Soccer: Australian shambles throws Kingz future into jeopardy

By TERRY MADDAFORD

The axe is hovering over the Football Kingz just six weeks out from the start of their fourth season in the Australian national league.

While their participation in this season's NSL is assured, their future beyond that could be anything but.

Amid what can only be described as a shambles at Soccer Australia, the Australian Federal Government is poised to launch an inquiry into the running of the national association. That will almost certainly mean a postponement of next month's Soccer Australia elections.

Among the issues to be considered is a call to cut the NSL from 13 to 10 teams and rename it the Australian Premier League.

It is no secret that clubs across the Tasman are far from happy with having the Kingz in the league.

The win by the All Whites over the Socceroos in last month's Oceania Nations Cup, and with it the chance to play in the rich Confederations Cup, has only hardened Australian attitudes against the Kingz.

While the Kingz have another season of their initial five-year (Soccer Australia-granted) licence, the feeling is that it could become void if the NSL was canned and replaced by the APL.

As the bottom-placed team in last season's league, the Kingz would be on shaky ground should any cut come.

The Auckland-based franchise has, however, maintained this is not a sticking point provided it continues to meet its criteria, which has a heavy emphasis on financial viability.

The inquiry into Soccer Australia's affairs will be announced in the next few days and will be managed by the Australian Sports Commission.

It is understood the commission has told Soccer Australia that future funding will be tied to the results of the inquiry, which is expected to look into a reform of the national body's constitution.

Australian Prime Minister John Howard has already given his backing to the inquiry, saying this week that Soccer Australia must resolve some "administrative challenges" before considering their bid to host a future World Cup.

New Zealand Soccer chief executive Bill MacGowan said yesterday that the investigation into Soccer Australia was no surprise considering its debt and other issues.

"It is very clear they are keen to reduce the number of teams in the league to 10," MacGowan said. "We at New Zealand Soccer need to be prepared to fight incredibly hard to ensure the Football Kingz retain their place.

"As the bottom team in last season's league, they are probably behind the eight-ball to start with. We are supportive of the Kingz and the role we see them playing in the game here."

Kingz chief executive Chris Turner remains upbeat about the club's survival.

"Our participation agreement with Soccer Australia says that so long as we meet the criteria we must be involved in the top competition in Australia.

"We know we have another two years remaining on our initial five-year licence and can continue beyond that provided we show we meet the conditions.

"Like New Zealand Soccer and the Oceania Football Confederation, we see our participation in whatever they have as their premier competition as critical."

The inquiry is likely to be headed by Melbourne-based insolvency expert David Crawford, who recently left accounting giant KPMG after a 30-year career, which included overseeing some of the biggest restructuring jobs in Australian corporate history.

In 1993, Crawford produced a landmark report into the administration of the Australian Football League.