North Queensland Fury in danger of shutting down
Who said that it is only the European clubs who are seeing financial nightmares these days?
A new crisis is right around the corner for many European clubs, but the effects of the financial meltdown in the recent years has seen other clubs from other continents suffer as well. The Australian A-League is another league that is already in the midst
of a huge financial crisis and unfortunately, a poor club stands on the brink of being shut down.
Australia failed in their bid to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup, as Qatar got the winning vote. As if that wasn’t enough, Australian fans suffered another setback last week when it was announced that A-League side North Queensland Fury might cease to exist,
after being in Australia’s top flight for just two years.
The Fury was one of the first clubs to bring a big name player to the A-League, in the shape of former Liverpool and England international Robbie Fowler. The issue wasn’t even close to be resolved, when the Football Federation of Australia (FFA) met last
Thursday.
Many players will be thinking of moving on, and Goalkeeper Justin Pasfield has already confirmed that he will play for the Central Coast Mariners next season. Isaka Cernak, who joined the club this year, will also move on, but he has still not made any decision
regarding where he will continue his career.
Young striker David Williams is the only player that Fury have signed, but it still remains to be seen if the youngster will be looking forward to return to the club next season, considering all the financial problems the Fury are facing.
This mass player-exodus doesn’t look like it will stop anytime soon. This week another young striker, Chris Payne also confirmed that he is going to pen a new deal with the Newcastle Jets. Osama Malik, a young player of Pakistani origin, is also set to return
to the club where he started his career, Adelaide United.
It will be very hard for the Fury to see such talented players leaving during a time of crisis, especially emerging stars like Chris Payne and Osama Malik, who really wanted to stay with the Fury.
The Fury’s administrative hierarchy is pretty hopeful if not optimistic that the FFA will keep the club running next season, as the team prepares to instill a new plan that will allow the local community to link up with the team. The idea sounds pretty good
and the FFA have also been impressed it, but a lot of things need to be done pretty quickly if the club is to be saved.
The FFA needs to see the some concrete progress, before a decision on the clubs’ fate is taken at the end of this year. The teams’ performances have done little to help the cause, as the Fury are bottom of the table with just one win in their last seven
games.
A substantial amount of money is required to keep the club running, and it is up to the people of Townsville who support the team to bring this club back from the brink. If the Fury ceases to exist it will be the second A-League after the New Zealand Knights
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