Soccer: Kingz earn a vote of confidence

SYDNEY - The Football Kingz have been given a vote of confidence ahead of the planned axing of four teams from the 16-club Australian National Soccer League.

The league is to be slimmed down for the 2001-2 season, and NSL general manager Stefan Kamasz yesterday said he would be surprised if the Kingz failed to meet the criteria for inclusion.

The Auckland-based franchise's off-field fortunes were given a boost earlier this year when Sky Television bought an 80 per cent shareholding.

World body Fifa followed up by extending the Kingz' initial two-year licence to compete in the Australian league to five years.

Under the NSL restructuring process, clubs will lodge their applications to be part of the new competition by the end of December.

After a six-week evaluation process, NSL officials will make an initial decision on the successful applicants.

There will be provision to hear appeals before a final decision is announced in April.

Kamasz said he did not want to pre-empt the outcome of the restructuring process.

"But knowing what we do about Sky's involvement with the Kingz, I would be very surprised if they didn't meet the criteria," he said.

"They still need to go through the process. They still have to keep their eye on the ball.

"But at the end of the day, I would expect they would be there."

Kamasz agreed that some Australian clubs would continue to argue that they should be considered ahead of the Kingz.

"That pressure has always been there and it will continue to be there from those clubs who feel threatened," he said.

"But as far as Soccer Australia are concerned, the Kingz are part of our league and we want them to stay."

He said the criteria for inclusion in the new competition would be based largely on a club's financial stability and whether it could afford to be in the league.

Other issues included geographic spread, grounds and club structures.

Kamasz was speaking at the launch in Sydney of the new season, which kicks off this weekend. The Kingz begin their campaign with an away match against Sydney Olympic on Sunday night.

At the launch, Soccer Australia chairman Basil Scarsella announced a "seven-figure" three-year sponsorship deal with Australian airline Qantas to be a major sponsor of the NSL.

He said agreements with two other major sponsors were close to being sealed.

- NZPA