FFA to pull pin on Fury

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1 March 2011-SBS-AAP

Decision time ... will Ben Buckley and FFA close the Fury franchise? (Getty)

North Queensland Fury’s brief A-League existence is over with Football Federation Australia chief Ben Buckley and A-League boss Lyall Gorman jetting to Townsville today to deliver the last rites on the cash-strapped expansion club.

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After investing what it claims is close to $9 million on Fury in working capital and cash guarantees, FFA will instead concentrate on consolidating Brisbane Roar as it settles on a 10-team format for 2011-2012.

While Fury CEO Rabieh Krayem battled tirelessly to generate the funds for survival for the club’s mooted community ownership model, an FFA source revealed that capital ownership in the club from locals barely reached $300,000 - $1.2 million short of the target.

He did concede however that the club had raised around $1.7 million in sponsorships bit insisted that would not be enough, telling The World Game: “The target for the Fury in community ownership was always going to be $1.5 million and that hasn’t been reached, so it’s not looking good despite all their hard work.

“A club can’t exist on sponsorships alone on a day to day basis and the gap in what they need and what they have is a large one.”

Officially, Buckley and Gorman are in Townsville to look over the books and assess where Fury is at in its lingering journey to extinction but it’s understood that a decision has been made and the peak body will make a statement on the club’s failed survival bid before the end of this week.

“I think you will get some clarification sooner rather than later on the situation,” added the spokesman.

Fury has effectively been on death row since previous owner Don Matheson pulled the plug at the end of year one and it was propped up by FFA backing last season.

Were it to survive for a third season it would have needed at least another $1.5 million grant from FFA, which had promised to match Fury if it could raise $1.5 million from the local community in shares in the club.

But after extending the deadline several times, FFA decided that there was no point in prolonging the agony, with Queensland now down to two clubs – Roar and Gold Coast United.

North Queensland Fury boss Rabieh Krayem had earlier revealed the extent of his frustration at the protracted speculation over Fury's future.

"The impact on families of the players, the staff, supporters and the football community - now it is getting to the stage where they have had enough," Krayem said.

"People are starting to get angry about it.

"One thing we have done as an advisory board is meet all our obligations that the FFA have set us.

"Until someone tells us we are not in the competition we will act like we are and continue to drive for sponsorships."