Auckland FC fan group threatens protests over owner Bill Foley’s ties to Donald Trump

Republican presidential nominee, former US President Donald Trump, speaks during a campaign rally at the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno, Nevada earlier this month. Photo / Getty Images

An Auckland FC fan group may protest the club’s owner at their inaugural A-League Men match this weekend after the revelation he is a donor to US presidential candidate Donald Trump.

Bill Foley, a billionaire sports magnate who won the licence for the expansion of the club last year, told AAP this week he is donating to the Republican ahead of the November election.

“I’m terrified about the alternative,” he said.

Foley has donated millions to Republicans in recent years, but swore off Trump after the former President’s attempts to subvert democracy after his 2020 election loss.

While he financially supported other candidates during the Republican nomination process, he recanted and donated to Trump once the former President was selected.

Tamaki AFC, Auckland FC’s left-wing active support group, said they were dismayed by Foley’s embrace of the 78-year-old firebrand presidential candidate.

“We note that Foley previously described Trump accurately as ‘a narcissistic egomaniac’, but is now supporting him anyway after other right-wing alternatives were eliminated,” the group leadership said.

“Football fans in Tāmaki Makarau/Auckland deserve to cheer on their new A-League club without feeling complicit in an unsavoury political project.

“Tamaki AFC will be at Auckland FC’s opening match against the Brisbane Roar this Saturday, and perhaps you will hear a chant suggesting something that Bill Foley can do with his Trump donations.”

Given Auckland FC are yet to play an official match, it’s not clear how deep opposition to Foley’s politics runs within the new club’s fan base.

Donating to political candidates is more commonplace in the US than Australia and New Zealand, with Kamala Harris and Trump raising a combined US$1.2 billion ($1.98b) between July and September.

While Trump is broadly unpopular with Kiwis, he has high-profile supporters too, led by former Prime Minister Sir John Key.

The club expects a bumper crowd of above 20,000 at Mt Smart Stadium on Saturday when they face Brisbane Roar in their first A-Leagues match.

Foley has put his hands deep in his pockets to support the club, paying an estimated $A20 million licence fee to enter the league, and forecasting roughly $A4.5m in losses in year one.

He is far from the first club owner to divide fanbases.

The mega-money world of professional football draws in all sorts of owners, from benevolent billionaires who invest, nation states which own clubs to “sportswash” their international reputation, and vampire operations who can starve the team of funds to make a buck.

“In modern football, as a multibillion-dollar global business, clubs are increasingly reliant on the mega-rich to exist,” Tamaki AFC said.

“The mega-rich, to put it mildly, often have interests and values that oppose those of thousands of grassroots fans.

“Owners come and go, as do players; it is the fans who will determine whether Auckland FC survives and thrives.”

In the A-Leagues, club owners are feeling the pinch, with club payments from head office cut by around 75% from last year.