Gold Coast Cannibals

I suspect that the FFA may be getting a little tied of the Gold Coast's behaviour. But its 51% ownership of the Roar and its gratitude at having another of Australia's mega rich funding a team puts the FFA in a poor position to effectively respond.

The problem is that sections of the Gold Coast club appear to be on a mission to promote their club at the Roar's expense. This began with the club gasumping the original 'Galaxy' bid in 2007, then to support their bid they pinched 5 Roar managers including all ticket sales expertise right at ticket selling time for 2008-9,  since then we have been hearing outrageous statements (that are embarrassing their players) about how they are going to win the A-League without losing a game, and about how mean the Roar were to Miron. Then they complained about not getting the first home game of the 2009-10 season against the Roar. 

Now, in a move that highlights how poor the A-League governance is, they have poached one of the Roar's key sponsors - Waeco. The Courier Mail reports today that Waeco have provided $500,000 over 4 years to the Roar. Now they will be supporting Gold Coast. 

This is just plain wrong.

New clubs must bring new sponsors to the A-League not cannibalise existing funding. Particularly when considering how important the Brisbane market is to the existence of the A-League. 

The FFA should have been able to prevent the Gold Coast from stealing Roar expertise and sponsors. The fact that it cannot now raises serious questions.