Brisbane Roar set to enter administration
Reuters - Tuesday 08 March 2011, 08:38
MELBOURNE - Australia's embattled football administration is looking for new investors to take over
Brisbane Roar, with directors of the cash-strapped A-League team
set to relinquish their license.
"We've been in talks with the owners up there for some time
with a view of broadening their capital base, bringing in more
owners - that's an ongoing process," a Football Federation
Australia (FFA) spokesman told local media on Tuesday.
"Planning for a transition will continue after the grand
final and coming weeks and months potentially."
Roar's financial troubles have mounted despite runaway
success on the playing field this season, underlining the
frailty of Australia's top-flight competition.
The club is on a record 27-game unbeaten streak and will
contest the premiership title at Brisbane's Lang Park on Sunday
against Central Coast Mariners.
The FFA announced a week ago that they were withdrawing
their support for North Queensland Fury, saying the
Townsville-based club's parlous financial state could endanger
the competition's wider development.
Fury's collapse leaves the league with 10 teams next season.
Administrators had planned to expand the league to 12 with the
addition of a second Sydney side, but scrapped the bid due to
financial concerns.
In September, the FFA had to intervene to save east-coast
club Newcastle Jets from crippling debt by switching the
franchise's license to a wealthy local mining magnate.