Source: Radio New Zealand
Auckland FC coach Steve Corica. RNZ / Marika Khabazi
The off-field blows keep coming for the A-League this week, with the future of another club hanging in the balance, and concern about the overall health of the competition is ever present for a leading coach.
On Monday the Australian Professional Leagues (APL) – which runs the A-League – took over the management of the struggling Central Coast Mariners on an interim basis while the process to sell the club is completed.
The fate of the Mariners follows Western United’s absence from the A-League this season while the club sorted out financial issues and worked to get their A-League licence back for a potential return.
Auckland FC coach Steve Corica said in their second season the league leaders were in a “healthy place” on and off the field, but he was aware that was not the case across the competition.
Corica has been involved as a player and coach in the A-League since the start in 2005.
“Of course there is always concerns,” Corica said on Tuesday about the health of the competition.
“Western we’re still not sure what is going to happen, I know they paid their debt off, so whether they come back in next year we’d like to see that, but with Central Coast as well it’s not great.
“It’s for the A-League to sort out, obviously they need to find another owner for Central Coast to move the club forward.
“We want the A-League to continue doing well.”
Reports out of Australia suggested there was local and international interest – including from English Championship club Queens Park Rangers – in taking over the ownership of the club, which is based in Gosford.
The Mariners’ men’s and women’s teams have had some success in recent years and Corica noted how well a team was doing on the field did not always impact what was happening with the business side of the club.
“They’ve had a really good run of late, they won the treble one year, they won the Grand Final, the Premiership, the last couple of years probably haven’t been like that but you just want to see them doing well off the pitch as well.”
A statement from the APL on Monday said that at this mid-point in the men’s and women’s seasons it would “ensure the ongoing obligations of the [Mariners] are met and operations continue.”
Auckland play the Mariners at Mt Smart Stadium next week.
The off-field success of the A-League would also be important for New Zealand Football which stated last month an intention to play a part in getting more New Zealand A-League teams into the competition with the first to join as soon as 2030.
NZF wanted a total of three men’s and three women’s A-League teams based in New Zealand by 2035.
Auckland also hung their future expansion into the women’s A-League on how well the competition was doing financially, with a plan to join in 2027.
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
