Bill Foley owns the Auckland-based A-League team. Photo / Photosport
Bill Foley’s ownership of the new Auckland A-league football team sounds too good to be true.
Why on earth would a Texas billionaire, a major player in the world of sports clubs, be interested in such a venture?
The 79-year-old’s Black Knight Sports & Entertainment consortium has had stunning success in America, where their Las Vegas ice hockey team set up seven years ago has already won the Stanley Cup.
As per the Foley formula, the Vegas Golden Knights are underpinned by development clubs.
Which is where Auckland struck A-league gold.
Foley – who made his initial fortune in insurance – bought English Premier League club Bournemouth in 2022. He followed that up with the just-agreed minority purchase of Scottish premiership club Hibernians, a 40 per cent stake in French first-division side Lorient, and a working relationship with a Belgian club. The new Auckland club will sit at the bottom of that system.
But his emotional and business connections to New Zealand were pivotal factors as Foley swooped – $25 million A-league buy-in fee and all – when a rival bidder stacked with Kiwi football luminaries faltered late last year.
Foley reveals why he loves New Zealand, how he will run the Auckland club, its likely nickname, his tricks of the sports trade, the family history that drives him on, how the famous American military academy shaped him, and even why – as a one-time Donald Trump backer – he’s abandoned the former President.
What was the catalyst for setting up an A-league club in Auckland?
Someone contacted me about the A-league potential in Auckland. I was told there was a group already in place but we found out through my contacts in New Zealand that the group in the driver’s seat might be having issues putting the money together. We swooped in at the last minute and usurped the process.
The whole concept is about multi-club ownership. If we do a good job we’ll develop young players who can move to the Scottish premier league with Hibernians, we have a Belgian team we are working with, if players keep progressing they may end up at FC Bournemouth. It’s a way of streamlining the player transfer situation.
Why New Zealand?
New Zealand is special for me.
I’ve been investing in New Zealand for 15 or 18 years, starting with a wine business in Wairarapa and Blenheim. We bought a lodge in Palliser Bay, a working sheep station with about 16 rooms. And we are in the restaurant business with the Nourish Group - we had 25 per cent and after Covid bought the balance of it.
I see New Zealand as my second country - I’ve been coming here for so long. I love the place. I think it’s a fantastic country. I like the people - and everyone speaks English.
When I was looking for other opportunities in the wine business I thought about South Africa but I was worried about the rule of law. I thought about Argentina, but it doesn’t have a stable currency. I wasn’t that interested in Spain, while France and Italy were confusing for me.
I started in the wine business as a red and white burgundy, pinot noir, chardonnay person, and that’s what New Zealand is.
I can acquire assets in New Zealand and know that I’m not going to be confiscated by a rogue government.
I’m Irish by heritage, but I’ve got some English and Scottish in me as well, so there’s that kinship with the background of many New Zealanders.
I’m all about the hospitality side, bringing wine, restaurants, hotels and sports together. I thought this was a rare opportunity.
How hands-on will you be in running the Auckland club?
Roughly, we have bi-monthly meetings with the sporting director and coach. We talk about players we are looking at, and the analytics they’ve done on them. I talk to Nick (chief executive Nick Becker) once or twice a week about who he is bringing in, his thought process, and the branding of the team.
Nick has a really strong football background - he worked for Arsenal, Manchester City and Melbourne FC - which is very important to me.
What is your management style?
I’m a macro-micro manager - macro when everything is going fine, and micro when there is an issue. I try to hire good people and delegate - I learned that in the army. Then if you have hired the right people, you will be successful.
What is your sports management style?
I do everything I can for the players. I have lunch in the (Golden Knights) locker room or lounge, I’ve met all the players and their wives socially. They have one job - to win hockey games. I try to make their lives as easy as I can.
I tell a story about the first year when Marc-Andre Fleury our goalie flew in and arrived with a dirty car. Two days later I set up a free car wash and detail for all the players and coaches. No one used it at first so I told them ‘use it or lose it’. Next time, there was a line outside the gate.
I make sure they have the right paediatrician, dentist, gynaecologist, realtor, find the right schools…
The same sort of thing will happen in Auckland. Team first, players second, management a distant third. It’s all about team - maybe that’s part of my army background.
You seem to know a lot of fine detail…
Absolutely. My office in Vegas is next door to the GM, and one door down from the president of hockey operations. I don’t worry about the business side so much, but I go to every scouting meeting including the amateur scouting meetings. If I’m there, listening, then every so often I can participate. I’ve learned a lot but I let them do their job - I try to remember ‘two ears, one mouth’ and try to do some listening.
At Bournemouth, you have emphasised the importance of attacking football believing that this gives the club a better chance to punch about its weight. Will Auckland also emphasise attack?
Steve Corica (coach) will do exactly that. His team will be similar to the way Bournemouth is presently playing. We want common analytics across our platform, a similar style of play so players can move up within our system and be seamlessly integrated.
Two A-league franchises failed in Auckland…
I think Auckland is a different city compared to 18 or 19 years ago. There is a much broader population base and diversity.
And we’re investing in the resources to make sure we do a first-class job.
We’re going to find the best players we possibly can, focusing on New Zealanders so we have the local influence and a relationship with the 40,000 football players in Auckland.
I did this with the Golden Knights where we started with a blank sheet of paper. We were an expansion team that became very community-orientated. We sold tickets to locals, not tourists. We are the third highest revenue team in the hockey league from the 40th largest market.
We have a game plan in Auckland and know how to implement it. It’s a first-class operation with people who are very dedicated to community involvement and relationships. I’m really happy with the progress we are making.
Any stadium updates...?
We will be at Mt Smart for a few years. The best solution would be to own a stadium, modest in size, 17,500 seats or so. If we could figure out some council land that might be available - but that won’t be immediate. We need to get organised first, get our women’s and academy team up and going, and have a successful first team. Nick has his work cut out.
Team name?
I’m an army guy who went to West Point, and they (West Point sports teams) are the Black Knights, if that gives you a hint. That will be the nickname I think.
I wanted to name my Vegas hockey team the Black Knights but the commissioner vetoed it. Maybe they didn’t think it was politically correct - they didn’t understand that the Black Knight was Polish, and he was the good knight who protected the unprotected. I had a hard time selling that.
We had to be the Golden Knights because Vegas is the largest gold-producing state in the US.
How did West Point shape you?
I wasn’t really a military guy to speak of, the academy wasn’t the first choice. I played football in high school and had this semi-scholarship, but my dad said he couldn’t afford it and I had to go to the military academy.
West Point made me what I am today. It taught me how to multi-task, be flexible, delegate. I hated it while I was there, but very glad I went.
Age isn’t slowing you down…and men of your vintage, Joe Biden and Donald Trump, will fight out the upcoming American presidential election. Any thoughts?
We have two candidates for president - one has some mental problems, and the other is a narcissistic egomaniac. That’s our choice. Who do I vote for? Think I’ll move to New Zealand.
Childhood sports hero?
(baseballer) Mickey Mantle. All the kids my age were either Yankees or Dodgers or Red Sox fans. I was a Yankees fan.
What sports did you play?
I played (ice) hockey as a kid. Dad was in the service and stationed in Ottawa, Canada for three-and-a-half years. From October to the end of March, all you can do is play hockey there, and I got hooked. When we left Canada I transitioned to lacrosse.
You are described as super competitive…is that on the mark and if so, where does it stem from?
Oh yeah, absolutely, but hopefully in a nice, transparent, friendly way. I think it comes from my mum and dad’s families, particularly my mum. She was very entrepreneurial. She started three or four businesses, all successful - she had an antiques business, ran a golf store, did so many different things. It was incredible - she was an inspiration for me.
She came from a pioneering Texas family - they were independent entrepreneurs, they were tough. I think that’s kind of my heritage.
I’ve read that you spent time on a ranch as a kid…
I spent summers in the Texas panhandle on a ranch - but we were a typical service family who moved every three years. We lived all over.
Your sports teams are also all over the place - how often will you get to watch your new Auckland team in the flesh?
I’ve fouled up haven’t I? Bournemouth is on the south coast of the UK, and I’m now in Auckland, home is either in northern California or Las Vegas Nevada.
It’s a big trip here, 13 hours. I usually come down twice a year, for three weeks, in November and February.
I want enough time to enjoy the place, maybe do some fishing, be down at the lodge, and take in football games.
It is going to all be geared around the football season. And I’m sure I’ll be here for the opening game in October.
What are Auckland’s prospects in the A-league?
Auckland is a significant city, and it needs a football team. I believe we can be very competitive and catch people by surprise with some of the players we are bringing in and the systems we will have in place. I have a lot of confidence we will be successful.
Chris Rattue has been a journalist since 1980 and is one of the most respected opinion writers in New Zealand sports journalism.
Veteran Sam Cane is given his farewell test appearance.