Latest news with #A-Leagues
ABC News
3 days ago
- Business
- ABC News
Western United left with less than three days to save club after being granted extension to appeal A-Leagues licence call
Western United have less than three days to save their club after they were granted additional time to submit their appeal against the stripping of their A-Leagues licence. On August 8, United were stripped of their licence for the men's and women's leagues due to their ongoing financial issues, leaving the club on the brink of folding and players and staff in limbo. Later that day, the club vowed to appeal the decision by Football Australia's First Instance Board (FIB), an independent body responsible for club licensing, to withdraw their licence. United originally had until August 16 to submit their appeal, but requested an extension. The club now has until 10am on Thursday, August 21, to do so, otherwise their right to appeal will lapse. "Western United has requested, and been granted, an extension to appeal against the decision of the First Instance Board (FIB), made Friday 8 August 2025, to withdraw their licence," Football Australia (FA) said in a statement. "Western United has until 10:00am on Thursday 21 August 2025 to submit an appeal to the Appeals Body as per Football Australia's regulations. Just three years after their first A-League Men championship, United have been in financial turmoil for months, with players and staff paid late in April, May and June, while superannuation payments were also delayed. The club, led by chairman Jason Sourasis, had hoped their issues would be solved by a planned takeover by American group KAM Sports, which was announced in May. But that is yet to be completed, with the Australian Professional Leagues still to tick off the takeover because KAM hasn't submitted its full ownership proposal. The club's current ownership were unable to satisfy the financial criteria required to maintain their licence United, based in Tarneit in Melbourne's western suburbs, have also been unable to register players due to a FIFA ban related to an ongoing dispute with former striker Aleksandar Prijovic. The United saga is also having an effect on other clubs, who are yet to receive their fixtures and therefore cannot plan for the season ahead or ramp up their marketing and membership sales. AAP
Sydney Morning Herald
08-08-2025
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
Western United stripped of A-League licence three years after being champions
Western United is on the brink of folding after the A-Leagues club was stripped of its licence to compete in Australia's professional men's and women's competitions. Champions of the A-League Men in 2022, the Melbourne-based club has been suffering financial turmoil in recent months, with players and staff paid late in April, May and June and with a FIFA ban due to a dispute with former star Aleksandar Prijovic blocking them from registering new players. Jason Sourasis, the club's chairman, had been hoping a planned takeover by American investors KAM Sports would end the uncertainty over Western United's future, but the process has dragged on - and now Football Australia's first instance board, an independent body tasked with club licensing, has forced the matter to a head by effectively booting them out of the A-Leagues. The first instance board met on Thursday night and 'determined that Western United FC has failed to meet the criteria required to be granted an A-League license,' a spokesperson for Football Australia said. 'As such, Western United FC's license has been withdrawn, effective immediately. Loading 'This outcome, while regrettable, reflects Football Australia's ongoing commitment to upholding the integrity, stability, and fairness of competitions for all clubs, players, and stakeholders.' Western United has seven days to appeal the decision. 'We've been advised by Football Australia on the determination by [the first instance board] to withdraw Western United's conditional licence,' Australian Professional Leagues executive chairman Stephen Conroy said in a statement.
The Age
08-08-2025
- Business
- The Age
Western United stripped of A-League licence three years after being champions
Western United is on the brink of folding after the A-Leagues club was stripped of its licence to compete in Australia's professional men's and women's competitions. Champions of the A-League Men in 2022, the Melbourne-based club has been suffering financial turmoil in recent months, with players and staff paid late in April, May and June and with a FIFA ban due to a dispute with former star Aleksandar Prijovic blocking them from registering new players. Jason Sourasis, the club's chairman, had been hoping a planned takeover by American investors KAM Sports would end the uncertainty over Western United's future, but the process has dragged on - and now Football Australia's first instance board, an independent body tasked with club licensing, has forced the matter to a head by effectively booting them out of the A-Leagues. The first instance board met on Thursday night and 'determined that Western United FC has failed to meet the criteria required to be granted an A-League license,' a spokesperson for Football Australia said. 'As such, Western United FC's license has been withdrawn, effective immediately. Loading 'This outcome, while regrettable, reflects Football Australia's ongoing commitment to upholding the integrity, stability, and fairness of competitions for all clubs, players, and stakeholders.' Western United has seven days to appeal the decision. 'We've been advised by Football Australia on the determination by [the first instance board] to withdraw Western United's conditional licence,' Australian Professional Leagues executive chairman Stephen Conroy said in a statement.
RNZ News
25-07-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Auckland FC's women's A-League team still in limbo
Decision on Auckland FC's delayed women's team was also subject to delays. Photo: Andrew Cornaga/ Analysis - Why has the Australian Professional Leagues taken so long to confirm the worst kept secret in A-Leagues football? Maybe they couldn't find the right words to justify why Auckland FC would not be entering the women's competition in the 2025/26 season. They could have said they were being fiscally responsible by not expanding the women's league when they reportedly owe Football Australia millions of dollars . Or that they were distracted while they grappled with issues of the influence of offshore betting syndicates tainting the game for a second consecutive season . Making sure players get paid would have also been on their radar. But instead A-Leagues executive chair, Stephen Conroy, issued a one-line statement to RNZ - on repeat. On 9 April, five weeks before the A-League Women 2024/25 Grand Final, the statement: "We are finalising our planning for the upcoming Ninja A-League Women 2025/26 season, and we hope to make a further announcement in the near future" was sent via email in response to six questions about the next women's season and Auckland's participation. Ten weeks later, on 18 June, multiple questions were put to the A-Leagues and the exact same one-line response was sent on Conroy's behalf. On 9 July, the message changed to: "We're hoping to have more of an update in the coming few weeks that we can share". "Planning" was taking that long, all while existing women's teams were signing players , coaches and making preparations for a season that those who run the game said was still not finalised. If Auckland were to be involved in the 2025/26 season they would be on the back foot if the team's existence wasn't announced while the opposition were loading up their squads. It was clear Auckland would not have a women's team in the competition yet - but no-one official wanted to publicly say so. Auckland FC deferred any questions to the league pointing out that their comment was reliant on the competition boss speaking first. It was a line chief executive Nick Becker stuck with on Friday when he all but confirmed it could be a couple of season's before Auckland FC have a women's team. "It is the league's decision, it is their announcement so we're just waiting for them to follow up. "It's for them to explain and talk about. They control whether we're in or not." Does some of the blame for this drawn out situation lie with an overly ambitious Auckland FC? With a new A-League men's license in their hands they were quick to point out they wanted to get a women's team for the 2025/26 season, a proclamation that those with an interest in the women's game latched on to and followed up with. Their intent was genuine, but had the club not put a timeframe on it from the start they could have ridden the wave of the inevitable initial criticism about investment in a women's A-League team but they would have also bought themselves some time. They doubled down several times about their commitment to the team and the timing in question to New Zealand media in April and to British media in May. Auckland FC were not caught off guard by the decision to delay the team. Having joined the men's A-League last season they knew about the process and timeline of unveiling a new side. This was not a case of naively holding on to hope that they would make their own deadline for joining the women's competition too. "You can be frustrated, you can be angry with these sorts of things but sometimes it's just life," Becker said. "You look across the league and there's not many occasions where a team has launched both it's men and it's women it does take time. We plan to be around for a long time and you can look back and go 'okay there was a delay there' but in the greater scheme of things we'll have a successful women's team at some point and we look forward to that." A lot goes on in the background of running professional (and semi-professional) sports teams and competitions that the public don't want or need to know about, but the A-League taking months to find a way to frame a decision in a light most favourable is an own goal. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Sydney Morning Herald
03-07-2025
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
How hosting the Club World Cup can take the ‘handbrakes' off the A-League
Since assuming control in 2021, the Australian Professional Leagues have struggled to find a working formula to convert the many millions who watch the national teams and overseas leagues, or play the game, into fans of the A-Leagues. After the collapse of the bold KeepUp experiment, the APL has been gripped by financial turmoil, with distributions to clubs falling by almost $1.5 million to just $530,000, and ongoing material concerns about the ability of some clubs to stay afloat. Johnson does not believe unbundling was a mistake, and said there are plenty of examples across world football in which healthy leagues are run independently of their national federation. Asked for his opinion on how the A-League can improve, he said the key was connecting it into global football: a strategy he said was proven by the 2015 Asian Cup and the 2023 Women's World Cup, and will be again by the 2026 Women's Asian Cup. 'That's where there is no other sport that can compete with football, when we are hardwired in and connected to global football,' he said. 'For me, it's not so much about what's holding us back - it's what propels us forward. That's the space we need to continue to play. Because I think that as soon as you bring those [tournaments] back, the handbrakes are off. 'You get the football community, the stakeholders, focused on the competition and the legacy that can be provided, and I think that's where we have seen our quickest growth. So I think implementing a strategy for more global competitions is something that allows the handbrakes to come off.' Johnson had previously flagged FA's desire to bid for the hosting rights for the new Club World Cup, and believes that should be a high priority for the game in the coming years. Despite widespread scepticism across Europe, the first edition of the rebooted tournament - currently being played in the United States - is proving a worthy addition to football's calendar, albeit with the caveat that the calendar itself is jam-packed and at risk of burning out overworked players. The next edition will be held in 2029, and potential hosts are already lining up, including Brazil, Qatar, a combined Spain-Portugal-Morocco bid, and the United States again. An Australian bid, Johnson said, would be extremely appealing to FIFA because of its ability to reach different timezones across Asia. 'It's a competition that I think will, iteration after iteration, get bigger and bigger. It would be a great competition to bring to Australia,' Johnson said. 'That's when I think football becomes interesting to government. Today you have the millions and millions that will watch the Socceroos and Matildas and the millions and millions that play. If the strategy is to ensure that they are watching the A-League, I think the best way to do that ... is to connect the A-League to global club competitions, whether that be the Premier League, Champions League, or the hosting of a major club competition. I think it just adds another element to the game here that we haven't seen. 'The beneficiaries of the Women's World Cup were the national teams and community football. The beneficiaries of a Club World Cup would be the clubs.' Johnson also said FA should not give up hope of hosting the men's World Cup, despite being railroaded out of a bid for the 2034 edition by Saudi Arabia. 'I believe Australia will one day host a men's World Cup. It's a matter of when, not if,' he said. 'I think our 2010 bid was too early, and it's easy to say that in hindsight. But if you look at what we've accomplished since then … we're steadily building a strong track record. If we continue hosting major global tournaments, even youth competitions, we'll become a country like the United States, Canada, Qatar, or Saudi Arabia - nations that are now considered 'normal' hosts for major events. I believe we're already on that trajectory. 'We need to keep doing the work, and all of us have a responsibility to maintain the pressure and continue bringing major competitions to our region.' There is another way to connect the A-Leagues to global club football: through broadcasting, another area which is unrecognisable in Australia compared to when Johnson began at FA in late 2019. Optus Sport is shutting down, having on-sold their football rights packages - headed by the Premier League - to Stan Sport, which is owned by Nine, the publishers of this masthead. That deal means that, for the first time since 2016, the Premier League, FA Cup and UEFA Champions League are on the same platform again. Loading Meanwhile, the APL is currently in negotiations for a new broadcast agreement. The current contract with Network 10 and Paramount + to show the A-Leagues expires at the end of the 2025-26 season. Though Nine has shown interest, a short-term extension is expected with the incumbent rights holders - and that would lead to a situation where all of the major football rights deals in Australia, including the A-Leagues, Socceroos and Matildas, and Premier League, will all be in market at roughly the same time. 'This landscape is changing rapidly, but one thing remains constant,' Johnson said. 'When you look at where the football audience is, and if we step back from just thinking about Australian football, and instead see ourselves as part of global football here in Australia - that's how I view it - you'll notice that audiences naturally gravitate toward certain properties: World Cups, the Euros, Champions League, Premier League, national team football.
