Thu 25th Jan 2007

Football Federation Australia Head of Operations, Matt Carroll, and New Zealand Soccer boss Graham Seatter have emerged from a series of meetings with potential investors confident a New Zealand-based team will contest next season’s Hyundai A-League.

Carroll, FFA Chief Executive Officer, Ben Buckley, Seatter and NZ Soccer chairman John Morris met on Wednesday with representatives from consortiums seeking to replace the now defunct NZ Knights in Australasia’s top flight.

The three groups – based out of Auckland, Wellington and Palmerston North - have been asked to provide further information on their funding streams with an initial $2.5 million to $3 million stake – as part of an overall three season investment upwards of $5 million - needed to secure the Knights now vacant licence.

Both Carroll and Seatter were impressed by Wednesday’s presentations.

“I sure that out of all of this we’ll have the necessary people, the backers to ensure there is a strong New Zealand team,” Carroll said at a media conference after Wednesday’s meetings.

Seatter said he was “very confident” New Zealand’s only professional football club could be saved.

“If we can’t get someone across the line out of the three groups today, I’ll be extremely surprised. That’s very good news for us, it’s also good news for the FFA and great news for football supporters in New Zealand.”

A decision on which, if any, of the three groups is granted a licence will be decided by the FFA’s next board meeting in mid February.

However, Carroll has indicated the FFA’s preferred consortium would be identified, if not publicly, within a week as the deadline for the A-League’s season three draw is looming.

“I’d prefer not to say whose the favourite and whose not. We’ve only obviously just finished the meetings, we’ve taken on board what they’ve said and we’ll reach a decision tomorrow about who we consider are the front runners.

“We’ll certainly be discussing things with them tomorrow, Friday and probably over the weekend and hopefully we’ll be able to reach a preferred position in the coming week.”

Carroll reiterated the FFA’s position that the home of the new franchise was irrelevant providing they offered the best bid.

He described all three bids as “compelling” and all very “different”.

The Wellington bid, based at Westpac Stadium, is strongly aligned to the Wellington City Council. The Auckland proposal is being bankrolled by a group of private investors while the Palmerston North bid, closely aligned with New Zealand Football Championship franchise YoungHeart Manawatu, wants a presence for the city but would take games around the country.

“We’re in favour of where the team’s going to be successful,” Carroll said.

“If Wellington can put up a compelling case that the team can be successful down there then we’re in favour of that. But that doesn’t mean the group out of Auckland lost out…so it’s wherever the team can be successful, not just for NZ but also the Hyundai A-League because we’re obviously very aware of that as well.”

Carroll agreed funding was the key criteria as well as a relationship with NZ Soccer.

“They [the three groups] have had a very short time frame…Christmas is not a good time to get peoples attention but they have achieved a level of that,’ he said.

“We need to work with them over the next few days to see how we can progress it and ultimately with one consortia.”

Carroll said the FFA were “very keen” for All Whites coach Ricki Herbert to coach any new NZ-based franchise.

The Knights won three and drew one of their five games under Herbert’s caretaker management following the FFA’s decision to revoke the Knights licence.

“They’re all very keen to have Ricki involved as is NZ Soccer and I think you’d have to say under his guidance the past few weeks, the NZ Knights have turned things around which is very positive,” Carroll said.

“That’s one of the provisos that the FFA has put down, that the groups must work with NZ Soccer and there must be a written memorandum of understanding, a relationship with NZ Soccer and obviously we’re very keen to see Ricki Herbert coaching the team.”

What they said:

Matt Carroll

What will be the deciding factor for the FFA?

“Funding is critical for all the licence holders…you’ve got to have the money to back up the team, particularly now as they’re going back into a set up phase again and they’re going to have six or seven months of no revenue from gate and things of that nature [including sponsorship].

How much is needed?

“Our view is you need at least between $5 million and $6 million of funding. That can come in a number of ways but in reality you wouldn’t want to starting this venture unless you have at least $2.5 - $3 million in the bank.

That’s one of the questions we put to them today and they’ve gone away to secure their sources of funding. They had to see first and foremost if we’re interested, particularly the Wellington consortium. We said what they put on the table was very interesting and quite compelling in many ways so they’ve got some homework now.”

Do you see any issue with a team based in Wellington?

“Wellington is a great city and certainly this venue, the Cake Tin, is fantastic. I know Wellington City Council often get right behind such things so I can’t see why a team in Wellington wouldn’t be successful.”

Have you been happy with NZ Soccer’s involvement?

“We were obviously very impressed with the turn out at North Harbour Stadium last week. I mean they doubled the crowd from previous rounds and it was excellent to see the fans coming through [the turnstiles].

And you can see how well the team has done, very competitive in the last few games. It certainly sent a few shock waves through the other A-League clubs and if we can get it all sorted out, I have no doubt they can be a power next season.

“It shows there is support for football here in New Zealand and if run properly, if coached well, if marketed and presented well then the team can be successful.”

Is there a danger the funding will not be found?

“There is a still a danger today. We have to ensure that the funding is there from which ever consortia propose to take on the licence. It’s essential they have the funding so there is still a danger…if it doesn’t come through then we’ll look to an Australian franchise.”

Graham Seatter

You must be happy to be in this position today?

“The FFA are delighted, we’re delighted. It’s fair to say six weeks ago I didn’t think we’d get much from this. I felt if we could get somebody across the line to this point would be good and we’ve actually got three at this stage. That’s very good news indeed.

Can you tell us more about the potential franchises?

“I think the most interesting thing is they’re all different. We’ve got an Auckland group who want to play out of Auckland, we’ve got a Wellington group who want to be primarily in Wellington and we’ve got a Palmerston North group who want a presence for Palmerston North but want to play throughout the country.

“So that gives us three options. At the end of the day the primary consideration will be funding and the extent to which people have not only got funding to see them through the period of the next three years, but particularly the funding to see them through the next six months.”

Do the potential franchises have the necessary funding?

“To varying degrees again. I think everybody thinks they can get there and now they have to demonstrate they can in a very real sense.”

They don’t have long to prove this do they?

“One of the reasons we have to move quickly is to secure players. We’ve said to all the groups today that it’s actually in your interests to move quickly because it’s obviously in their interests to get as strong a team as possible quickly.”

Why are people prepared to invest in this team?

“Everybody was very clear that they see football in NZ moving ahead in a really positive direction. They see Australia as being a few years ahead of us but the way Australia has moved forward, there’s a strong belief NZ can move forward and the Knights will be very much part of that in their mind and also in our mind.

Do you have an issue with the Palmerston North bid wanting to move games around the country?

“I can see some advantages. NZ Soccer hasn’t formed a view as to which one we prefer so we’ve got an open mind.

“We can see some benefit in New Zealanders becoming accustomed to watching top team playing football on a regular basis. We also see some benefits dealing with a core group of supporters who go and watch fortnight in and fortnight out.”

I get the impression Ricki Herbert wants to stay in Auckland. How much will that be a factor in the final decision?

“I don’t think it’s a factor. Ricki’s a pragmatist, he realises he needs to go where the job is if he wants to be coaching professional football. There’s one opportunity in NZ and if it’s not in Auckland, then I think he’d look very closely at that.

“I think there are other factors about going out of Auckland but having said that, if Wellington put up a compelling case, they’ve got a great stadium, they’ve got a great track record in running events and they’ve got some very motivated people and a very motivated council and they may well come up to the mark.

So February 7 is D-Day?

“I’m not saying that’s decision day but I think we would have got a lot further towards, if not a preferred consortium, then certainly more information about each of them to allow a decision to be made.

What are the potential problems?

“Probably having funding that comes on line immediately. One of the key issues is that funding streams such as gate and sponsorship may not come in until the season starts which is six months away. But a player signed next week has to be paid from next week and that’s six months of wages before anybody plays a dollar to go and watch them play.”