Australian Football: Gold Coast United Axed

Australian football has been in turmoil for the past few weeks, as three year old club, Gold Coast United got their license revoked and the future of the club is uncertain. Gold Coast’s owner Clive Palmer speaking to the media recently talked about why he ‘hates soccer’ and prefers the rugby league.

What made FFA make such a decision was because of the way Mr Palmer acted towards the FFA, ignoring phone calls, not wanting to speak to the FFA board and ignoring instructions that were given by the FFA. Palmer decided to put on the team’s kit for the match against Melbourne Victory- ‘Freedom of Speech’- even though the FFA warned him not to and the relationship reached it’s boiling point between FFA and God Coast.

On the 29th of February, Football Federation Australia stripped Clive Palmer of his license and he vowed to fight back and take them to court. Palmer ended up losing the case although that didn’t stop him from announcing a rebel football federation called ‘Football Australia.’ They are conducting a national report on the state of football in Australia and will be going to different cities in Australia and hold Fan Forums in the off season.Pulling the league back to nine teams isn’t what football in Australia needs, as the new broadcast deal is coming up and the FFA are hoping for a big pay-check to ensure the future of Australian football is safe and secure. The inclusion of 10 teams is vital for next season.A month on from the Gold Coast axing nothing has appeared to have happened with FFA looking at options of a team in Western Sydney, Canberra or new owners for the Gold Coast franchise. Whoever shows the money will have a team it seems, although many are asking, is there enough time to start a team from scratch before October kick-off?As the A-League is starting to hit finals fever, I can assure you the FFA will have a busy off-season but for now they can enjoy the action on the pitch.I’ll be releasing an A-League Finals Guide later this week.

Written by Tom MoxeyFollow him on Twitter @moxey25Please like O-Posts on FacebookFollow the site on Twitter