Soccer: Kingz fighting for survival

By TERRY MADDAFORD

The Football Kingz are being threatened with liquidation by one of their former directors.

Noel Robinson has filed a winding up notice against the soccer club claiming he is still owed money - believed to be around $25,000 - from when the Kingz bought back his shares last December.

The troubled club, which is in the process of being taken over by Sky TV, has until a court hearing on May 11 to resolve the matter or face the prospect of going out of business.

Kingz chairman Chris Turner admitted yesterday that Robinson was owed money, but criticised the former shareholder for issuing the notice.

"It is pretty disappointing for us that Noel Robinson, who portrays himself as a football person, will go down this channel," he said.

"What does he want? Does he want the Kingz to fall over? Quite clearly we've lost a lot of respect for him.

"We weren't too thrilled to see the notice, but the facts are that Noel Robinson was a director for about 18 months, he resigned, and before Christmas he sold his shareholding in the company.

"He has been paid some money for it and he is still owed the balance for his shareholding.

"Noel's been kept in the picture, but the bottom line is that until the Sky television deal [to purchase 80 per cent of the club] is formalised, he won't be getting paid.

"We're still in the process of due diligence with Sky and although that is coming to an end, I couldn't honestly give a date or time when it will be completed."

Turner said Robinson had not communicated with the club in recent weeks.

"In the last two weeks Noel hasn't returned any calls. That is fine, he knows the story - when the Sky deal is formalised he will be paid.

"It is no secret that in the last few months we've had a cashflow problem. We've looked after what was immediate, like paying the players."

He said Robinson was not the only creditor the club faced, but was the only one go to the extent of filing a liquidation notice.

"There are few other creditors, but they understand the situation and they will be paid when the Sky deal is formalised."

Robinson said he regretted that the dispute was going to court.

"This is not what I wanted to happen," he said following publication of the notice in yesterday's Herald giving details of the application for putting the company, Football Kings Ltd, into liquidation.

"It is just following up a commitment made by them to pay me monies owed."

Robinson, one of the first to investigate the possibility of having a New Zealand team play in the Australian National Soccer League, and an original director and shareholder, resigned as a director in March 1999 following what he saw as a conflict of interest when he was elected to the board of New Zealand Soccer.

"They made me an offer to buy my shares," he said. "The money was to be paid by October 1 last year."

It is understood half was paid on that date with a promise that the outstanding balance would be paid within a week.