Fury - Not our Future

North Queensland Fury is delighted to confirm and support the release of �Foundation� and �Retain the Fury� Membership packages for the new Community Owned Club.

To be launched on Saturday 29 January, these two Membership packages allow individuals and organisations to contribute financially to the future of the North Queensland Fury by becoming owners.

With enough local support, a new community owned entity called the Northern Fury Limited will own and run the -team from the start of the 2011/12 A-League Season and will be a not-for-profit company. The team will still be called the North Queensland Fury.

Community ownership is the only way the Fury will survive and continue to provide enjoyment for the local fans, as well as inspire more than 20,000 boys and girls who play junior football in the Fury�s region (Central QLD, Western QLD, North Queensland and Far North Queensland).

There are two levels of Membership;
1. Foundation Membership
2. Retain the Fury Membership

Foundation Membership
Foundation Membership is the most crucial Membership level for the Club will be available for $30,000 (plus GST) which comprises three $10,000 (plus GST) payments over three years.
As a �Foundation Member�, there are a range of benefits including tickets to the Chairman�s Club Lounge for all home games and discounted tickets and merchandise.

Retain the Fury Membership
Retain the Fury Membership will be available for $3,000 (plus GST) which comprises three $1,000 (plus GST) payments over three years.
As a �Retain the Fury Member�, there are a range of benefits including discounted tickets and merchandise.

On announcing these Membership packages, North Queensland Fury CEO, Rabieh Krayem said; �Today is a historic day. After a lot of talk we have completed the structure of a Community Ownership model for the Fury and from Saturday, the public can take an interest in owning the Club through a membership base.

�It�s taken a lot longer than anticipated but we obviously had to get the structure right and we had to get Football Federation Australia approvals and we needed to make sure the structure of the constitution of this new company was there for the interest of football for regional Queensland.

�Community ownership is the only way the Fury will survive as an elite football club and its now down to the public, not just limited to Queensland or Australia, to show they want to own this football club and see it thrives for years to come.�

North Queensland Fury are excited that former Socceroos player and respected SBS personality, Craig Foster, has purchased the first �Retain the Fury� Membership, whilst Football Queensland have secured the first �Foundation Membership�.

Speaking about his commitment to the Fury, Craig Foster said; �My contribution is a demonstration of respect for the proud history of football in North Queensland and the fantastic work and deep commitment to the game shown by the club staff, players and fans under terribly difficult circumstances.

�I�m encouraging everyone who loves football and dreams, like me, of an A-League that sits at the very peak of Australian sport, to get onboard and support the Fury and show that in football, we always stand up for our own.�

On signing up to be the first Foundation Member, Football Queensland CEO, Geoff Foster expressed; �Football Queensland has been an avid supporter of Fury since its inception. Taking the first Foundation Membership is a tangible example of the importance we place on our partnership with Fury.

�Our advanced player pathway and High Performance Unit rely on Fury being there to give our programs purpose. In addition, our football family rightly demand to have a local team to love, own and support.

�It is my experience that Fury partner better with community football than any other A-League Club, simply because they respect and include us.

�We are honoured to have been offered a position on the Fury Board and commit to keeping the Club well advised on how we can best achieve our common goals. Now we have the chance to invest in footballs future.

�My colleague, FFA Chief Ben Buckley, has acknowledged the importance of Fury to the football community in North Queensland and I am confident that our commitment will not go unnoticed. In recent times we have seen the best in Queensland communities rallying together to support each other and I encourage the football community to invest in Fury as they are a critical plank to our future.�

All details regarding the Community Owned Club and the Membership packages will be available on this website from Saturday 29 January, 2011.

Brine said the cash had come from a combination of business, large companies and government among others, but without identifying any specific firms.

The achievement throws a curveball at the FFA who were expected to axe Fury and reduce the A-League to a ten-team competition.

"The FFA are even understood to have already drawn up a draft fixtures list for next season based on just ten teams.

Clive Palmer this week also insisted he was standing by Gold Coast United, despite speculation linking him with a take-over of Brisbane Roar and/or Fury at Gold Coast's expense"