An Australian football team is exploring the possibility of adopting a fan-based co-operative model, similar to supporters’ trusts in the UK
Central Coast Mariners FC, the 2024 champion of Australia’s domestic football league, has faced a period of crisis ever since its former owner, Mike Charlesworth, liquidated club entities and forfeited its participation agreement with the A-League.
Following the collapse of a potential sale to investor Damon Hanlin, ownership of the football club, based in Gosford, New South Wales, has now fallen into the hands of the Australian Professional Leagues (APL) – which says it plans to run the club until “a new and stable long-term owner” is found.
With no new owner currently in sight, stakeholders and local MPs have begun calling for the club to adopt a fan-owned co-operative model – inspired by the supporters’ trusts which hold stakes in football clubs across the UK. While there’s no word yet on firm plans to introduce a fan-owned co-operative structure at the Central Coast Mariners, it seems to be an increasingly attractive proposal as the club’s woes continue.
Labor MPs, including David Harris, David Mehan, and Liesl Tesch have called on the APL to ‘secure a new owner’ as soon as possible, stating that a new owner should consider introducing ‘elements’ of a fan-based partnership model, as well as retain the Mariners Women’s team and the club’s name and colours.
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The Business Council of Co-operatives and Mutuals (BCCM) has also supported these calls. Citing the likes of FC Barcelona, the Green Bay Packers and the German Bundesliga, BCCM CEO Melina Morrison highlighted existing overseas fan-ownership models which range from a 5% stake to full community ownership.
“It is about the community turning up and saying we are real stakeholders in the future of this club,” she said. “Being a Mariners fan is a way of life on the Coast, and a fan-based co-operative is one way to secure the club for the Central Coast forever.”
Morrison told ABC Central Coast that a co-operative model could ‘sit alongside’ private owners through a joint venture structure, adding: “Whether it is a supporters’ co-operative or a farmer co-operative, the model exists to benefit members, not external shareholders…
“For the Mariner, it means any surplus generated is reinvested into the club and the Central Coast. A co-operative strengthens the local base and aligns the owners with the long-term success of the team.”
Image of the Central Coast ground: MaximilianJp/Wiki CC
