News

Exciting new era beckons for football on the Gold Coast

THE Gold Coast’s bid to enter the Hyundai A-League in season 2009/10 was today given the long-awaited final approval by Football Federation Australia (FFA).

FFA’s desire to expand the flourishing national competition paved the way for the Clive Palmer-led club to become part of the league from next season onwards.

With Mr Palmer overseas on business, Chief Executive Clive Mensink thanked FFA before saying the new franchise aims to add a great deal to the Hyundai A-League and the code as a whole.

“Football Federation Australia has worked with us tirelessly to finalise our bid and get this club up and running. We thank them for their diligence and attention throughout the process.

“As a club, we want to contribute as much as we can to the long-term enrichment and development of the game. That begins with harnessing support and input from the Gold Coast community, then producing a successful, entertaining team for them to support and be proud of.

“That community input, plus our Chairman Clive Palmer’s business expertise, will shape the club into something special. We’re here to be successful and we have a winning mentality in our business approach which fits well with the expectation of people in the region,” Mr Mensink said.

Work behind the scenes has been underway for nearly three months as the club prepares to launch its brand on the expectant public. The playing kit is likely to incorporate the traditional colours of the Gold Coast with blue, white and yellow sure to feature heavily, but Mr Mensink says the final design is still some way off.

“We will work closely with the designers to come up with a playing strip that is not only representative of the Gold Coast, but is also original, eye-catching and lends itself well to being worn socially by our supporters.

“We won’t rush into it because there are a number of elements to consider, but the final product will look fantastic,” he declared.

With the participation licence now rubber-stamped, inaugural Head Coach & Director of Football, Miron Bleiberg, can begin building his squad having already compiled his ‘wanted list’ several weeks ago.

Currently contracted Hyundai A-League players cannot sign a ‘pre-contract’ with Bleiberg’s outfit until they have six months or less remaining on their existing deal with their current club, so the initial focus will be to secure promising youngsters, uncontracted players and state league targets.

The colourful Coach will also embark on a 40-day fact-finding mission to South America and Europe in November and December this year, where he will view facilities at some of the top clubs as well as taking in scouting missions.

“I’ve done my research throughout Australia and I know who I want so we hope to start that process soon,” he said.

“We have also put a lot of work into securing our support staff with that work almost complete now. I’ve identified the right people for positions like, Assistant Coach, Goalkeeper Coach and Physiotherapist and so on, with only the Youth Team Coaching position left to go,” Bleiberg added.

With the club’s home venue confirmed as the impressive Skilled Park at Robina (Gold Coast), the next steps for Clive Palmer’s latest venture include finalising their training venue and administration base, establishing corporate partnerships and working with the local community to build their supporter base.

“It’s a very exhilarating time for everyone and over the coming months we will have a string of exciting announcements,” said CEO Clive Mensink.

“Final approval of our participation licence is what we’ve all been waiting for and now we can really get going with earnest,” he added.

The club is currently working with Football Federation Australia to establish their official website with the live launch of the site expected in the near future.