Latest news with #AucklandFC
News.com.au
3 hours ago
- Sport
- News.com.au
Ex-Melbourne Victory midfielder Jake Brimmer pledges international allegiance to Malta ahead of FIFA World Cup qualifier in September
The former Australian youth international once adjudged the A-League's best player has switched his international allegiance to Malta. Auckland FC midfielder Jake Brimmer, who won the Johnny Warren Medal in 2022 during his time with Melbourne Victory, has had his 'change of association' request approved by FIFA. The 27-year-old former Liverpool youth player has represented Australia at under-17 and under-20 levels but hasn't played for the Socceroos, who are currently coached by his former Victory mentor Tony Popovic. Having taken advantage of his Maltese heritage, Brimmer can now play for Malta, whose next match is a FIFA World Cup qualifier on September 5 against Lithuania in Kaunas. 'Obviously growing up I wanted to play for the Socceroos, but I'm 27 now and perhaps that chance has passed me by, and this is a chance for me to play international football and be seen in Europe, which will hopefully help my chances of going back over there to play club football,' Brimmer said. 'I discussed things with my family and we felt this was the best decision for me. 'I'm entering the prime years of my career, and feel this is the right time to do this, and I;m happy with my decision.' Brimmer said the Malta Football Association first approached him about changing allegiances after his Johnny Warren Medal-winning season. However, at the time, Brimmer was still intent on playing for the Socceroos, believing his form at the time warranted selection in Australia's senior team. But having constantly been overlooked, Brimmer is set to now follow in the footsteps of former Central Coast Mariners pair John Hutchinson and Trent Buhagiar, who switched allegiances from Australia to play senior football for Malta. Brimmer, who started his A-League career with Perth Glory, left the Victory at the end of the 2023-24 season to become a foundation player with Auckland, and was part of the Black Knights squad that won the Premier's Plate in the club's maiden A-League campaign. He came off the bench in Auckland's 4-0 Australia Cup round-of-32 win over NPL Queensland club Gold Coast Knights on Tuesday night at Carrara. The Black Knights will remain in Queensland for the week, and will play a friendly game against A-League rivals Brisbane Roar on Sunday at Imperial Corp Stadium, the home of NPL Queensland outfit Brisbane City. Roar chief executive officer Kaz Patafta said: 'We're extremely excited as a club and community to take such an important pre-season fixture against the premiers to a famous Queensland footballing venue in Imperial Corp Stadium. 'After a number of great nights of late engaging in the local community, we are taking this fixture against Auckland FC extremely seriously. 'We look forward to showing the wider Brisbane community just how far we have come already this pre-season.'
NZ Herald
16 hours ago
- Sport
- NZ Herald
Auckland FC impress in Australia Cup debut, beating Gold Coast Knights
Auckland FC have made untroubled progress in the Australia Cup. In their debut in the knockout competition, the reigning A-League Premiers dispatched the Gold Coast Knights 4-0 on Tuesday night. They led 3-0 at halftime – helped by a rocket start with a goal after 35 seconds– before they consolidated
RNZ News
3 days ago
- Sport
- RNZ News
Football: Auckland FC coach still feels 'hurt' of loss ahead of new A-League season
Auckland FC's head coach Steve Corica. Photo: In the nine weeks since Auckland FC's first A-League season came to an abrupt end, coach Steve Corica has watched his daughter get married, been on holiday to Fiji with his wife and tried to move on from a disallowed goal that left him fuming . Auckland exited the A-League at the semi-final stage last season, going down to Melbourne Victory 2-1 on aggregate goals. What annoyed Corica most was the manner in which his team were ousted in front of their home fans. In May Corica was adamant Auckland had been wronged by the officials who disallowed a goal in the second semi-final. This week he said the players were over it but for him "that one it hurts very much still". With time to reflect on a season that netted the Premiers Plate , Corica comes into Auckland's second A-League season with the view that season one was a "really great achievement", but he is motivated to go one better. Captain Hiroki Sakai and coach Steve Corica celebrate with the A-League Premiers Plate in April. Photo: Andrew Cornaga/ Corica has a history of winning and the opportunity to add another piece of silverware to Auckland's trophy cabinet, even before the A-League kicks off on 17 October, is one he is focused on. Auckland did not play in Football Australia's annual knockout competition, the Australia Cup, last season but will enter the competition in the round of 32 this year when they play the Gold Coast Knights, on Tuesday. The Australia Cup pits A-League teams and club sides from different states against each other in a battle for the trophy. The Wellington Phoenix kick off their campaign against fellow A-League side Perth Glory on Sunday, but the draw has been a bit kinder to Auckland. "It's really exciting for them I think to play against an A-League team," Corica said of the Knights, who won the NPL Queensland last year. "Obviously we won the Premiership last year, so it'd be a great achievement for them if they could knock us off as well." Auckland are professionals up against semi-professionals, but the Knights have the advantage of being match fit while the Auckland players are only a few weeks into pre-season. "It's our first hit out and obviously they're probably halfway or three quarters of the way through the season, so they're definitely going to be fitter than us I'd say at the moment and that's always the case when we've just come into the start of the season, so we want to get the job done in 90 minutes. "We don't really want to go into extra time right now with the fitness levels of the boys." Corica does not see the Australia Cup as a time to experiment - he has his eyes on the prize - but he will not have a full A-League squad to select from. Off-season departures have left Corica and director of football Terry McFlynn with "three or four" spots still to fill. A striker, a winger and a centre back are the main targets. With only one more place for a foreign player available in the squad they are being tactical about which position that goes to - and it will not be the defender. Until the new signings are made other players have a chance to impress. "I think it gives other people opportunities to have a start and to make their claim for a starting squad during the season so they've got it right now and it's in their hands to do well for the club and for themselves as well." Auckland will stay in Queensland after their first Australia Cup game to play Brisbane Roar in a pre-season friendly. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
4 days ago
- Business
- RNZ News
Auckland FC stick with dual stadiums, plan for expansion
North Harbour Stadium and Go Media Mt Smart Stadium. Photo: photosport Auckland FC pivoted on plans to create their own home base and are now planning to seek to stay longer in their council-controlled split stadium situation. The owners of the A-League club this month withdrew their plans to transform Western Springs Stadium into Auckland Arena which would have been their home ground and training facility. Challenges with public land led them to withdraw their proposal for the privately funded venue, according to the club. Last year Auckland FC signed a five year deal with Go Media Mt Smart Stadium to host their home games and a three year deal with North Harbour Stadium to be the team's training base. Auckland FC chief executive officer Nick Becker said the length of the deals with the two stadiums nearly 30 kilometres apart could be secured for longer terms as both suited the club's current set up. The shorter contract with North Harbour Stadium was a precautionary move as Becker said when the club came into existence last year they were unsure how the space would work for their needs. The club made several modifications - put in a kitchen, gym, transformed corporate boxes into offices and a created a players' lounge - to feel more at home. But the club has a vision for more. "The guys love it up here," Becker said of the Albany base where the players are a couple of weeks into pre-season training ahead of the A-League kicking off on 17 October. "We're going to need additional facilities obviously for our women's team when it comes on, our youth, our reserves, our football schools. "We're really happy up at North Harbour. We'd love to continue to be here for a longer term. "I think as a space relatively central, there's so much potential here to create a really fantastic home for our professional teams and our youth teams. "What sort of development that requires we're not sure about that right now, but I'd definitely love to see some development here into a more high performance centre." North Harbour Stadium is home to football and rugby sides. Photo: Andrew Cornaga/ Auckland FC are not the first to float the idea of turning the stadium and surrounds into a high performance or sporting hub - it is an idea that has been around for decades - but the timing might be right . Tātaki Auckland Unlimited was this month retained as operators of North Harbour Stadium and the surrounding Domain Precinct after a better alternative could not be found. The council-controlled organisation's chief executive Nick Hill said Tātaki Auckland Unlimited (TAU) "will pursue a refocused operational model at North Harbour Stadium". The search for a new operator by the North Harbour Steering Group had aimed to find an operator that could deliver increased connection with the community and improved financial performance. The Steering group, with TAU, was now working to determine the long-term future of North Harbour Stadium and Domain Precinct, focusing on the most appropriate ownership, funding, governance, improvements, and operational management model which was expected to take until December 2026 to be decided. Auckland FC has shared the training field space with Super Rugby Pacific side Moana Pasifika and their game day home ground with the Warriors NRL club. Scheduling clashes were avoided last season during the cross-over in the A-League and NRL seasons at the stadium in Penrose. Becker said he had a draft draw for the 2025/26 A-League season that would have a "few tweaks" before "key fixtures" were drip-fed out to fans next week.
RNZ News
5 days ago
- 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.
