A League Expansion

Expansion in NZ can only be Auckland based on the population base. A new entity needs to be set up (not acfc in disguise) like they did in Aussie (no old NSL sides) and run by a Breakers type general manager who is proactive in getting the crowds in and the right mix of products on show. Other thoughts are to run a financial model that doesn't rely on large crowd numbers to balance the books, redevelop or develop a smaller stadium that caters to a 10-15,000 crowd (bigger games go to Eden Park), start out with an ADP type marquee to get immediate traction with the public.... oh and find a rich guy or consortium that are willing to spend money for little return in the first 5 or so years.

When Heart are bought out by the kiwi consortium, they're going to move the whole franchise to Auckland!

Harbour City Heart.

Dotcoms not that rich he also has a rep for not paying ppl on time if at all

I can see some positives around a second NZ team. Less traveling around NZ so more home games actually at home. It would have to help crowd numbers with more interest from the around the country. As well as a kiwi derby who wouldn't love a wellington v Auckland rivalry In the aleague

Neg bunch. Trends change. Auck team may well work again.

maybe, but I'd prefer it was in Chch before giving the auckland lot a third shot at making a club work, they failed miserably with the Knights and Kingz.

The Kingz and Knights were essentially reincarnations of the same club weren't they? like Nix Mk 1 [TYerry] and nix Mk 2 [Welnix]

Yeh they just swapped the z for an ht

If it is Christchurch, then we could play them in the Earthquake Derby

Poznans ?

when they face away from the field and jump up and down basically ignoring the game - pretty strange mode of support.

it'd look very silly up here ...and Id probably spill my drink ...

Nah, just make it the Christchurch Earthquakez

So Gareth says he'd consider investing in an Auckland A-League team. Is this more of him just saying something to stir the pot because he feels it will never happen or is he being legitimate in his interest?

This is the first person with some money coming out and saying this - any chance it could happen? Not right now but maybe in a couple of years.

This is a week old now, but talk of the Fury coming back in around 2018: http://www.foxsports.com.au/football/a-league/simon-says-plans-being-made-to-reinstate-expansion-north-queensland-fury-into-the-aleague/story-e6frf4gl-1226806412802

I posted it earlier today in a wrong thread.

Unless NZ is allowed to join AFC (Asian federation) we should not even bother with planning another A-League club. This would only be baiting the trolls in Australia and unlikely to have any legs until the FIFA, OFC and AFC all agree.
Of course the FFA themselves would be happy to have one more financially stable HAL franchise. But moving us into AFC would make Oceania federation (OFC) fall over.  We may talk about our currently easy entry to World Club champs etc, but apart from that our other duty is to prop up the reasons to have the OFC. Are the OFC dignitaries happy to be moved out of Auckland and relocated to New Caledonia or Fiji? Are the NZF interested in reporting to AFC in Qatar rather than to an OFC office in Auckland? Would Bin Hamman be interested in us adding to the competition for the already limited Asian spots at the World Cup? Middle Eastern nations have always played like crap at WC finals and if an extra spot is added, we would provide stiff competition to them (if we can afford the airfares first).

Once that issue is cleared (and once we also agree that that would be beneficial for us to shift to AFC, as many might object) then we can consider having another A-League franchise to be granted to New Zealand. Auckland might work (a large city, direct flights, large international population). Money to run it would be a problem, but then we might also get more local media interest (OK, going out on a limb here).

If we skipped OFC and it fell over, FIFA would just split Asia into two and drag Australia back out way along with places like Guam, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines and other places in East Asia etc. It wont work out how people think.

I doubt that the FFA rules would allow a single owner to have stakes in two clubs. If Gareth put money into an Auckland A-League club then I would imagine he would have to quit his Welnix membership. Anyway this is all pipe dream stuff. FFA have no immediate plans to expand the A-League and if/when they do another NZ franchise would be way down the queue. I also could not see the Asian Federation allowing another non Asia Fed club like Auckland entry into the A-league. It was hard enough to get them to agree to letting the Nix in. It would be a whole lot easier if NZ was in Asia though.

I know Gareth is a controversial person but you have to admit he does get football into the headlines. Also he does seems now to have a much better knowledge of football.....some of his latest statements about NZF etc make quite good sense