KEY POINTS:
Multi-millionaire Wellington property developer Terry Serepisos is the mystery 11th hour backer that helped keep professional soccer alive in New Zealand.
Serepisos stepped forward with officials from New Zealand Soccer (NZS) and Football Federation Australia (FFA) today as the drawn out saga over the destiny of the eighth and final A-League licence was finally laid to rest.
After weeks of speculation, FFA chief executive Ben Buckley handed NZS a three-year licence, previously surrendered by the New Zealand Knights, which has been sub-let to a Wellington consortium financed by Serepisos.
As late as last week, Wellington bid-chief John Dow was still scrambling around for the minimum $1.2 million start-up cash required, while facing stiff competition from Townsville Tropical for the eighth league licence for the 2007-08 season.
Today Serepisos was unveiled as the new sole owner, much to the relief of NZS chief executive Graham Seatter.
Buckley confirmed that New Zealand came very close to losing it's only professional soccer team.
All Whites coach Ricki Herbert was appointed coach, while the team's home ground was confirmed as Westpac Stadium -- overlooked by Serepisos' plush 14th floor office on Wellington Harbour.
The team's name will be revealed in the coming weeks, as will the board's composition and the management structure surrounding Herbert.
For Serepisos, who also sponsors the region's premier horse race, the Wellington Cup, and the Saints in the national basketball league, his entry into the soccer world has come very late.
"It was in the back of my mind but I did come forward last week.
"I've been taking in snippets of it over the past couple weeks, and there was this debacle going on," he said.
"I took the opportunity to find out a little bit more about it because I thought it would be a shame to lose it (the licence)."
Serepisos, known as a colourful character around Wellington, admitted he was not a football fanatic but his involvement in the team came from "the heart."
Following the Knights' troubled existence, Serepisos conceded he would lose some money in the first year but was confident he would install the right personnel to make the club a success.
Buckley, who flew into Wellington today to meet Serepisos and finalise details around the submission, said the developer's commercial success helped sway the FFA's decision.
"Someone of Terry's experience has expertise in making successful projects come to fruition," Buckley said.
Buckley said the FFA would have preferred to have settled the issue earlier after the Knights were stripped of their licence three months ago, but he firmly believed the Wellington group had met all the required criteria.
"Obviously you would like to do these things quicker but it's not easy to start a football team and to put together a submission that requires capital investment, the right people and the right structure."
New Zealand came close to losing the licence, Buckley said, but
Serepisos' intervention and the Townsville bid falling short on some criteria, meant Wellington was the favoured option.
Buckley declined to state if this was the last chance for a New Zealand team to find long-term success in the A-League but hinted the FFA would have a fair amount of input into the club's operations.
For Seatter, today's closure was the end of a turbulent few months.
"We have retained New Zealand's interest in this competition. A team in the A-League is critical for the long term future of football in this country," Seatter said.
"There have been delays, and there has been criticism for these delays (but) were it not for the delays we wouldn't be here today."
As for the teams' composition Herbert, who leaves tomorrow with the national squad for their two-match South American tour, said they would focus heavily of having New Zealand players in the side.
Herbert said he had about 15 players lined up, mostly All Whites, and could secure 10-12 signatures "tomorrow" now the licence was secured.
- NZPA
