight Football Club Bill Foley has been confirmed as the Auckland A-Leagues Licence Owner.
aleagues.com.au
Auckland owner sets out Premier League ‘pathway’ in brilliant first press conference
Owner of the new A-Leagues franchise in Auckland Bill Foley spoke to the media for the first time since taking over.
aleagues.com.au
'Seen it in Vegas, at Bournemouth; I am sure, Auckland': Letter from newest A-Leagues license holder
'Seen it in Vegas, at Bournemouth; I am sure, Auckland': Bill Foley, the newest club licence holder in the A-Leagues, pens a letter to fans outlining his vision for our newest club, in Auckland, after Tuesday's announcement.
aleagues.com.au
Meet the A-Leagues' newest club owner, who has a Premier League club & won hockey's Stanley Cup
Auckland will have a team in the A-Leagues from the 2024-25 season. This is the man behind the expansion club.
aleagues.com.au
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Lol
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Looks like Football Australia is the hurdle
Football Australia remain cautious with A-League expansion as it awaits further details from the financially embattled Australian Professional Leagues about the proposed Canberra club entering the men’s competition next season.
The A-League will expand by at least one club next season, with an Auckland-based team franchise funded by American billionaire Bill Foley having already being confirmed as the competition’s 13th team.
Then APL chief executive officer Danny Townsend announced in March last year that a Canberra men’s team would also join the A-League for the 2024-25 season.
Current A-League commissioner Nick Garcia last week also expressed his confidence that Canberra would be part of next season’s men’s competition, with suggestions that an announcement was imminent.
However, the APL’s financial woes that have since come to light have some questioning whether the time if right for the A-League to expanding, particularly considering the APL is still funding Perth Glory, and a few owners from current clubs continue to bankroll the Newcastle Jets.
There are also those that might argue that the APL now have no option but to expand considering the cash-strapped organisation will receive $25 million for each of the licences on offer.
However, FA, the regulator of the A-League, still has the final say on expansion of the competition despite the APL running it.
“With any change of licence, change of owner, or expansion, Football Australia is involved and we assess every application from the APL on its merits,” said FA chief executive officer James Johnson, who added he was still waiting to see Canberra’s final submission for entry.
“When there is something to assess, we’ll assess it, and make a decision based on the facts in front of us.”
Johnson also said was still FA’s intention to start a national second division competition next year despite the A-League’s current financial problems.
Eight clubs – APIA Leichhardt, Avondale, Marconi Stallions, Preston Lions, South Melbourne, Sydney Olympic, Sydney United 58 and Wollongong Wolves – have been accepted into the competition, with FA hoping to include two-to-four more by the end of June.
https://www.news.com.au/sport/footb...e/news-story/bc288da553ae11365eacf48490e76547
Football Australia yet to approve Canberra’s bid for entry to A-League men’s competition
Football Australia is yet to ‘assess’ Canberra’s potential bid for entry into next season’s A-League men’s competition.Football Australia remain cautious with A-League expansion as it awaits further details from the financially embattled Australian Professional Leagues about the proposed Canberra club entering the men’s competition next season.
The A-League will expand by at least one club next season, with an Auckland-based team franchise funded by American billionaire Bill Foley having already being confirmed as the competition’s 13th team.
Then APL chief executive officer Danny Townsend announced in March last year that a Canberra men’s team would also join the A-League for the 2024-25 season.
Current A-League commissioner Nick Garcia last week also expressed his confidence that Canberra would be part of next season’s men’s competition, with suggestions that an announcement was imminent.
However, the APL’s financial woes that have since come to light have some questioning whether the time if right for the A-League to expanding, particularly considering the APL is still funding Perth Glory, and a few owners from current clubs continue to bankroll the Newcastle Jets.
There are also those that might argue that the APL now have no option but to expand considering the cash-strapped organisation will receive $25 million for each of the licences on offer.
However, FA, the regulator of the A-League, still has the final say on expansion of the competition despite the APL running it.
“With any change of licence, change of owner, or expansion, Football Australia is involved and we assess every application from the APL on its merits,” said FA chief executive officer James Johnson, who added he was still waiting to see Canberra’s final submission for entry.
“When there is something to assess, we’ll assess it, and make a decision based on the facts in front of us.”
Johnson also said was still FA’s intention to start a national second division competition next year despite the A-League’s current financial problems.
Eight clubs – APIA Leichhardt, Avondale, Marconi Stallions, Preston Lions, South Melbourne, Sydney Olympic, Sydney United 58 and Wollongong Wolves – have been accepted into the competition, with FA hoping to include two-to-four more by the end of June.
https://www.news.com.au/sport/footb...e/news-story/bc288da553ae11365eacf48490e76547
Football Australia is literally NOT the hurdle at the moment. Still waiting for Canberra's submission.
acm21
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Logo is a bit too dark tbh
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