Auckland FC kickback initiative donates $100,000 to support local football clubs

Auckland FC are providing financial support to local clubs. Photo / Photosport

Auckland FC will be giving back over $100,000 to local football clubs as part of its kickback initiative.

The club has committed to donating 20% of every membership directly to the local clubs that its members nominate.

Auckland FC chief executive Nick Becker said that the initiative is a way for the club to be a meaningful part of the community and to invest in the future of football in Auckland.

”From day one we said we want to be part of Auckland’s community, especially the football community,” Becker told the Herald. “It’s such a vibrant and growing space, there’s 72 clubs across Auckland, over 100,000 people playing it and in that, there’s over 40,000 young boys and girls playing the game so that’s a group that we really wanted to connect with and embed ourselves in.”

Members of Auckland FC can nominate their local club upon joining, ensuring that their support goes directly to the clubs. This kickback payment will be the first of the season and will apply to any full-season membership purchased in October.

Becker said supporting clubs financially was an obvious choice as they are the lifeblood of football in this country.

“We looked at and talked to a lot of clubs and one thing that kept coming back to us was they wanted to talk about talent pathways, and they wanted to also to talk about how tough it is out there in clubland and revenue is a real problem.”

Western Springs chairman Grant Ramsay said the kickback initiative reflects Auckland FC’s genuine interest in partnering with community clubs and is positive for the future of the game in Tamaki Makaurau.

“Many Western Springs families have supported this offer and the club will directly benefit from the kickback by just over $8k. The club welcomes every revenue opportunity, particularly this season as we have qualified youth and premier teams for men and women in the national league. Having these four teams play an extended season places a greater demand on resources, so every bit helps.”

Tracy Cunnington, executive committee member and Grant Ramsay, executive chairman of the Western Springs Football Club. Photo / Sylvie Whinray

Ramsay also noted how having an A-League club based in Auckland is an exciting prospect for young talent to forge professional careers.

“We were especially pleased to have one of our own, Adama Coulibaly, sign for Auckland FC earlier this year. It acknowledges the effort by many in the club who are preparing young footballers for that next step. This is especially motivating for our next generation of girls and boys starting off at Western Springs.”

In addition to the kickback initiative, Auckland FC has also contributed over $70,000 in Fifa training compensation to 23 different clubs of its eight youth players.

Auckland FC’s inaugural match is scheduled to take place against Brisbane Roar at Go Media Stadium on Saturday at 5pm.

The game could be set for a sell-out, having already sold more than 20,000 tickets. It would mark the largest crowd attendance hosted by an expansion club with Western United’s first attendance in the 2019-2020 season being 10,128.

Bonnie Jansen is a multimedia journalist in the NZME sports team. She’s a football commentator and co-host of the Football Fever podcast and was part of the Te Rito cadetship scheme before becoming a fulltime journalist.