A-Leagues face losing two clubs if ownership stalemate continues, APL warns | OneFootball

The A-Leagues face the potential loss of two clubs next season unless takeovers can be concluded within “a few weeks”, according to Stephen Conroy, the chair of the leagues’ operator Australian Professional Leagues (APL).

Conroy’s comments came at the announcement of the A-League All Stars games scheduled for Melbourne in May, and exposed heightened concerns over slow progress of sale negotiations that stretch back to last year.

Newcastle Jets are currently owned by a consortium of four other A-League Men club owners, and a sale has been held up in negotiations.

The current owners are yet to confirm whether they are prepared to fund the club next season, Conroy said, and he urged them to make a decision. “It’s not fun for the players and the fans in Newcastle,” he said.

A report in the Newcastle Herald on Monday said the group seeking to buy the club has grown frustrated by the APL and an alleged reluctance to share information about the competition and its financials.

Conroy said this was a negotiating tactic and the APL didn’t have “direct line of sight” in the deal. “I always enjoy commercial negotiations when people try and put leverage through the newspapers,” he said. “This deal’s been ‘on, off, on, off, on, off’, they’ve been chasing this for three years.”

The future of A-League Women’s side Canberra United is also up in the air, amid speculation around the city’s entry to the men’s competition. The purchase of that licence too remains unresolved, even though the APL earmarked Canberra’s entry – potentially with a takeover of the women’s team – next season.

Capital Football, which owns Canberra’s A-League Women’s licence, is yet to confirm whether it will fund the team for another season if a sale is not concluded imminently. It axed the Canberra United Academy in September.

Conroy said it was “unfair” to hold on much longer on either sale. “Unfortunately, we’ve got a plan for next year, it’s just a reality, the other clubs deserve certainty,” he said.

“It does reach a point where it becomes very hard to do the proper planning if it’s outside the next few weeks.”

Conroy confirmed that the APL is not in a position to cover losses at another club, after it recently offloaded Perth Glory to Ross Pelligra ast month. “We shouldn’t have been propping up a club,” Conroy said. “We don’t have the financial capacity.”

He said he empathised with Matildas striker Michelle Heyman who has voiced frustration about the situation in the capital, and how the uncertainty was hampering the players’ future plans.

“I understand that there’s pressure on the players for that reason, but this is ultimately a commercial decisions for the owners,” Conroy said. “I haven’t given up on it, I’m still I’m an optimist, I hope that they’ll come through.”

Despite the uncertainty around Newcastle and Canberra, preparations are continuing for the new Auckland franchise ahead of its entry into the men’s competition next season, and the A-League Women in 2025.

The club unveiled its name Auckland FC, black and blue colour scheme and strip – similar to Internazionale – last week.

The side has been given the nickname “Black Knights” by American majority owner Bill Foley, after the moniker used of the Foley’s US military academy West Point.

Foley also owns Bournemouth in the Premier League, as well as NHL ice hockey franchise Vegas Golden Knights.

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